Legislative Assembly · District of Evelyn
Bridget Vallence
Last verified 29 Sept 2026
Seat context — Evelyn›
Evelyn covers Melbourne's outer north-eastern fringe, including Lilydale, Mooroolbark, Montrose, Chirnside Park, Coldstream, Seville, Wandin and Wonga Park, and has traditionally leaned conservative. Liberal Bridget Vallence won it in 2018 after Christine Fyffe retired and was re-elected in 2022 with 46.7% of first preferences and 55.2% to 44.8% two-party-preferred against Labor's Lorna Dent, a margin of 10.4 points, so Labor needs a swing of about 5.2 points. The 2026 field is five candidates: Vallence, Labor's Analise Sherlock (who replaced Indah Johannes after Johannes withdrew citing a Hodgkin lymphoma diagnosis), the Greens' Andrew Henley, One Nation's Daniel Killey and the Animal Justice Party's Jan Heald. The Tally Room says Labor is not in a position to gain the seat and that One Nation could poll well.
Background
Is raising a family in the Yarra Valley; her electorate office is at 143 Main Street, Lilydale. VVerified — PARLVIC-VALLENCEParliament of Victoria, "Bridget Vallence — Member page"View source
Says what binds Evelyn, "from the suburbs to the farmlands", is "aspiration and a deep sense of community". SSelf-stated — VALLENCE-SITEBridget Vallence MP, "About / Contact — bridgetvallence.com.au"View source
Platform
Where they stand, issue by issue — grounded in 2026 Victorian polling, not assumed. Every position is tagged with how we know it.
Supporting Yarra Valley tourism, upgrading local public transport and improving safety at specific highway intersections.
Holds the Finance, Jobs and Skills, and Trade and Investment shadow portfolios.
What Victorians say matters most
5 poll-led issuesCost of living and crime have ranked 1st or 2nd in every Victorian poll since mid‑2025, with debt and housing close behind — see schema §3 for the polling this grouping is based on (DemosAU, Ipsos Issues Monitor, Roy Morgan). The 0-10 'priorityScore' on each candidate's issue entries is NOT a measure of true importance or an independent ranking of what a candidate actually cares about. It reflects how much detail and specificity exists in what that candidate has actually said publicly on that issue -- a named policy mechanism and a verified voting record score higher than a one-line stated priority, regardless of the issue's real-world weight. Render this distinction in the UI wherever the score appears; do not label it just 'Priority' without the qualifier.
Cost of living
Is Shadow Minister for Finance.
Crime and community safety
The Coalition's bail and sentencing policy, per the ABC, would automatically deny bail to reoffenders under a one-strike rule; nothing is attributed to Vallence personally.
Housing affordability and supply
The Coalition would lift the first-home buyer threshold to remove stamp duty on homes up to $1 million, per a housing-policy comparison; nothing is attributed to Vallence personally.
State government debt and fiscal management
Is Shadow Minister for Finance, and sits on the Public Accounts and Estimates Committee.
Infrastructure and public transport delivery
Lists upgrading local public transport and improving safety at specific highway intersections among her community priorities.
Also on the record
6 substance issuesThese don't top “biggest issue” polling, but carry real 2026 policy weight and genuine differences between parties.
Education and training
Was Shadow Minister for Skills and Training and Tertiary Education between 2021 and 2025 and is now Shadow Minister for Jobs and Skills.
Health and healthcare access
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Urban planning and housing density
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Climate and energy transition
Was Shadow Minister for Environment and Climate Change from March 2020 to September 2021.
Treaty and First Nations affairs
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Regional and rural Victoria
Lists supporting Yarra Valley tourism among her community priorities.
Her site highlights local farmers and CFA firefighters.
Local & party context
2 fieldsNot scored the way the eleven issues above are — these are fixed facts about the seat and the party, not positions with more or less emphasis behind them.
Track record & prior candidacies
Current: Shadow Minister for Finance, Jobs and Skills, and Trade and Investment. VVerified — PARLVIC-VALLENCE, WIKI-VALLENCEParliament of Victoria, "Bridget Vallence — Member page"View sourceWikipedia, "Bridget Vallence"View source
Earlier: Shadow Minister for Environment and Climate Change and Youth Affairs (2020-2021) and shadow roles in manufacturing, industry, innovation, skills and tertiary education (2021-2025). RReported — WIKI-VALLENCEWikipedia, "Bridget Vallence"View source
Won Evelyn in 2018 with 49.49% of first preferences and 52.65% two-party-preferred against Labor's Gail Ritchie. VVerified — WIKI-EVELYN-RESWikipedia, "Electoral results for the district of Evelyn"View source
Won again in 2022 with 46.7% of first preferences and 55.2% two-party-preferred against Labor's Lorna Dent, a 10.4-point margin. VVerified — WIKI-EVELYN-RESWikipedia, "Electoral results for the district of Evelyn"View source
Campaign, money & endorsements
Campaign logistics
Endorsements & Donations
Per the Victorian Electoral Commission's funding guidance (vec.vic.gov.au, accessed 2026-09-29 via search snippets of its independent-candidate and registered-party funding pages), a candidate is eligible for public election funding if they receive at least 4% of first-preference votes in their contest, or are elected. Funding is reimbursed against an audited statement of campaign expenditure, and advance funding must be repaid in full if the threshold is missed.
As the sitting member, Vallence met the "elected" limb of the test at the 2022 election, so her Evelyn campaign qualified for public funding.