Daniel Andrews has been seen at Victorian parliament for the first time in months, taking a seat to listen as retiring Pakenham MP Emma Vulin delivered her valedictory speech on Wednesday night.
The former premier looked drawn as he sat in the chamber. The image, circulated by Daily Mail Australia and the Herald Sun on Thursday morning, ran under a headline describing it as his first public appearance in months following a secret health battle.
Vulin, the Labor member for Pakenham, used a text to speech tool to deliver her speech after her 2024 diagnosis with motor neurone disease, according to AAP coverage carried by The Nightly. She nominated her contribution to Victoria's voluntary assisted dying reforms as one of her proudest moments in parliament, and she thanked Mr Andrews and Premier Jacinta Allan.
Vulin's long connection to Andrews
The connection between the two goes back further than parliament. Vulin's mother worked alongside Andrews in the office of federal Labor MP Alan Griffin when Vulin was 13, and Vulin herself later worked in Mr Andrews's Mulgrave electorate office before she was elected to the newly created seat of Pakenham in 2022. In her members statement marking his 2023 retirement, Vulin said she'd watched Mr Andrews grow from a teenager into the leader he became.
Vulin, who survived a stroke at 36 before entering politics, announced on 30 September 2025 that she wouldn't recontest her seat, saying her body wouldn't have the energy to give what was required to represent the district for another four years. The state election is set for 28 November 2026.
What has been reported about Dan Andrews's health
Andrews has been largely out of public view since reports he was admitted to hospital just before Christmas 2025. The Nightly reported in early 2026 that he'd been taken to Monash Clayton with what sources described as a debilitating neurological episode affecting his speech and movement, and that he was in a "very bad way". The Herald Sun reported his condition was improving under an intensive and ongoing rehabilitation program, though he still had issues with speech and movement.
The early accounts didn't line up. Initial reports in December pointed to a possible stroke, but those claims were later disputed by sources close to the family. Hospital officials said he was in a stable condition, and a source told the Herald Sun he'd suffered only a minor medical issue and was "fine". His office hasn't confirmed a cause or a diagnosis.
The secrecy around his treatment ran deep. Monash Clayton staff were sacked in January 2026 for accessing his records. A long serving worker who spoke to the Daily Mail said she was dismissed after 14 years for looking at his file, and that the Health Workers Union wouldn't help her because of his profile. The level of privacy sparked speculation about the cause, including unverified claims of a Covid vaccine injury, none of which Andrews or the hospital has addressed. One senior source likened the lockdown on information to the secrecy around Michael Schumacher's condition after his skiing accident.
Concern about his health was first raised publicly when he didn't attend the funeral of Labor adviser Tim Picton in January 2026, and didn't acknowledge his death. Before Wednesday, his most prominent public appearance was at China's V Day military parade in Beijing in September 2025, where he was photographed alongside Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un. He defended the trip, saying it followed a formal invitation. The visit drew criticism from both sides of politics.
This isn't his first major health crisis. In 2021 he spent days in intensive care at The Alfred after a fall down wet stairs at a Mornington Peninsula holiday rental left him with a fractured vertebra, several broken ribs and respiratory failure. He was off work for around three months and later said he and his family thought he was going to die.
What's been reported about his health
Andrews has been largely out of public view since reports of a hospital admission just before Christmas 2025. The Nightly reported in early 2026 that he'd been admitted to Monash Clayton with what sources described as a debilitating neurological episode affecting his speech and movement. Other sources told the Herald Sun he'd suffered only a minor medical issue and was in a stable condition. He's reportedly been undergoing an intensive rehabilitation program.
He didn't attend the funeral of Labor adviser Tim Picton in January 2026, and he didn't publicly acknowledge his death. His most prominent public appearance before Wednesday's was at China's V Day military parade in Beijing in September 2025, where he was photographed alongside Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un. The visit drew criticism from both sides of politics.
Same sitting day Wilson gave notice of no confidence in Allan
Andrews's return to the chamber happened on the same sitting day that state Liberal Leader Jess Wilson foreshadowed a motion of no confidence in Premier Allan, citing record crime, rising net debt, major project cost blowouts and the 2026 Commonwealth Games cancellation, according to AAP. The motion can't be debated until parliament returns on 28 July and is expected to fail given Labor's majority in the lower house. Premier Allan's chair was empty when the motion was foreshadowed.
The bill Victorians inherited when he walked out
Andrews announced his resignation on 26 September 2023 and walked out at 5pm the next day, stepping down both as premier and as the member for Mulgrave. It came just shy of a year after Labor's third election win, and roughly two months after his government cancelled the 2026 Commonwealth Games.
At the press conference, he said the job had "consumed and defined" him and that "now is the time to step away".
The numbers he handed Premier Allan tell a separate story:
- His final May 2023 budget projected Victoria's net debt to climb to $171 billion across the following four years, almost eight times the 2019 level
- S&P cut Victoria's credit rating from AAA to AA in late 2020, the lowest of any Australian state at the time
- Moody's stripped Victoria of its AAA status in February 2021, then downgraded it again to AA2 in 2022
- The 2026 Commonwealth Games, which his government had agreed to host in April 2022, were cancelled in July 2023 at a total cost to taxpayers of more than $589 million per the Victorian Auditor-General, including a $380 million settlement paid to walk away
- The East West Link contract his government tore up in 2015 cost the state in excess of $1.1 billion, also per the Auditor-General, for a road that was never built
Victoria's net debt is now headed toward $200 billion by 2030, with annual interest repayments alone forecast to hit $11.8 billion that year. Add in the rest of the public sector and the figure already sits around $212 billion, per analysis of Treasurer Jaclyn Symes's May 2026 budget.
Andrews still gets a $134,304 bronze statue
The state government is also pressing ahead with a $134,304 taxpayer funded bronze statue of Mr Andrews to be installed at 1 Treasury Place, an entitlement triggered by his service of more than 3,000 days as premier.
Vulin holds the seat of Pakenham until the November election.
