Nicole McKee has been chosen as Deputy Leader of the ACT Party, the party announced on 28 June 2026.

McKee is a List MP and currently serves as Minister for Courts in the coalition government. She was born in Lower Hutt, raised in Rotorua, and returned to Wellington — a trajectory that reflects the party's reach beyond its Auckland-centric reputation. Her background is in law.

ACT Leader David Seymour said McKee had earned the respect and confidence of her colleagues. That framing points to a caucus process rather than a contested membership vote, consistent with how ACT has handled internal leadership appointments in recent parliamentary terms.

The promotion consolidates McKee's position as the second-ranked figure in a party holding the balance of support for the National-led government. As Minister for Courts she already holds a substantive portfolio — judicial appointments, court resourcing, and the ongoing pressure on the district courts system sit within her remit. Adding the deputy leadership formalises her standing at the Cabinet table and in any succession conversation within the party.

ACT enters the second half of this parliamentary term with its poll numbers and portfolio responsibilities both carrying weight. Seymour has been the party's dominant public voice since its 2020 resurgence, and the deputy role has historically been less visible than in larger parties. McKee's legal background and her ministerial workload give her a firmer platform than the position has sometimes carried in the past.