Nicole McKee has been named ACT's new deputy leader. She replaces Brooke van Velden, who announced on 28 June 2026 that she will leave Parliament at the November election and move into the private sector, according to 1News.

McKee is a justice minister in the current National-led government. As deputy leader, she'll be the second-most prominent ACT figure — important for a small party that needs to show it can actually run government as it goes into the election.

Van Velden had been deputy leader while also running her ministerial job. Her decision to leave Parliament means ACT loses someone who knows how the coalition works and where the party sits within it.

McKee's justice role is useful for ACT. The party has made justice policy a priority, so her role as a minister doing this work gives her credibility. Voters will find out later whether she stays as deputy if she's ranked high enough on ACT's election list to get back into Parliament.

Announcing this now — months before the election — gives McKee time to become better known in her new role. It also shows voters what ACT's election ticket will look like: David Seymour as leader, McKee as deputy with a real government job. That's something ACT will point to and say: we've delivered in government, and we should get another turn.