Jacinta Mary Ann Collins (born 4 September 1962) is a former Australian politician who served as a Senator for Victoria from 1995 to 2005 and again from 2008 to 2019. She represented the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and was the party's deputy leader in the Senate from June to October 2013. Collins was a parliamentary secretary in the Gillard government and Minister for Mental Health and Ageing in the second Rudd government. She retired from politics prior to the 2019 federal election and accepted an appointment as national executive director of the National Catholic Education Commission on 18 February 2019.
Early life
Collins was born on 4 September 1962 in Altona, Victoria. She grew up in the suburb of Ashwood in Melbourne. She holds the degrees of Bachelor of Arts from Monash University and Bachelor of Social Work from La Trobe University. She resigned from the Senate on 15 February 2019, and was announced as the new head of the National Catholic Education Commission on the same day. She commenced her role on 18 February 2019.
Personal life
Collins has two children with her husband Daryl, a train driver. She was one of the first female MPs allowed to carry an infant on the floor of parliament.