Mayor Stuart James lives in Oakleigh and is married with three daughters and a son.
Stuart represents the new Warrigal Ward. He was first elected to Council in 2016 to represent Oakleigh Ward, serving as Deputy Mayor in his first year. In November 2019, Stuart was elected as the 16th Mayor of the City of Monash, leading Council through the COVID-19 pandemic. He was re-elected for a second term as Mayor in 2021, leading the community’s recovery, and was re-elected Mayor for a third time in November 2025.
Stuart is Deputy President of the Municipal Association of Victoria, a Board member of the Australian Local Government Association and the Alliance for Gambling Reform, and sits on the Melbourne Cricket Club Member Disciplinary Committee.
Key Achievements
Key achievements
When Stuart’s youngest daughter was born, his wife was told that mothers’ groups were only available for first-time mothers. At home with a two-year-old and a newborn, she experienced deep social isolation. In response, Stuart worked closely with Council officers to develop a new playgroup concept in Cabena Crescent in Chadstone—creating a place for parents and carers to connect while children play. The centre also links families to specialist services, including support for anxiety and depression. Its success was the precursor to the new Child and Family Hubs, with the first opened in Mulgrave whilst Stuart was Mayor in 2022. Centres have since opened in Oakleigh South, Pinewood and Mt Waverley.
Stuart has also focused heavily on building and upgrading playgrounds. This has included a brand new park in Samada Street, Notting Hill, along with redevelopments at Galbally Reserve, Melissa Street, Evelyn Street, Catherine Avenue and Davies Reserve during his first term on Council.
In 2018, Council revisited a long-standing plan to revitalise the precinct on both sides of Oakleigh Station. The project was put on hold during the pandemic; however, planning has since resumed, with Stuart aiming to see the south side completed during the 2024–2028 Council term.
Precinct plans for Clayton and Huntingdale were recently completed following Stuart’s budget bids, and he is keen to progress these to the implementation stage.
Stuart is a proud local resident and believes Monash is the perfect place to raise his young family. He believes that community consultation and working closely with residents is the best way to ensure Monash remains the best place to work, live and play, and encourages people to get in touch with ideas, feedback or concerns.
Background
Stuart’s grandparents on his mother’s side both came from working class families that worked on the railways. Following service in Borneo in WW2 his grandfather completed a university degree at WA university while working for Commercial Union Insurance Company. In 1953 he was offered a promotion to work in Melbourne and eventually rose to the position of CFO. On his father’s side, Stuart’s grandfather was the youngest of 14 children and came to Australia alone on a boat at the age of 15 initially working as an apprentice in shoe manufacturing and after enduring unemployment during the Great Depression spending the remainder of his working life with the Melbourne Tramways Board. Stuart’s grandmother left school at 14 and worked in sandwich shops. Lifelong residents of working-class Preston, they dedicated and spent their entire lives working hard to provide a better opportunity for their children. Despite limited access to quality education, Stuart’s father won State Government scholarships in years eight and ten at secondary school and a Commonwealth scholarship to University. This enabled his father to achieve his full potential in the corporate world, rising to the position of second in charge of the economics department at one of Australia’s top four banks.
The combination of educational opportunity for all and hard work as exhibited by both sides of Stuart’s family have been guiding principles for his own life, and his values and beliefs have been shaped by this family history. He has a deep sense of family commitment and hard work and has a great admiration and respect for those who have come from less fortunate backgrounds. He understands that what makes and sustains Australia as a great country is that it provides equal opportunity to all residents, regardless of their economic, political, or religious status.
Stuart completed his VCE at Carey Baptist Grammar School, holds a Bachelor of Information Management from Monash University, and has worked in the IT industry for almost 20 years. He is a success-oriented IT and cybersecurity leader with broad industry experience, having held senior roles across national organisations and delivering secure, resilient technology outcomes.
In his current role, Stuart works for a large international group that owns thousands of businesses globally and generates approximately $10 billion in annual turnover. He supports operations across eight countries throughout Australia, New Zealand and Southeast Asia, with a strong focus on cybersecurity, risk management and enterprise technology governance. Stuart manages more than 100 corporate networks Australia-wide and has deep expertise in the network infrastructure critical to business continuity. He also brings extensive knowledge across programming languages and databases, and has developed leading-edge software solutions for both corporate and community use.
Interests
Those who know Stuart well describe him as a passionate sports fan. He is a member of the Melbourne Cricket Club, the Melbourne Football Club, the Melbourne Racing Club and the Melbourne Storm. He served seven years as President of the Eastern Districts Pool League and has been President of the South Eastern Districts Pool League since 2004. He is also the co-founder of the Village Green Pool Club in Notting Hill and has served as its President, Vice President and Secretary.
Stuart is also passionate about the arts, particularly theatre. He spent many years operating lighting desks in theatrical productions and studied theatre during his IT degree. He continues to attend senior school musicals, local theatre productions, and Melbourne Theatre Company productions throughout the year.
Committees
Stuart is or has been a member of the following Committees and Boards:
* Eastern Innovation Business Centre – Board Member
* Monash Awards
* Monash Gallery of Art Management – Board Member
* Gender Equity Committee
* Environmental Advisory Committee
* Monash Oakleigh Activity Centre Steering
* Eastern Transport Coalition (Chair)
* Public Transport Users Association Committee
* Junior Advisory Group
* CEO Performance Review
* Metropolitan Transport Forum Executive
* MAV Transport & Infrastructure Committee
