BRETT SUTTON'S TIME AS VICTORIA'S TOP PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICIAL

* 2011 - joins Victorian Department of Health

* 2019 - appointed the state's chief health officer

* February 2020 - became one of the first government officials in the world to acknowledge the health crisis after tweeting that a pandemic was "very likely, if not inevitable"

* March 2020 - Premier Daniel Andrews declares first lockdown under advice from Professor Sutton and other health experts

* July 2020 - nine public housing towers in inner Melbourne locked down for up to 14 days to stop an outbreak under his team's advice.

The state government was later found to have breached the residents' human rights by not providing notice

* August 2020 - denies reports he planned to quit his post amid internal clashes with fellow health experts over public health orders

* September 2020 - apologised to Victoria's Afghan community, saying he inadvertently called out Afghanistan while discussing COVID-19 cases in southeast Melbourne

* October 2020 - critical of the state's bungled hotel quarantine program while giving evidence during an inquiry

* October 2020 - acknowledged failures within Victoria's contact tracing system during an appearance before a state parliamentary inquiry

* October 2021 - Melbourne's sixth and final lockdown ends on his advice after 262 days of stay-at-home orders

* November 2021 - tells an inquest into the deaths of 50 elderly residents at St Basil's aged care home during Victoria's second wave that his decision to stand down the entire workforce contributed to the fatalities

* December 2021 - his powers to make pandemic orders transferred to the health minister under controversial legislation

* July 2022 - denies he has been told by Victorian government not to speak with media amid waning public appearances and increasing COVID-19 cases during winter

* October 2022 - pandemic declaration ends along with all pandemic orders

* June 2023 - Prof Sutton resigns as chief health officer to take up a new role as director of health and biosecurity at CSIRO

REACTION

"On the one hand, it's helped me to grow personally and professionally, on the other hand it nearly crushed me and it certainly weighed upon my family life" - Prof Sutton

"As CHO, Brett helped keep us informed, and above all, safe ... thank you for your service, and all the very best for your next role" - Premier Daniel Andrews

"He's become a household name in relation to his trusted health advice for Victorians and more broadly as we underwent a one-in-100-year pandemic" - Emergency Services Minister Jaclyn Symes

"Professor Sutton has helped to develop a strong and responsive public health team, providing critical health information and advice on a wide variety of issues and emergencies over the years" - Department of Health secretary Euan Wallace

"Prof Sutton's public health decisions through the pandemic years, while not always popular, were always designed to protect the lives of all Victorians" - Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation state secretary Lisa Fitzpatrick