 In November 2016, Garrett announced on a Facebook post that she had recently undergone a successful operation for breast cancer, and would be taking four months of leave from parliament for treatment and recovery.On 27 September 2017, Garrett announced she would not contest Brunswick at the next state election, and would seek preselection for the Victorian Legislative Council seat of Western Metropolitan Region.Her preselection bid was unsuccessful, with Labor's left faction backing Ingrid Stitt, branch secretary of the Australian Services Union.