The party announced Ratnam had won preselection for the electorate of Wills on Friday, after she put her hand up in April.
"I'm honoured to have been preselected as the Greens candidate for Wills," Ms Ratnam told reporters in Coburg.
"I'd also like to announce that as a result of my candidacy I will be stepping down as leader of the Victorian greens."
Samantha Ratnam aims to wrestle Bob Hawke's old seat of Wills from Labor. (Erik Anderson/AAP PHOTOS)
The Victorian party room will meet on Tuesday to elect a new leadership team.
The Greens will conduct a preselection process to find a new leader in the coming months, after which Ms Ratnam will step down from her legislative council seat of Northern Metropolitan.
The seat of Wills, previously held by former Labor prime minister Bob Hawke, is now held by Peter Khalil by a margin of roughly 8.6 per cent, after the Labor MP suffered a five per cent swing against him at the 2022 federal election. The Greens gained two per cent.
Federal Greens leader Adam Bandt took aim at Wills' Labor incumbent, as he welcomed Ms Ratnam's federal tilt.
Adam Bandt has confirmed the Greens are gunning for the Labor seat of Wills at the next election. (Erik Anderson/AAP PHOTOS)
"People of Wills deserve better than a property investor politician who backs unlimited rent increases and opening new coal and gas mines," he said.
"Samantha has represented our community as a local mayor, and in government as leader of the Victorian Greens for over a decade."
The federal election is expected to be held on or before September 27 next year.
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