Lalich was born in Egypt to refugee parents who had fled the war in Yugoslavia. His family migrated to Australia when he was three, and spent time in resettlement camps at Uranquinty and Bonegilla. They eventually settled in the Bonnyrigg area, where Lalich's father worked for the Department of the Postmaster-General and ran a farm. Lalich remained in the Bonnyrigg area, where he worked as an electrician for Prospect Electricity before his election to the City of Fairfield council as a Labor candidate in 1987. He was elected by his colleagues as mayor in 1993–94, and was a candidate for preselection for the seat of Cabramatta in 1994, losing to Reba Meagher. Lalich remained on council, was again elected mayor by his colleagues in 2002, and ran and won as the first popularly elected mayor of Fairfield in 2004. He was easily re-elected as mayor in late 2008, only weeks before his election to parliament in October 2008.
Election to parliament
In September 2008, Reba Meagher, the embattled state Health Minister, resigned from politics after it became clear that she would likely be dumped from Cabinet in a forthcoming ministerial reshuffle. This resulted in a by-election for her seat, and Lalich, who had lost a preselection vote to her in 1994, was immediately touted as her replacement, duly winning preselection. He faced a strong challenge in the usually safe seat due to an unpopular government and a strong Liberal candidate in Australian Broadcasting Corporation journalist Dai Le, but withstood a 20-point swing against Labor to hold the seat for the party. Lalich was sworn in as a member of the Legislative Assembly on 18 October, and appointed to the Public BodiesReview Committee on 30 October. He also vowed to continue as Fairfield mayor in addition to his parliamentary responsibilities.
Lalich was able to retain the seat of Cabramatta for the ALP at the March 2011 Election against Dai Le, who failed previously at the 2008 by-election. Controversy arose when leaflets were distributed during the campaign, stating Le supported her Liberal colleague Chris Spence, the Liberal candidate for The Entrance and former leader of Pauline HansonOne Nation. Both sides campaigned heavily in the local area, with the Liberal Party taking an unprecedented interest in Cabramatta.
