Families Minister Jenny Macklin on Sunday endorsed local branch member Ms Thomas for the seat, which will be vacated by long-standing member Martin Ferguson at the September federal election.
"Mary-Anne has more than 20 years' experience in the public, private and community sector. She and her family live in the electorate of Batman and have strong links to the local community," Ms Macklin said in a statement, before championing the benefits of nominating a women for the seat.
"I am very concerned that if a woman is not preselected for Batman, the ALP in Victoria will have only 27 per cent of candidates in held seats who are women.
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"This is well short of the 40 per cent required by the National Rules."
Labor-aligned lobby group co-convenor Hutch Hussein also has been named as a Labor option for the seat, ABC online reports.
The two women will face competition from Victorian Senator David Feeney who on Friday announced his nomination for the lower house seat.
On Saturday he avoided an intra-party contest with ACTU president Ged Kearney, who announced she would not be nominating for Labor preselection.
