The following is an extended version of my resume. Click the links below to be taken directly to a section, or just scroll through and read.

Senior Adviser – Minister for Precincts and Development Victoria

Speaker's Adviser - Parliament of Victoria

Electorate Officer - Office of Hon Colin Brooks MP

Paralegal - Slater & Gordon

Board Member - Concern Australia

Senior Adviser – Minister for Precincts and Development Victoria

January 2024 – April 2024

My time working as a Ministerial Adviser, although brief, was filled with activity. The role of an adviser working in a Minister's private office is to act as a conduit for the Minister between the departments the Minister is responsible for and the numerous stakeholders in both government and private industry.

A large amount of time is spent ensuring that material being prepared for the Minister is in line with the Minister's directions and broader government policies and commitments. Next to this is the time spent meeting with stakeholders, taking feedback on government initiatives and looking for opportunities to partner with stakeholders in delivering better outcomes for the Victorian community.

Key responsibilities:

• Provision of strategic policy advice to the Minister on the

• Preparation of briefs on complex issues for Ministerial consideration and decision-making.

• Drafting correspondence and responses to Parliamentary Questions.

• Engaging with key stakeholders in the business and community sector - especially in the building and construction industry.

Speaker's Adviser - Parliament of Victoria

September 2018 – December 2023

For most people who give a cursory glance to the evening news as the days political coverage begins, the Speaker is the frustrated person sitting at the head of the parliament's chamber during Question Time, trying to maintain order as Members of Parliament yell across the chamber, engaging in some sort of verbal sparring match.

What most people will never see is that the role of the Speaker actually carries a wide range of administrative duties outside of the chamber. Many of these duties are similar to those of a government minister. In Victoria, the Speaker is responsible for the Department of the Legislative Assembly and jointly responsible with the President (like the Speaker, but in the Upper House) for the Department of Parliamentary Services and the employment of over 800 electorate officers. The Speaker additionally has a range of statutory responsibilities (such as swearing-in various office holders across the Victorian public sector).

As the Speaker's Adviser, I led the operations of the Speaker’s Office at the Victorian Parliament through the provision of advice and executive support covering the vast range of the Speaker’s parliamentary and statutory duties. This role was incredibly wide ranging, and particularly during the COVID shutdowns required me to grow and develop in areas not originally envisaged for this role.

Key Responsibilities

• Managing the Speaker’s office on a day-today basis. This would include processing a high volume of correspondence, briefs, public enquires, invitations and managing the Speaker's diary.

• Providing strategic advice to the Speaker regarding the Speaker’s parliamentary and statutory responsibilities. This could range on deciding on controversies and complex questions arising out of the course of debate in the chamber, requiring the Speaker to adjudicate and issue rulings. This could also extend to advising on

• Built strong relationships and influence with a diverse range of stakeholders including Members of Parliament, Ministers, political advisers, Department Heads and senior management.

• Preparation of briefs to the Speaker on a range of issues.

• Research and preparation of reports on issues/topics of interest at the request of the Speaker.

• Providing secretariat support to the Parliament’s Audit Committee. This included setting agendas, taking minutes, following up action items, and organising recruitment and onboarding of new committee members.

• Assisting the Speaker with decision making on complex and highly sensitive matters.

• Coordinating responses to media inquiries.

• Organising domestic and overseas travel for the Speaker, including notification or relevant diplomatic agencies.

• On behalf of the Speaker, welcoming international and domestic delegations from other parliaments and jurisdictions to visit the Parliament of Victoria. This would include ensuring the Speaker was fully briefed before meeting with delegations, and following up on any matters raised with the Speaker.

Achievements

• I was tasked with overseeing the development of an Australian-first policy for handling of workplace complaints covering Members of Parliament. This involved convening a cross party working group of MPs and working with legal experts to craft a policy proposal to submit to government. At its core, this proposal sought to introduce a way for people working with MPs to safely complain about workplace misconduct by MPs, and have that complaint dealt with by an independent party (previously such matters would be dealt with in opaque ways and ultimately would be handled by other MPs) This proposal was subsequently adopted the Victorian Government and enacted into legislation as the Parliamentary Workplace Standards and Integrity Act 2024.

• Through my time in this role, one of my side projects was to review the various legislation governing the Victorian Parliament's functions, including the Parliamentary Precincts Act 2001, the Parliamentary Committees Act 2003 and the Parliamentary Administration Act 2005. This resulted in a number of proposals for legislative reform, largely to update and modernise these laws to streamline Parliament's processes. The proposals had received in-principal support by the Victorian Government.

• I helped to implement various changes to governance arrangements, including implementing different reporting mechanisms to the Speaker and President, and changes to the composition and function of the Parliament's Audit Committee.

Electorate Officer - Office of Hon Colin Brooks MP

Sep 2009 - Sep 2018

What is an electorate officer? It's likely a job title you've not heard before. Different jurisdictions have different names for these people, but essentially they are the people who work for our elected parliamentary representatives (both state and federal). The precise roles of electorate officers can vary greatly, depending on the needs of a particular Member of Parliament and their community. However, I once heard MP's offices described as 'shopfronts for democracy'. And that's a pretty good description for them and for the role of electorate officers - they help make democracy real for people. This role acts as a conduit between the elected MP and the people who make up their electorate (constituents).

As an electorate officer, you are often the first point of contact for someone wishing to raise a matter with the MP. Your duty is to accurately represent the attitudes and perspectives of the MP to those in their community. A lot of time is spent advocating for people who need assistance with navigating their way through government - whether it's getting financial assistance, helping to resolve a dispute, having a cracked footpath fixed, or even advocating for policy and legislative changes. People will often contact their MP as a first resort; looking for advice on how to handle a matter, or as a last resort; having tried but been unsuccessful in resolving an issue. So, having good working relationships across a range of local, state and federal departments, and knowing how to leverage those relationships, is often key to helping achieve results for those who contact the office needing assistance.

Another big aspect of the role is communicating with the MP's electorate. This could be to receive feedback on government performance, to raise awareness of government initiatives, or just to highlight matters of importance in the local community. This involves using a wide range of communication strategies - including social media, letterbox drops, direct mail, media statements, phone calling and, on occasion, doorknocking.

Responsibilities

During my time as an electorate officer, I did a bit of everything. But here are some of the key responsibilities I had:

• General office management duties including processing invoices, upkeep and maintenance of office equipment, ensuring adequate supplies of office consumables, assisting with delegation of tasks to staff and volunteers.

• Processing of large volumes of correspondence (including emails, letters and messages through social media pages).

• Drafting correspondence for signature by the MP on a wide range of matters, ensuring accuracy and attention to detail.

• Facilitating access to government information. Where necessary I would seek government information through Freedom of Information processes, including appealing agency decisions where necessary and appearance at the VCAT where required.

• Development and implementation of communications strategies and producing communication material including media engagement, and distribution of digital and printed communication material.

• I was responsible for production of a monthly newsletter which would be sent to the entire electorate (approximately 26,000 households), including writing, editing, graphical design, and organising printing and postage.

• I would be tasked with conducting research and analysis of a range of issues. For example, researching upcoming legislation for debate in Parliament - including the impact on the local electorate and the attitudes and opinions of the electorate on particular legislative reform.

• Developing proposals for legislative change or policy reform, including drafting up discussion papers, policy statements.

• Case management for people who would contact the office requiring assistance. From the first point of contact to the last, and providing them with updates along the way as resolution of their issue progressed. Depending on the complexity of the matter, this could take days, weeks or in some cases months or years. a key part of this process would be to manage the expectations of people so they would know what to expect.

• Where required, some issues would need to be escalated and handled directly by the MP. I would need to ensure the MP was properly briefed on the issue and suggested approaches for next steps.

• Developing and maintaining strong relationships with key stakeholders including community groups, government departments, other MP offices and ministerial staff.

Achievements

There are a few things which stand out as achievements during my time here:

• I assisted in developing policy reform proposals to assist children with dyslexia and autism within the Victorian education system - including recognition of dyslexia as a condition capable of receiving government support.

• I spearheaded a campaign to win public support for the redevelopment of a local secondary college which had fallen into a state of disrepair. This campaign was successful and ultimately resulted in a government commitment to completely rebuild the school.

Paralegal - Slater & Gordon

July 2012 - February 2014

In this role I provided paralegal support in Slater & Gordon’s commercial litigation department, where I worked primarily on shareholder class actions.

Responsibilities

During my time as an electorate officer, I did a bit of everything. But here are some of the key responsibilities I had:

• Data analysis and verification of large quantities of shareholder transactions.

• Liaising and clients and responding to client enquires.

• Assisting with preparation for court trials.

Achievements

Whilst I only played a small role as a paralegal, I was privileged to work on a number of high-profile cases, including:

• Centro class action.

• General Property Trust (GPT) class action, where I was the lead paralegal.

• Margaret River bushfires class action (preparatory work).

• Billabong class action (preparatory work).

Board Member - Concern Australia

January 2012 – October 2017

Concern Australia works with vulnerable young people and children, aged 5-25 years, creating opportunities for them to enjoy full and meaningful lives. I was proud to have served time on the Board here and had the opportunity to help shape and grow the ways in which we were able to impact the lives of those young people and children who came into contact with our services.

Key Responsibilities

• General duties of board member (governance, compliance, risk management), including monthly board meetings and a range of other leadership and networking opportunities.

• Serving on a range of subcommittees.

• I served one year as Secretary and two years as Chair.

Achievements

• As I became Chair, our existing 5 year strategic plan was coming to an end. I oversaw an organisational review and development of new strategic plan.

• As Chair I had to oversee the recruitment of, and transition to, a new Chief Executive Officer.

• As Chair, with the endorsement of the Board, I implemented significant cost reduction measures as well as sourcing new areas of funding to solidify the organisation's financial stability.

• During my time, particularly as Chair, I helped to re-engage with key donors and supporters to continue supporting our programs.

• My time on the Board was marked with a number of updates and revisions to organisational policies which had not been reviewed in a number of years. I helped advocate for a number of internal and external audits to ensure our organisation was operating to the highest standards.