Our CEO

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Adjunct Professor Muriel Bamblett Hon DLitt SW AO

Muriel Bamblett is a Yorta Yorta and Dja Dja Wurrung woman who has been our CEO since 1999. Muriel is also Chairperson of SNAICC, the peak body representing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child and family services nationally.

Muriel is currently active in over 30 advisory groups concerning the Aboriginal community, including the Aboriginal Treaty Working Group; Aboriginal Family Violence Steering Committee; Victorian Children's Council; Aboriginal Justice Forum; and the Aboriginal Community Elders Service, to name just a few. Muriel was heavily involved in the Northern Territory Child Protection Inquiry from 2009-11.

Under Muriel’s leadership, VACCA has grown exponentially, 51% of all staff are Aboriginal and VACCA is the leading organisation of its type in Australia.

"I am proud of our staff, they hear the worst stories, but bring about amazing results…we’ve got young people who are now in university, we used to see our kids going into juvenile justice, chroming, suicide, but now those numbers are so small."

A spirited and intellectual force for change, Muriel is driven by the desire to give children in out-of-home care ‘a connection to culture - they have their Aboriginality, they have a genealogy, and they feel a connection to land. 

Muriel has been the recipient of a number of awards, including the Order of Australia; Centenary of Federation Medal; Robin Clark Memorial Award for Inspirational Leadership in the Field of Child and Family Welfare; Women’s Electoral Lobby Inaugural Vida Goldstein Award; and Victorian Honour Roll of Women. In 2009, she was made an Adjunct Professor in the School of Social Work and Social Policy La Trobe University. In 2017 Muriel was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Letters in Social Work by the University of Sydney in recognition of her outstanding contribution to Aboriginal child and family welfare.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that this website may contain images, voices or names of deceased persons in photographs, film, audio recordings or printed material. To listen to our Acknowledgement of Country, click here.