About me
My background
Having worked as a Learning Designer at La Trobe, Melbourne and Swinburne universities from 2012 to 2022, I've always been passionate about enhancing learning, teaching, and research. As an open education practitioner, I’m dedicated to building an equitable tertiary education system.
When I was elected as Assistant Secretary (Professional Staff) in 2022, I channeled that passion into the fight for better working conditions in tertiary education. As a strong advocate for fair treatment, I've worked hard to improve conditions and support our members across the sector in Victoria.
From my experience across three universities I have a unique insight and hands-on experience of different institutional cultures, and working alongside a wide variety of colleagues, both professional and academic.
NTEU experience
I have been a member at three branches: La Trobe, Melbourne and Swinburne. As a branch committee representative at Melbourne and Swinburne branches, I advocated for the health and wellbeing of professional staff members, and fought to protect and improve working conditions through:
Leading Designated Work Group negotiations at Swinburne University
Campaigning to defeat the pandemic-era EA variation at Melbourne University
Leading the union’s response to MSPACE restructure
Coordinated the delegates network at Melbourne University.
I was elected to National Executive and Division Executive in 2021 and served as both National and Division Vice-President (Professional Staff), ensuring that professional staff voices were represented at all levels of our union.
My achievements
When I was elected into the Assistant Secretary role in 2022, our Victorian Division was behind the ball on bargaining and was lacking a strategic plan to win fair pay, secure jobs and safe workloads for our members. Since then, our team has implemented a winning strategy that has delivered amazing results:
Outstanding membership growth in Victoria
the highest membership growth in the country.Bargaining wins
secured new Enterprise Bargaining Agreements (EBAs) at five universities, enhancing working conditions across the sector.Empowered collective action
won pay increases between 3.43% and 4.25%.
I have also placed our mental health and the rights of women in our sector at the centre of my work.
Advocating for fair compensation
I played a key role in the Victorian Trades Hall campaign against the Victorian Government’s changes to WorkCover, which have slashed WorkCover compensation for psychological injuries. These changes mean that those whose mental health suffers under crippling workloads will not have access to worker’s compensation. At the Parliamentary Inquiry into the WorkCover Modernisation Bill I advocated for the needs of all workers – especially professional staff in higher education – to have access to a fair compensation system. Read the full transcript from the hearing of education unions.
These changes will unfairly affect women workers and the fight is not over yet. I will continue to work with unionists across Victoria to ensure workers have adequate protections against injuries from damaging workloads.
Amplifying
women's voices
I have continually elevated women’s voices in our union and campaigned on the issues that affect them at work. I revitalised our representation in the NTEU Women’s Action Committee (WAC), which for many years did not have a professional staff representative. By appointing two excellent women activists, Michelle Giovas and Verity Archer, to WAC, I have ensured that Victorian members have good representation on this important NTEU committee.
We know that sexual harassment is rife in the tertiary education sector, as revealed in the recent NTEU survey. This is why it’s vital that NTEU Victorian Division continues to campaign alongside our Trades Hall comrades to fight the use of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) in workplace sexual harassment cases – to help prevent additional harm caused by being silenced. I urge all members to join the campaign.
Advancing
‘third space’ staff
The fastest growing segment of workers in tertiary education are those staff working in ‘third space’ roles – those roles that have qualities of both academic and professional work but do not fit neatly within, and span across, both categories. These roles include curriculum design, library learning and teaching, education technology, academic/study support, research coordination, technicians, and many more.
I have been raising the profile and the unique issues faced by third space staff for many years in NTEU, and have established the Third Space Working Group so that we can organise these staff and fight for the recognition and respect that they deserve as the higher education sector continues to evolve.
My vision
Respect, safety, and making sure professional staff are acknowledged as essential to university and TAFE operations.
Respect for professional staff
Professional staff bear the brunt of staff cuts and constant restructuring. University and TAFE governance is broken, and the insights of on-the-ground experts – staff – are ignored.
If re-elected, I’ll ensure more professional staff are elected to influential positions on university and TAFE councils and NTEU governing bodies.
As a ‘third space’ professional for over a decade across La Trobe, Melbourne and Swinburne universities, I faced insecure employment and limited career progression. That’s why I set up the NTEU Third Space Working Group – to campaign for recognition and respect for staff involved in curriculum design, learning support, liaison librarians, and more.
Protecting mental health at work
Our mental health and wellbeing are under attack from crushing workloads caused by callous job cuts. If re-elected, I will establish a state-wide support network for staff Health and Safety Representatives (HSRs) and increase the number of NTEU members elected as HSRs, empowering them to use health and safety rights to combat damaging workloads.
Enhancing women’s voices
In addition to reviving Victoria’s participation in the NTEU Women’s Action Committee (WAC), I have elevated the profile of NTEU women members within the broader movement through the Victorian Trades Hall women’s committee. Together with other NTEU activists, I am campaigning for non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) to be banned in workplace sexual harassment cases.
