Our advisory groups
We are committed to engaging with duty holders, service users and stakeholders to support the safe delivery of social services.
We have established four groups that provide us with targeted advice and perspectives to support our regulation:
- Social Services Regulator Consultative Committee
- Service Provider Reference Group
- First Nations Reference Group
- Lived Experience Reference Group
The groups meet quarterly and are vital for informing our work across the social services sector and child safety schemes.
Social Services Regulator Consultative Committee
The Consultative Committee brings together representatives from peak bodies to contribute to discussions at a systems level and is a key consultation mechanism across all the sectors we regulate.
The committee is independently chaired by Adjunct Professor Susan Pascoe AM and brings together key organisations including Safe and Equal, Sexual Assault Services Victoria (SASVic), National Disability Services, Council to Homeless Persons, Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare, Office of the Public Advocate, the Victorian Council of Social Service (VCOSS) and the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing (DFFH).
Service Provider Reference Group
The Service Provider Reference Group brings together representatives from a diverse range service providers of different sizes across metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria.
The group ensures all aspects of our work are informed by feedback from those in-scope of the schemes we regulate. This might include seeking feedback on the SSR’s education materials and activities as well as priority areas that service providers need further guidance on.
The group is co-chaired by Marianne Watson, Executive Director Practice and Performance, Anglicare Victoria, and Richard Marks, SSR’s Director, Social Services Regulation.
First Nations Reference Group
The First Nations Reference Group meets to discuss the regulation of Aboriginal cultural safety, which is a core part of all the schemes we regulate.
The group provides advice that incorporates the critical perspectives of First Nations people, on:
- our approach to regulating Aboriginal cultural safety, including in Aboriginal Controlled Community Organisations (ACCOs)
- the operation, impacts and effectiveness of the social services regulation scheme
- our communications and education activities
- the development of guidelines for regulating Aboriginal cultural safety across all social services providers.
The group is co-chaired by Pauline Ugle – SEWB & Healthy Aging Manager, Murray Valley Aboriginal Cooperative, and Alice Cashen, SSR’s Director, Child Safeguarding.
Lived Experience Reference Group
The Lived Experience Reference Group provides us with the perspectives of people who have a personal lived experience of using services in-scope of our regulatory schemes, or their carers, family and kin.
The group’s role is to:
- represent and reflect the perspectives of lived experience
- provide feedback and input about the implementation, operation, impacts and effectiveness of our regulatory schemes.
- consider and provide advice on our communications and education activities.
The group is co-chaired by Tricia Malowney OAM CF, a person with disability and human rights advocate, and Bella Stagoll, SSR’s Executive Director, Safeguarding and Regulation.
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