Our CEO

Adjunct Professor Muriel Bamblett Hon DLitt SW AO

Muriel Bamblett is a Yorta Yorta, Dja Dja Wurrung, Taungurung, Boon Wurrung Elder and has led VACCA as 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. Today, VACCA employs more than 1,000 people, and is one of the largest employers of Aboriginal people in the state.

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

Muriel’s work has been recognised with many awards, including the Order of Australia; NAIDOC Person of the Year; 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, Muriel was made an Adjunct Professor in the School of Social Work and Social Policy La Trobe University. In 2017, she 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.