A job and a decent place to live and I’ll be ok

Homelessness in Australia is complex, often misunderstood and frequently misreported.

As a consequence, public policy responses to homelessness repeatedly miss the mark — ignoring the aspirations of those experiencing homelessness to simply be able to participate in the mainstream economic and social life of society.

Tony Nicholson has been a front line social worker and a senior executive in the social services sector for over 27 years with extensive experience in the leadership of diverse and complex community organisations.

He has a strong record in service development, innovation, research and policy as well as a compelling advocacy on behalf of those disadvantaged in our community.

Tony was the executive director of the Brotherhood of St Laurence for 13 years and is currently a non-executive director with Goodstart Early Learning.

He was chair of the Australian Government’s 2008 White Paper on Homelessness, chair of the Prime Minister’s Council on Homelessness and a deputy commissioner on the Victorian Government’s Royal Commission into Family Violence. In 2017, he was commissioned by the Victorian Government to develop a long-term strategy to reduce rough sleeping.

Tony is currently providing advice to the government on the decriminalisation of public drunkenness and is assisting in its response to the risks posed by COVID-19 to residents in Melbourne’s high rise public housing estates.