Burnley, Victoria, Australia
Michael Perusco has been a leader in the community and government sectors for over two decades. Michael started his career with KPMG and Arthur Andersen and qualified as a Chartered Accountant. Following a career in business he transitioned to the community sector. Over a 22 year period he has held CEO positions with Sacred Heart Mission, St Vincent de Paul Society NSW, Unison Housing and Berry Street Victoria. In these roles he was responsible for the delivery of services in the areas of housing and homelessness, out of home care, disability, aged care, health, education, family violence and mental health. He also worked at the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet where he was responsible for the social inclusion unit, not for profit reform and service delivery reform. Michael is an experienced non-executive director having served on a range of boards including the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Catholic Social Services Victoria, NSW Council of Social Services, Community Housing Federation of Victoria and the Council to Homeless Persons. He has also served on various government advisory boards including the NSW Premiers Council on Homelessness, Victorian Government Family Violence Housing Assistance Taskforce, Victorian Government Ministerial Advisory Committee on Homelessness and the Aboriginal Childrens Forum. In recognition of Michael’s commitment and determination to address homelessness in Victoria, he was a finalist in the 2010 Victorian Australian of the Year awards.
National Disability Services (NDS) is Australia’s peak body for disability service organisations, and Australia’s biggest and most diverse network of disability service providers. Our valued members collectively operate several thousand services for more than 300,000 Australians with disability and employ a workforce of more than 100,000 people. NDS is committed to a sustainable and diverse disability service sector, underpinned by the provision of high-quality, evidence-based practices and supports that strengthen, safeguard and provide greater choice for people with disability in Australia.
Berry Street is one of Australia’s largest independent child and family service organisations and has been operating since 1877. It has over 1,500 dedicated staff and 600 volunteers. Berry Street exists to help those experiencing poverty, violence and abuse, and to help families stay together in safe and healthy homes so they can create the future they imagine for themselves. Berry Streets services cover five key areas: 1. Providing safe homes: sometimes it isn’t safe for children to stay with their families. We provide homes for children including foster, kinship and residential care. 2. Addressing Family Violence: we want to make sure that every person experiencing family violence can access support and safety. Through programs like Restoring Childhood, we help children and their caregivers make sense of the trauma they have experienced, so they can recover and feel safe again. 3. Healing Trauma: with the right help and support, children can recover from trauma and lead healthy, happy lives. The evidence-based, world-leading services provided by our Take Two program engage all the people and systems around a child to support their recovery. 4. Trauma-informed Education: our education programs, including the Berry Street School, help children achieve their full potential, particularly those with complex, unmet learning needs. In addition, the Berry Street Education Model is training teachers in trauma-informed, strengths-based education, providing a sense of safety and connection to improve wellbeing and academic outcomes for all students. 5. Proactive Care for Families and Communities: helping children and families at an earlier stage can create safe homes and connected communities, helping generations of families lead happy, healthy lives. Where there is a risk of children or young people entering out-of-home care, we help keep families together safely through evidence-based family therapy programs like Multisystemic Therapy (MST).
The Roadmap Implementation Ministerial Advisory Group (RIMAG) was established to guide and advance the reform of the Victorian child and family services sector. RIMAG provides strategic leadership, direction and accountability across the sector.