For those who are regularly in contact with our office or see our work, you’ll soon notice two new faces that have started with the Office of the Guardian.
In the 2024-25 budget, we received additional funding to ensure our individual and systemic advocacy continues to be provided and responds to the increased complexity of advocacy requests.
The Guardian utilised this funding to support seven ongoing positions that would achieve this goal.
More recently, two new roles, Director for Operational Oversight and Youth Engagement Coordinator, were advertised at the end of 2024.
Our Director for Operational Oversight will support the oversight of all operational matters related to our advocacy teams who visit and take calls from children and young people under guardianship or in youth detention.
The Youth Engagement Coordinator will work within our policy team to ensure successful, ethical and appropriate engagement with children and young people who have experienced living in the out-of-home care and youth detention.
The role will help us grow and diversify engagement mechanisms so that we can express the views of children with lived experience to shape systems reform.
Both new staff members start with the office in February.
Sue Macdonald has been appointed Director for Operational Oversight.
Sue comes to us from DCP where she was the Executive Director, Service Delivery and Practice.
She has a long history working across the child protection and out-of-home care sector and is also a member of the SA Parole Board.
She brings invaluable skills and knowledge not only from her time at DCP, but also from the roles she held at the SALHN Child Protection Service where she delivered clinical assessment and therapeutic services for children who had been exposed to trauma.
She hopes to continue her passion for ensuring children’s voices are the loudest and strongest in the room.
Tom Clements will become our Youth Engagement Coordination.
He brings a wealth of experience leading youth development, engagement, and wellbeing programs, in Australia and internationally.
For the past 10 years, he has worked as Academy Director for the Clontarf Foundation across multiple schools in the Northern Territory and New South Wales where he ran wellbeing, leadership and educational programs to improve outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people.
Tom has a strong focus on centreing young people in decision-making processes, and creating space for lived experience to drive impactful change.
We are tremendously excited for Sue and Tom to begin working with our team as we continue promoting and advocating for the rights and best interests of children and young people in care in South Australia.