The Hon Dr Kay Patterson AO

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Appointed Age Discrimination Commissioner in July 2016, Dr Patterson is highly qualified for the role. Teaching psychology to health science students in the 1970’s, she developed an interest in gerontology and expanded the undergraduate programs in human development to include the study of ageing and co-developed the first Post-Grad Diploma in Gerontology in Victoria. Elected to the Senate in 1987 she pursued throughout her parliamentary career, both as a back bencher and Cabinet Minister, issues affecting older Australians. Older workers, elder abuse and homelessness are her priorities in her current role. Dr Patterson has served on a number of not-for-profit boards, is an Honorary Fellow at Monash University, and was appointed an officer of the Order of Australia in 2016.

Wominjeka (Welcome). We acknowledge the Yaluk-ut Weelam as the traditional custodians of the land on which we meet. Yaluk-ut Weelam means ‘people of the river camp’ and is connected with the coastal land at the head of Port Phillip Bay, extending from the Werribee River to Mordialloc. The Yaluk-ut Weelam are part of the Boon Wurrung, one of the five major language groups of the greater Kulin Nation. We pay our respects to the land, their ancestors and their elders—past, present and to the future.