Chrissie, Indigenous Regional Practice Leader

Chrissie is a proud Gamilaroi and Ngarabal woman who has lived and worked on Butchulla country (the Fraser Coast) for most of her life. After joining the department in 2013 as a Child Safety Officer, Chrissie seized every chance to challenge herself. As Indigenous Regional Practice Leader, she’s now playing a key role in ensuring better outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families.

When Chrissie thinks back on her childhood, it inevitably brings a smile to her face. Almost every weekend when she was growing up, Chrissie’s family would head out camping in the beautiful bushland west of Goondiwindi. After a day’s fishing for yellowbelly, the entire family would snuggle into their swags around a crackling campfire.

What Chrissie remembers from that time more than anything, though, is the joy of spending time with her mum and dad.

My parents experienced a lot of racism and discrimination in the town we grew up in. It wasn’t easy, but Dad always said, ‘You kids come first and foremost.’ They showed us warmth, strength and resilience. I feel very privileged to have that childhood. My heart goes out to the kids who don’t get to experience that, Chrissie says.

As a high school student, however, a career helping less privileged children wasn’t something Chrissie considered. It was only when she accepted a role at her children’s primary school and got to know many of the school’s families that something changed for the mother of two.

I just thought, ‘Oh my goodness, my family and I are so lucky! So many people out there are not in a good way. They’ve been through trauma, they’ve lost their children. Then, I’d look at my children and think, ‘I’d like to be able to help in some way.’

The final motivation Chrissie needed came from an unexpected source: the school principal, who encouraged Chrissie to enrol in a social work degree.

He said, ‘why don’t you try to get a job in child protection?’ And that was that! Chrissie laughs.

Learning not to sweat the small stuff

When Chrissie first became a Child Safety Officer, it took her a bit of time to find her feet. Looking back on those early days, Chrissie remembers thinking, “What have I gotten myself into?!"

The role was more challenging than Chrissie had anticipated and the responsibilities felt huge. However, Chrissie soon realised:

At the end of the day, if you just sit still and take a deep breath, the big picture forms in front of you again and you think, ‘This is why I’m doing this.’

Once Chrissie could see the big picture, she could focus on the child or siblings represented by the case file in front of her. She could ask herself: What is going on for this child, including mum and dad and what do they need to address?

Then I’d be off and running - let’s get mum and dad working on XYZ so the children can come home because that’s where they want to be. Then, you’d see things would start happening, and that would just put a fire in your belly. Yes, it might be one drop in the ocean, but to those kids, it’s everything.

Chrissie says working within a supportive team also helped her maintain her belief in her ability.

Sure, there were times early on when I thought, ‘I don’t know if I can do this.’ But I had amazing senior team leaders, senior practitioners and managers. They gave me really good advice and support. They had my back.

Chrissie soon built strong connections within her community and started to see the broader impact of her work.

This role, it’s challenging, but the rewards outweigh that. When you see children connected to their family, living in community or on country, connected to their culture, which really strengthens their identity, that makes my job worthwhile. They can then grow up to be healthy young adults and forge
their own lives.

Building an incredible skill set

Three years after joining us as a Child Safety Officer, Chrissie participated in “Yarn and Grow”, a mentoring program for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff. This experience was a turning point in thinking bigger about her career.

My Yarn and Grow mentor asked me what I’d like to achieve at the department. I said, ‘One day, I'd like to be the Aboriginal Regional Practice Leader.’ My mentor went, ‘Rightio,’ found the job description and went through it with me. We worked out what skills and abilities I needed to strengthen so
I could one day apply for the job.

After that conversation, Chrissie seized every opportunity to learn and in 2021, she achieved her goal of becoming an Indigenous Regional Practice Leader.

The role involves influencing and informing strong cultural practices across Chrissie’s region to ensure Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children’s interaction with the department is culturally appropriate and best supports their wellbeing.

Chrissie needs to cover a vast area - it’s a big job but it’s seen her play a key role in a milestone pilot project, Delegated Authority (DA). This new way of working puts the voices of children and families at the centre of decision making and means Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
families could have the choice to be supported by, and decisions made with an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander organisation. This ensures children and young people are supported to stay connected to their family, community and culture. Chrissie says she can already see how DA is making a positive
impact.

Our region has been brave for taking on the pilot. It’ll help our children grow up strong and proud. I feel I’ve planted seeds within my practice to positively change the storylines for our young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families. It brings me a sense of fulfilment.

Since Chrissie shared her story above, she’s been promoted to the first ever Identified Director position within the department.

We asked her for her thoughts:

As the Director of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Development I have strong oversight of several teams working towards addressing and eliminating the disproportionate representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in statutory care. I am over the moon!