Star Mail: ECLC’s Michael Smith appointed to Respect Victoria board
Comments Off on Star Mail: ECLC’s Michael Smith appointed to Respect Victoria boardUpper Yarra Star Mail 10/07/2026
By Callum Ludwig
There will be eastern expertise on the new board of Respect Victoria following the appointment of Michael Smith.
Mr Smith is the chief executive of Eastern Community Legal Centre (ECLC) and brings his wealth of experience to the agency, which sets out to prevent family violence and violence against women in Victoria.
Mr Smith said it’s a real honour and a privilege.
“My work at Eastern Community Legal Centre, but in other organisations over many years, has very much been about both responding to family violence and preventing family violence,” he said.
“We’re very lucky to have Respect Victoria as an organisation set up by the government to really prevent family violence before it occurs, and they’ve been doing excellent work for a number of years.
“I’m really keen to support the important work they’re doing and to get that real statewide picture about how we can prevent family violence and make a much safer Victoria.”
Mr Smith is one of four new members on the board while after four years on the board, the chief executive of Women’s Legal Service Victoria Claudia Fatone has been appointed the chair for a three-year term.
Mr Smith said despite how things have improved historically, there’s still far too many people experiencing family violence.
“We know that Victoria as a state, in terms of the systems and the funding and the approach, is doing much, much better in responding to family violence than we’re used to, we know the police response is much improved, we know we’ve got some great programs and we’ve got some things that are doing much better,” he said.
“But the levels of family violence against women and children in particular are still much too high, there are sadly women being killed every week in relation to family violence and we had another one this week in the east, which is incredibly sad.
“We need to keep improving, we need to keep redoubling our efforts to prevent family violence, to intervene early and to respond… there have been great steps forward since the Royal Commission in Victoria, but there’s much more work to do as well.”
Resident of Boroondara, Whitehorse, Manningham, Knox, Maroondah and the Yarra Ranges can seek free legal advice from ECLC at their offices in Healesville or Box Hill, as well as at outreach locations.
Mr Smith said Eastern Community Legal Centre has been working in the family violence area for over 50 years.
“We know that from conversations with people who started the organisation back then and a majority of our work relates to family violence, so we’re supporting women and children and broader community members every day responding to family violence,” he said.
“But we know that you can’t just keep responding, you have to find ways to prevent family violence before it occurs and to intervene early so we’ve been pretty active in local primary prevention programs that prevent family violence before it occurs.
“We’re an active member of the Together for Equality and Respect partnership, which includes lots of the local councils across the east and other organisations that are looking to prevent violence, so we’ve been doing that work locally and regionally.”
The new board members commenced their terms on Tuesday 7 July 2026, replacing outgoing chair and inaugural board member Professor Kate Fitz-Gibbon, Maxine McKew AM and Professor Steven Roberts.
Respect Victoria Chief Executive Officer Helen Bolton thanked outgoing Board members for their exceptional contribution and welcomed both returning and new directors.
“Their combined expertise, experience and commitment to prevention will be invaluable as Respect Victoria continues to provide evidence-informed leadership and work alongside government, communities and partners to create lasting change,” she said.
Minister for Prevention of Family Violence Melissa Horne said family violence continues to have devastating impacts throughout the community – the work of Respect Victoria is more important than ever.
“The diverse skills and backgrounds of the new Board members place them in a strong position to continue Respect Victoria’s critical work,” she said.
“I thank the outgoing Chair and Board members for their outstanding service and leadership during their tenure.”
You can read the original Star Mail article here.