Thanks for being part of the Celebration!

• Event Videos
• Event Details
• Key Speaker Profiles
• Event Sponsors

Missed the celebration or want to relive the evening?

View the videos of the 2025 Volunteers and Partnerships Dinner below:

• Patron’s Address: The Hon Jennifer Coate AO
• Keynote Address: Ro Allen, Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commissioner
• CEO’s Address: Michael Smith
• Musical Storytelling: Ash Dargan
• Full event recording

ECLC hosted its annual Volunteers & Partnerships Dinner on Thursday, 15 May, at the Hawthorn Arts Centre Town Hall. This year’s event brought together almost 200 of the Centre’s volunteers, partners, and supporters from across the legal, community, health, and government sectors.

Aboriginal Elder Aunty Zeta Thomson provided a powerful Welcome to Country and Ash Dargan, enthralled with his musical storytelling that completed the perfect night of connection and inspiration .

The evening began with a Patron’s address from The Hon. Jennifer Coate AO, followed by the ECLC presentation and awards.

Ro Allen, Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commissioner gave an inspiring and entertaining keynote address. The Commissioner spoke about the importance of the Change and Suppression Practices Prohibition Act and why it is more important than ever for all Australians to band together to protect the LGBTIQA+  community, who are facing serious backlash and discrimination from the political climate overseas and in Australia.

The Centre took time to thank all its volunteers and partners who help make ECLC’s vital work within the community possible. Congratulations to Anna Chen for winning the Lifetime Achievement Award and to Breana Jackman for 10 loyal years of volunteer service. You can view the awards ceremony here.

A special feature this year included elder abuse victim survivor, Ray Baird, who bravely shared his story again. You can watch this recording here. If you’d like a recap on Ray’s story, you can also read the full story at The Guardian here or watch the Channel 10 news coverage here.

ECLC would like to thank our generous major sponsors of the dinner - Norton Rose Fulbright and Robinson Gill Lawyers and partner sponsor Hall & Wilcox for their ongoing support of the Centre and its mission.

More photos from the night are available on Facebook, LinkedIn (please do follow if you are not already).

Event Details

Rights Side Up

We are proud to embrace the theme 'Rights Side Up' for this year’s Volunteers and Partnerships Dinner.

Longstanding and gradually improving human rights are increasingly under threat, locally and globally. This negatively impacts communities in all their diversity and undermines safety and security for all.

As the Eastern CLC community, volunteers and partners work together for human rights, fairness and justice, how do we meet this challenge? Whose side are we on and what will we stand up for?

Key Speaker Profiles

Hosted by

The Hon. Jennifer Coate AO - ECLC Patron

The Hon Jennifer Coate has held a number of judicial appointments including Magistrate, Deputy Chief Magistrate, the inaugural President of the Children’s Court of Victoria, Judge of the County Court of Victoria, the first female State Coroner of Victoria, and Judge of the Family Court of Australia. She served for five years on the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, and in 2020 conducted an Inquiry into Hotel Quarantine in Victoria.

In January 2019, she was made an Officer of the Order of Australia. She was admitted as a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Law in May 2022, and was awarded Doctor of Laws (honoris causa) by Monash University in September 2023. Ms Coate is the Chair of the Victorian Victims of Crime Consultative Committee. She was appointed to the Victorian Law Reform Commission in June 2020 and reappointed for four years in July 2022. She served as Acting Chair of the VLRC from January 2024 to March 2025.

Welcome to Country

Aunty Zeta Thomson - Aboriginal Elder

Aunty Zeta Thomson is a descendant of the Yorta Yorta Nation through her mother and the Wurundjeri people through her father. She grew up in Shepparton and has strong links to her ancestral homelands. She has strong knowledge and understanding of her culture, which is profoundly influenced by her mother, father and grandmother.

She has had a long involvement in Aboriginal Affairs and especially around Justice working at the community level and she is currently the Deputy Chair of the Eastern Regional Aboriginal Justice Advisory Committee, member of the Women's Correctional Services Advisory Committee and an Independent Prison Visitor.

Keynote Address

Ro Allen - Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commissioner

As Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commissioner, Ro Allen works to uphold Victorians' rights, promote accountability and build a fairer, safer and more inclusive community. In their 25 years involved in community services, governance and social justice, Ro has served as inaugural Victorian Commissioner for LGBTIQA+ Communities where they worked to promote the safety and wellbeing of LGBTIQA+ Victorians, advocate for their rights, and provide strategic advice to the Victorian Government.

Ro has held a range of leadership roles, including chairing the Victorian Adult, Community and Further Education Board and Youth Affairs Council Victoria, and serving as Commissioner on the Victorian Skills Commission. As founding CEO of UnitingCare in Shepparton, Ro worked at grassroots level to develop and support Aboriginal self-determination, refugee settlement, and family violence and mental health initiatives, as well as emergency disaster responses.

Ro was inducted into the Victorian Government Honour Roll for Women in 2009, has a Centenary Medal for services for young people, is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and a member of the AICD Victorian Division Council.

Presentation

Ash Dargan - a Larrakia artist, storyteller, adventurer and educator

Ash Dargan is a Larrakia artist, storyteller, adventurer and educator from Darwin in the Top End. He is one of Australia’s most recorded Didgeridoo artists and has achieved worldwide acclaim for his unique style of storytelling and live musical performance since the 90’s.

Sponsorship

Eastern Community Legal Centre acknowledges the generous contribution and support from event Major Sponsors Norton Rose Fulbright and Robinson Gill Lawyers, and Partner Sponsor Hall & Wilcox.

Norton Rose Fulbright provides a full scope of legal services to the world’s preeminent corporations and financial institutions. The global law firm has more than 3,000 lawyers advising clients across more than 50 locations worldwide.

With its global business principles of quality, unity and integrity, Norton Rose Fulbright is recognized for its client service in key industries, including financial institutions; energy, infrastructure and resources; technology; transport; life sciences and healthcare; and consumer markets.

For over 40 years Robinson Gill Lawyers has provided expert legal advice and a full complement of support services across all major areas of legal practice.

We understand that every client’s case is different and has its own unique requirements. We promise to work with you to ensure a holistic client centred service that delivers results.

Our team of lawyers hold Law Institute of Victoria Specialist Accreditation in the areas of Family Law, Personal Injury Law, Business Law and Commercial Litigation.

We are a leading Australian law firm, delivering outstanding legal services to corporate, public sector and private clients, both Australian-based and those offshore doing business in Australia. Our purpose is to enable our clients, our people and our communities to thrive. Our success depends upon the success of our clients, our people, and the communities in which we live.

Our commitment to contributing to our communities is embedded in our firm culture. We deliver this through a range of areas, including our substantial pro bono work, community initiatives and partnerships, sustainable environmental and supply chain practices and our Emerging Artists Program.

This event is proudly supported by City of Boroondara.