Ms Naomi Colville, IAC Independent Advisor

Naomi Colville is a recognised descendant of the Trawoolaway from the Pyemmairrener language group on Tebrakunna Country, Palawa (Tasmania) and is working and living on the Gulidjan lands of the Eastern Maar Nation, and Wuthurang lands (Victoria). She is a member of the Melaythenner Teeackana Warrana Aboriginal Corporation and an alumnus of ECHO Indigenous Women’s Leadership Program. 

Naomi is a passionate advocate for children and youth living with disability, and the complexities of service provision from a regional and rural perspective. Her children live with a range of disabilities and are NDIS participants. The knowledge she has accrued over many years of therapy, medication management and all manner of early intervention has informed her views on the importance accessibility to holistic, family-centred and trauma-informed ‘wraparound’ services. 
 
With extensive governance experience – most recently serving as Chair of the Board of Directors for Victoria’s peak NGO for Permanent Care and Adoptive Families – Naomi is the current President of the School Council for the new Lake Colac School. She was a member of the NDIS Participant Reference Group and has represented the interests of rural children as part of the Consultative Committee for the Barwon Regional Women’s and Children’s Hospital. She was formerly Senior Executive Officer for a regional statutory authority. 
 
Her most recent role was Operations Manager of a local community-based NDIS registered NFP, providing supported independent living and disability services, including children and youth services. She recently accepted a statutory appointment as Director on the Board of Colac Area Health and a Ministerial appointment to the federal Department of Social Services’ Parents and Carers Reference Group. 
 
Naomi’s family is engaged and active in many community activities, providing her with broad reach and advocacy for those who often face challenges in having their voice heard. She firmly believes that with compassion and consideration, those who can speak should for those who cannot.