Rhonda Galbally
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Rhonda Galbally AC has been a CEO, chair and board member for over thirty years, across business and the not for profit sector, the public sector and philanthropy. As a woman with a lifelong disability, Galbally first began focusing on disability rights and policy in the early 1980s while working as the senior policy officer for the Victorian Council for Social Services. Galbally next became the CEO of the Sidney Myer Fund and the
Myer Foundation The Myer Foundation is a major Australian philanthropic organisation. History The Sidney Myer Charitable Trust was established by the will of Sidney Myer, who died in 1934, leaving a portion of his estate for the benefit of the community. Myer's ...
, in that role she served as chair of the Australian Association of Philanthropy. Galbally was appointed as the founding CEO of a number of new organisations, including the Australian Commission for the Future, the Australian International Health Institute, the Australian National Preventative Health Agency and OurCommunity Pty Ltd. Galbally established the Victorian Health Promotion Foundation (
VicHealth The Victorian Health Promotion Foundation is a statutory authority in the Australian state of Victoria, originally funded by hypothecated taxation raised by the ''Victorian Tobacco Act 1987''. It was the first health promotion body in the worl ...
) as the first organisation in the world to use a levy on tobacco for
tobacco control Tobacco control is a field of international public health science, policy and practice dedicated to addressing tobacco use and thereby reducing the morbidity and mortality it causes. Since most cigarettes and cigars and hookahs contain or us ...
, reducing demand for alcohol, tackling risk factors for heart disease, cancer and diabetes, injury prevention, sexual health and mental health promotion. Galbally was appointed as the independent chair of the Review of Drugs Poisons and Controlled Substances Legislation (the Galbally Review). Galbally chaired the
Royal Women's Hospital The Royal Women's Hospital, located in the Melbourne suburb of Parkville, is Australia's oldest specialist women's hospital. It offers a full range of services in maternity, gynaecology, neonatal care, women's cancers and women's health. It also ...
. She was a member of the expert four-person panel that developed the
Victorian Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literature ...
. Galbally then went on to chair the Federal Government's National People with Disability and Carers' Council. Galbally was a board member of the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) and Principal Member of the Independent Advisory Council which provided advice to the NDIA about the importance of
self-determination Self-determination refers to a people's right to form its own political entity, and internal self-determination is the right to representative government with full suffrage. Self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international la ...
, social and economic inclusion, peer support and contemporary living models including the right to a mainstream life for people with disabilities. With a career spanning many decades and positions at the highest levels, Galbally considers that a highlight was developing the National Disability and Carer Alliance that brought together people with disabilities, families and carers with services to campaign for the
National Disability insurance Scheme The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is a scheme of the Australian Government that funds reasonable and necessary supports associated with significant and permanent disability for people under 65 years old. The scheme was first int ...
by developing the Every Australian Counts Campaign. As a Commissioner of the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disabilities, Galbally is keen to utilise what she has learned from her broad experience which gives her a detailed understanding of some of the major interfacing systems, including health, education, justice and housing. But most of all Galbally brings decades listening to and working shoulder-to-shoulder with people with disabilities and families in fighting for the human right to be able to live lives fully in the community, without fear of violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation.


Honours and awards

In 1991 Galbally was appointed an Officer (AO) of the Order of Australia. She was inducted onto the
Victorian Honour Roll of Women The Victorian Honour Roll of Women was established in 2001 to recognise the achievements of women from the Australian state of Victoria. It was launched by The Hon. Joan Kirner AC as a joint initiative of the Centenary of Federation Victoria Comm ...
in 2005. She has received honorary doctorates from
RMIT University The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (abbreviated as RMIT University) is a public research university located in the city of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia., section 4(b) Established in 1887 by Francis Ormond, it is the seventh-o ...
in and
La Trobe University La Trobe University is a public university, public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. Its main campus is located in the suburb of Bundoora, Victoria, Bundoora. The university was established in 1 ...
, and was awarded the
Centenary Medal The Centenary Medal is an award which was created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the centenary of the Federation of Australia and to recognise "people who made a contribution to Australian society or g ...
in 2001. In 2019 Galbally was promoted to Companion (AC) of the Order of Australia.


Published works

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References


External links


www.sciencealert.com.au
*
The Victorian Council of Social Services (VCOSS)Myer FoundationNational Disability Insurance SchemeRoyal Women’s HospitalCompassionate Friends
{{DEFAULTSORT:Galbally, Rhonda 1948 births Living people Officers of the Order of Australia Companions of the Order of Australia Australian disability rights activists