Allison has over 20 years of social work experience spanning government and not for profit sectors in senior and executive management roles. She has expertise in the areas of community change, family violence, children, youth and family services both in Australia, and overseas.
Allison’s specialist skills focus on the programmatic design of community change and therapeutic systems that provide trauma-informed interventions and family sensitive practice including crisis services, residential care, child protection, family support and community based models.
She has provided international leadership over collective impact, community change, and primary prevention initiatives, designing place-based and community-centred models for HIV/AIDS prevention, family violence prevention, sexual health, and place-based responses to vulnerable families and children.
In South Africa, Allison held the position of State Director for Integrated Services for Women and Children impacted by family and sexual violence. She led the South African government reform agenda from 2005 to 2011, rolling out community-based responses to victims of crime and violence. This led to the successful launch of over 70 victim empowerment centres, in partnership with local police to provide 24-hour access services for women and children. Allison led the extensive funding of the NPO sector to support these sites and served as the head of the Premier’s task force to respond to violence against women. She also led the interdepartmental committee reporting to the Minister for Community Safety.
Allison has been with Family Life since 2013. She held multiple positions before becoming the organisation’s Deputy CEO in 2016 then CEO in April 2020.