Susanne White

Susanne is a registered psychologist and trained secondary teacher. She has worked as both a teacher and counsellor in secondary schools and has lectured at a tertiary level at Deakin University and TAFE institutions.

Susanne has over thirty years experience in consulting to health and community service organisations, and Governments. A significant number of projects she has been responsible for address access and service issues for children and adults who have a disability. Recently, she has worked with a team to conduct five reviews of DHS funded non-government disability organisations in metropolitan and rural Victoria, exploring access to services and service quality especially in the light of the ageing of many clients and the encouragement of community participation through the State disability Plan, as well as changes in funding available for supporting residential services.

She has developed an excellent understanding of barriers to access for people with a wide range of different disabilities, and strategies to address them through work with local government throughout Australia to implement the spirit and intent of the Disability Discrimination Act (1992). She wrote The Disability Discrimination Act: A guide to best practice in Local Government which was published by the Australian Local Govt. Association. She has developed eleven Disability Action Plans for Local Councils which have been built around both Council and local community service access and support.

She has significant experience with the Arabic speaking community through provision of consultancy to the Victorian Arabic Social Services Inc. This includes the review of work undertaken for various Government-funded projects which has required individual and group interviews with VASS staff and focus groups with VASS stakeholders. She has also worked with VASS to prepare their successful submission to the DoHA Community Partners Program addressing residential aged care issues for culturally and linguistically diverse older people.

Susanne managed a large project designed to prepare Strategic Directions in Aged Care Services in Victoria’s Eastern Metropolitan Region (DHS) which explored all community and acute health services for older people, the links and relationships which existed or needed to be developed between the various services within the region for effective streamlined service provision. Many of the gaps between services and the problems with lack of access to relevant information were identified through facilitated community and service provider focus group meetings.

Susanne was responsible for forging a number of links with Aboriginal organisations in Victoria in her recent role as (Acting) General Manager of Health Promotion with Dental Health Services Victoria. Encouraging knowledge about, and developing access to public dental services, especially for pre-school aged children who now have priority access to these services throughout Victoria.