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Media Release, 11 November 2026
Members of Our Ways Strong Together, the national peak body for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled organisations working to prevent and respond to family, domestic and sexual violence (FDSV), have elected the organisation’s inaugural board.
7 directors were elected at the organisation’s first Annual General Meeting, held today, as Our Ways Strong Together moves from its establishment phase to member-led governance. [The board will appoint a Chair at its first meeting.]
The new board is:
- Regina Bennett, Darwin Aboriginal and Islander Women’s Shelter Indigenous Corporation (NT)
- Racheal Dungay, Ngarra Aboriginal Corporation (NSW)
- Craig Rigney, Kornar Winmil Yunti Aboriginal Corporation (SA)
- Aunty Muriel Bamblett AO, Victorian Aboriginal Child and Community Agency Co-operative (VIC)
- Jane Bieundurry, Kimberley Aboriginal Law and Cultural Centre (WA)
- Penney Ferguson, First Nations Women’s Legal Services Qld Inc (QLD)
- Mark Munnich, Aboriginal Health and Medical Research Council of New South Wales (NSW)
Our Ways Strong Together CEO Olga Havnen AM welcomed the new board.
“This is community control in practice,” she said.
“For more than 30 years, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders and organisations have called for a national voice on family safety that is owned and led by community-controlled organisations. Electing our inaugural board is an important step on that journey. I look forward to working with the board to make sure the knowledge and experiences of our members shapes national policy and funding decisions.”
Since launching at Parliament House in March 2026, Our Ways Strong Together has grown from 12 members at 30 June to 74 member organisations. Its establishment was guided by an Interim Board chaired by Donnella Mills, with Aunty Muriel Bamblett AO, Wynetta Dewis and Lisa Charles. Their work is recorded in the organisation’s establishment report, released this week on our website.
Ms Mills said: “When we began, Our Ways Strong Together was a vision Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders had carried for more than 30 years. Today we have 74 member organisations, a Constitution, a growing team and a voice at the national table. It has been a privilege to build these foundations alongside Aunty Muriel, Wynetta and Lisa, and I thank every member for the trust they have placed in us. Our success will not be measured by the size of Our Ways Strong Together. It will be measured by the strength of the sector, the influence of community-controlled expertise, and whether more families and communities are safe, free from violence, and able to thrive.”
The Productivity Commission’s latest Closing the Gap report found that progress on Target 13, reducing family violence against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and children, still cannot be measured. Our Ways Strong Together will continue pressing governments for better data, sustained funding for community-controlled services and genuine shared decision-making.
Our Ways Strong Together is the national community-controlled peak body representing members delivering services across the family, domestic and sexual violence sector. Membership is open to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled organisations (ACCOs) that provide family, domestic and sexual violence services or support, either as their primary purpose or as part of broader service delivery. Membership is free.
Find out more on the Our Ways Strong Together website.
Media contact: connect@ourways.org.au