Simple activities like sharing a coffee or catching up for a chat help keep people connected and start to have important conversations about wellbeing.
These are the moments when people often ask for help.
About Us
Police Veterans Victoria Inc. is a not-for-profit organisation that supports Victoria Police Veterans and their families. We are the only organisation with a dedicated focus on improving mental health amongst Victoria Police Veterans and their families
Our Veteran Peer Support Officers (VPSO’s) are police veterans who are trained to provide confidential support and referral services to those that may be experiencing mental health issues including PTSD, depression, anxiety, social isolation, alcohol and substance abuse.
Our VPSOs are not counsellors and do not make psychological assessments but they do have access to various resources including psychologists, chaplaincy and other support services.
We recognise that family members can also be impacted, and our service is extended to them.
vision
Police Veterans and their families can thrive post their service experience.
purpose
To provide support for the mental health and well-being of all Police Veterans and their families.
Community
The Police Veterans community includes a wide range of people, summarised below;
- Member is someone who joined the Association of Police Veterans Victoria Incorporated and has the full voting rights of a member as set out in the Rules of the Association.
- Veteran is someone who served as a sworn member of Victoria Police for a minimum of 1 day service – it includes Police and PSOs as well as serving members who are transitioning to retirement.
- Veteran Peer Support Officer (VPSO) is a veteran who has been appointed as a peer support officer after having satisfied the requirements of that role including training.
- Board member is someone appointed to the Board as a Director and includes ex officio appointments.
- An Employee is someone remunerated by Police Veterans Victoria or in the case of the Clinical Adviser & Program Coordinator, an employee of Victoria Police, seconded to PVV.
- A family member includes partner, spouse, parent, child or sibling of a police veteran.
- Associates are board members, PVV employees or family members.
Board
Mark Azzopardi (Chair)
Mark is the Managing Partner of Tax Advisory at Findex, across Australia and New Zealand. Prior to joining Findex, Mark was a leader and partner at both Deloitte and Grant Thornton. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Deakin University). Mark joined the Board in 2020 and Chairs the Finance & Risk Committee.
Tony Currie (Deputy Chair)
Tony is an entrepreneur, successful business owner and a veteran of the Victoria Police. Tony is an originating member of the Board, a passionate supporter of veteran mental health issues and an active VPSO.
Martin Ford (Treasurer)
Martin is a Partner in PwC’s Business Restructuring Services team, with 20 years’ experience helping advise financiers, companies and key stakeholders dealing with underperforming businesses across a range of industries.
Michelle Birkic
Michelle is an accredited Mental Health social worker working in private practice. She holds a Bachelor of Arts (RMIT University) Bachelor of Social Work (Melbourne University) and Master of Social Science; Human Services Counselling (Swinburne University) and previously worked as Clinical Advisor and Program Coordinator with PVV from its inception. Michelle has extensive experience in PTSD and a particular interest in police mental health.
Lisa Byrne
Lisa is a partner at Notitia Consulting with specialist skills in developing Business Intelligence and Master Data Management solutions within fast paced, geographically diverse environments. This includes data warehouse and data lake project management, delivery of operational and management reporting, data governance and business process optimisation. Lisa is a Certified Practising Accountant (CPA) and a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. She holds an MBA (Executive) from The University of New South Wales, a Bachelor of Business - QLD University of Technology and holds a company director accreditation from the Australian Institute of Company Directors. She has a strong business and corporate governance background and was previously the Chair of Cycling Victoria.
John Felton
John is a Superintendent with Victoria Police and performs an ex-officio role as the Chief Commissioner’s representative on our Board.
Ken Kour
Ken is Corporate Counsel at Vocus Group. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Melbourne University) and a Juris Doctor Law from Melbourne Law School. Ken was an originating member of the Board.
Dr Jon-Paul Cacioli
Jon-Paul is the Group Manager Wellbeing Services for Victoria Police and is responsible for managing wellbeing and psychological support services to the 22,000 Victoria Police employees, as well as their family members and Veterans. He is responsible for Police Psychology, Welfare, Peer Support, Case-management, Internal Witness Support and Chaplaincy. He holds a Doctor of Psychology (Clinical) from Deakin University, postgraduate Diploma in Psychology, Bachelor of Cognitive Science, Bachelor of Computer Science and a Graduate Certificate in Research Commercialisation. He has AHPRA endorsement as a Clinical Psychologist and has previously lectured in psychology at Monash, Charles Darwin and Flinders University.
David McGowan
David is the Chief Executive Officer and Company Secretary. He has extensive experience in policing and the corporate sector having held senior management positions in risk and compliance across the Banking sector. David is also a police veteran with >21 years service.
