Conor Pall (he/him) is a 20-year-old passionate young person hailing from Mildura, who continues to use his lived experience as a Victim/Survivor of Domestic Violence as his motivation to evoke systemic change in Australia’s political system. ​

Conor, now based in Melbourne, is a member of the Victorian Government’s Victim Survivors’ Advisory Council (VSAC, 2022-2024). VSAC was established following the Royal Commission into Family Violence to ensure victim survivors have a formal mechanism to advise government on family violence reforms. It is about embedding lived experience in the design of services, policies, and systems, which is exactly why he began his advocacy journey in the first place. He is the youngest person to be appointed since its origin.​

As a 2022 recipient of the Victorian Young Achiever of the Year Award, in the ‘Connecting Communities’ category, Conor was acknowledged for the community-based work he has been the driving force of. The award highlights the importance of young people leading local, grassroot initiatives to push for change.  

In 2019, Conor worked alongside Independent State politician, Ms Ali Cupper and attended the State Parliament alongside her. This is when Conor’s advocacy and aspirations to become a Social Advocate began – and Ms Cupper is still a strong influence in Conor’s life to this day. ​

Conor was a member of Mildura’s 2021 Youth Parliament, which created a bill to Criminalise Coercive Control in intimate partner relationships. The group are still determined to ensure that Coercive Control is seen as a crime, equal with physical assault charges in domestic violence situations. This is something that Conor is extremely passionate about and continues to advocate strongly for.​

Conor was Vice-Captain at Mildura Senior College during his year 12 studies in 2021 and helped the school to promote the importance of mental health for its students during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Conor spoke at several events and ensured that the voice of the students at his college were heard and respected. ​

Conor organised Mildura’s School Strike for Climate in 2021 and created safety plans, Covid safe plans and urged state and federal governments to adopt polices for a greener future.​

More recently, Conor gained employment at The Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare, advancing the rights and wellbeing of children, young people and families across Victoria. Working in the Policy Team continues to give Conor the ability to implement his learnings of Social Work into real, industry-specific scenarios and the networking opportunities are invaluable.  

Now studying Social Work at RMIT University, Conor hopes to match this with master’s in Public Policy – using both degrees and his own personal experiences as the foundation for a role in policy. Conor strongly believes that it is integral for individuals with lived-experience to be bought to the decision-making table – to shape policy that will directly affect them.