5 December 2025

Meet Sarah Joyce.

Sarah is a proud Yorta Yorta woman who has recently joined Austin Health as our inaugural Director First Nations Health.

Sarah’s career has been grounded in working alongside community, particularly within Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations, including eight years at the Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency. She has held leadership roles across family violence, integrated family services, and therapeutic programs most recently as the Women’s and Children’s Services Lead and Acting CEO at Boorndawan Willam Aboriginal Healing Service. Sarah is also Co-Chair of the North Metro Dhelk Dja Action Group, which brings together community, government, and sector leaders to address family violence and strengthen Aboriginal families.

Speaking about her career to date and how it has led to Austin Health, Sarah said:

“Throughout my journey, cultural safety has always been at the heart of my practice, ensuring my mob feel respected, valued, and supported wherever they engage with services. Joining Austin Health felt like a natural next step, an opportunity to bring that community and cultural safety lens and help embed Aboriginal health and wellbeing as everyone’s business across the organisation.”

The Director of First Nations Health is a role of deep importance to Austin Health, given our shared ambitions to continue improving health outcomes for our First Nations community, and Sarah is excited about the opportunities ahead:

“It’s incredibly exciting and humbling to step into a new role that creates space for First Nations leadership at Austin Health. There’s huge potential to strengthen our connection with community and ensure local voices are shaping how we deliver care. Growth and innovation come from listening — from truly understanding what our local Aboriginal communities need and designing services around that.

“I want to see Aboriginal perspectives embedded in every aspect of Austin Health— not sitting in a silo, but woven through policy, practice, and leadership. Strengthening community partnerships, creating pathways for Aboriginal staff, and ensuring every department takes ownership of cultural safety are key opportunities ahead. It’s about amplifying community voices and ensuring Aboriginal perspectives guide how we deliver care across every level of Austin Health.”

In addition to listening and taking the time to build genuine relationships across Austin Health and with our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, Sarah is already focused on recruiting for additional First Nations roles, advancing key commitments in both the Statement of Priorities and Cultural Safety Requirements, and supporting leadership and visibility of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff across Austin Health. Through all this Sarah has recognised that she is building upon a great deal of work already done:

“I want to acknowledge the incredible work that’s already been done by the previous Aboriginal Health Liaison Officers who paved the way for Ngarra Jarra and our current team. They’ve laid strong foundations for cultural safety and connection, and my goal is to build on that, to add value to the amazing work that’s already in motion.”

Reflecting on the importance of her role and the work of the Ngarra Jarra team, Sarah said:

“This work is not just about meeting targets, it’s about collaboration, connection, and honouring the strengths and values of our communities. Together, we are shaping services at Austin Health that are welcoming, respectful, and accountable, a place where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples feel safe, seen, and supported.”