Cathy Oddie has worked across a number of sectors including Centrelink, Superannuation, Mental Health, Emergency Services and Family Violence. This cross-sector experience, as well as her own lived experience of family violence, sexual assault and mental health-related matters have given her a unique insight into the many challenges faced by people experiencing complex life circumstances when trying to navigate the service system for assistance.
Since 2007, Cathy has been a volunteer Survivor Advocate with Safe Steps Family Violence Response Centre. This role led Cathy to make a submission and give evidence at the 2015 Victorian Royal Commission into Family Violence. Her testimony resulted in two of the final 227 Recommendations, one of which led to the Review of the Victims of Crime Assistance Act which was tabled to Victorian Parliament in 2018.
In 2019, Cathy became the first official survivor ambassador for Mettle Women Inc. This is an organisation which provides safe and accessible employment and opportunities to women who have experienced family violence and homelessness to establish financial independence.
Recently Cathy has been appointed to the Victorian Department of Justice and Community Safety’s Victim of Crime Consultative Committee as a Victim Representative. In addition to this appointment, last year she joined Victoria Legal Aid’s “Specialist Family Violence Court Project” Steering Committee as a Family Violence Lived Experience Consultant. Cathy is passionately committed to the healing, recovery and financial wellbeing of victim survivors of domestic and family violence.