Conor Pall - Advocate

I may be the one standing in these photos, but this work belongs to the children and young people who are not.

To those living in fear.
To those still navigating The Shadow.
To those who did not survive.

The Shadow That Follows is for them.
And so is this work.
Always.

When you’re young and trying to escape violence, you don’t just need counselling.

You need practical help. You need someone to help you figure out Centrelink, find a safe place to sleep, and navigate the courts.

That is the difference between a system that looks good on paper, and one that was designed to keep you safe and supported.

For young people across our country, finding that support feels like winning the lottery. But we deserve better than a system that relies on luck.

Jack and I (second last slide) - that’s what safety looks like. It’s waking up without fear.

It’s the future every single one of us deserves - and one that I won’t stop fighting for.

In 2026, let’s move beyond acknowledgement.

Children and young people impacted by family violence don’t need adults speaking on our behalf. We need adults who will listen, and then shift power with us.

If we’re serious about ending violence in a generation, it has to show up in the everyday decisions we make.

Stop writing and talking about us. Start building a system with us that matches our courage with action.

Happy New Year.

We often talk about turning 18 like it’s all about what you gain: voting, signing your own lease, your own Medicare card, making big decisions without your parents.

But for some young people in Victoria, turning 18 was about what you lost.

You lost the Family Violence Intervention Order that was keeping you safe.

I was one of those young people.

In 2021, I wrote to the then Attorney-General, Jaclyn Symes, and asked how, at the stroke of midnight, the violence I was living with could suddenly be treated as if it had vanished.

It didn’t.
But the law acted like it did.

Now, Sonya Kilkenny MP has introduced a Bill to finally close this loophole - so when a child on an Intervention Order turns 18, their protection doesn’t just expire. It stays in place until the order ends, or a court changes it.

This change is for the young people who turned 18 and watched their protection disappear, and for those who never got the chance to have their story heard.

The safety and wellbeing of children must be central to every reform, every day 🧡

Today I took my seat at VSAC for the last time as Deputy Chair.

Three years ago, at 18, I wrote to the Victorian Government and asked for a chance to be heard.

Today I leave knowing we made room for many more voices, especially children and young people.

I’m pictured with my mum, whose courage made mine possible.

I'm proud of what we cultivated and clear about what's unfinished: a dedicated, developmentally appropriate, time-bound service response for children and young people in every region of our State.

Thank you to everyone who leaned in and listened.

Onward, with children and young people at the centre.

Natalie Hutchins MP

All children and young people deserve to be safe and free, but the reality is many have that right violated every day in our community.

They deserve a dedicated service response.

I won’t stop fighting until that happens.

And that's a wrap on Lunch For Change with Rosie Batty and Conor Pall - Advocate .

Thankyou to the more than 150 people who packed out Willow and Ivie to hear these two amazing speakers, our major sponsors Ray White Mildura and eManaged and our event supporters Rotary Club Of Mildura Merbein, Johnstaff and Admedia Australia. Stay tuned for further coverage thanks to Adam Hobbs and Admedia.

Today we as a collective in the room were thrown a challenge by Conor: to create a safe service for children and young people disclosing family violence. MASP fully supports this initiative and looks forward to working with stakeholders for a better future for our young people.