Vision

To be leaders of community strengthening in Melbourne's West.

Programs & Services

Community West is a neighbourhood house and forms part of the Neighbourhood Coordination Program and complies with its Guidelines and Eligibility Requirements.

The purpose of a neighbourhood house is to host and support a variety of programs, activities, and services involving and engaging a diverse range of people from the local community. Neighbourhood houses support individuals and groups within the community, particularly those who are disadvantaged, and are usually managed by a community-based committee of management or board of management (as is the case at Community West).

Neighbourhood houses develop activities and services appropriate to their local community and funding from Department for Victorian Communities is usually complemented by funding from other State and Commonwealth government departments.

In this context, Community West has grown and flourished for more than 20 years. The Community West Management and Administration team provides leadership, management, administrative, and financial infrastructure for Community West’s State and Commonwealth funded programs. These programs are:

Adult Community Education Program

Provides classes in language and literacy and computers.
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Children’s Contact Service

Supervises on-site contact (access) and facilitates smooth contact changeovers between parents and their children to support the relationship between children and their separated parents.
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Brimbank Melton Community Legal Centre

Provides free legal advice, advocacy for law reform, and community education.
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Family Violence Program

Through self help groups and maintaining a network for local agencies, provides support and information for women experiencing family violence or sexual assault, and assists women prisoners who have experience family violence or sexual assault.
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Volunteer Program

Provides on-site work experience for community members seeking to make a difference. Please contact us for more information.

Board of Management

Community West is managed by an elected Board of Management. Each Board member has responsibility for a Portfolio. If you are interested in joining our Board of Management, please contact the Centre Coordinator on 9363 1811.

The current Board Members are:


James McCarthy - Chairperson

James has been a board member for Community West for the past four years. James is a social worker based at Melbourne City Mission and at the Western Region Health Centre. He has extensive experience working with people with a range of disabilities, disadvantaged youth and of the homelessness sector. James is a member of the board of management for Interchange Victoria and is a member of several other community organisations. He has a strong commitment to social justice and community development particularly in the Western Suburbs.

Damien Mowlam - resigned March 2008

Val Brown resigned March 2008

Michael Kingston - Secretary

Michael has practised as a lawyer since 1983, mainly in the fields of corporate and commercial law. He has also worked as a government lawyer in Papua New Guinea. Michael recently completed a year’s further study, concentrating on Human Rights. He is a Trustee of the Collier Charitable Fund; Board member of Austin Hospital Medical Research Foundation; Volunteer lawyer at Fitzroy Legal Service; former Board member of the Public Interest Law Clearing House.

Timothy Bertsch - General member

Tim is 43 years old and is a Chartered Accountant (qualified in 1990) with a Masters in Finance. He is currently finishing a Law degree at Melbourne University. Prior to returning to study, Tim was a Director of Credit Suisse (an investment Bank). Tim volunteered at Brimbank Melton Community Legal Centre in 2006 and currently volunteers one day per week at the Federation of Community Legal Centres.

Ken Capar - General member

Ken is councillor for Grasslands Ward, Brimbank City Council. He holds a substantial record of local activism and is passionate about local issues and Neighbourhood Houses. Ken is a director on the Board of Lead West and Chairperson of the Brimbank Community Indoor Sports Centre. Ken is committed to social justice and the ongoing social development of Brimbank.

Chelsea Manners - General member

Chelsea has worked as a Social Worker at Melbourne Citymission since 2005. She has worked across several areas of welfare and community developments including homelessness and housing and youth support. Currently Chelsea is a case manager and intake worker in Citymission’s Women’s Integrated Support Program, a program for women exiting prison. Chelsea has an enduring commitment to equality and social justice.

Jennifer Borrell - General Member

Jennifer has worked as a social research consultant for the past eight years and has been employed as a social worker and community development worker in a variety of contexts and communities. Jennifer has an ongoing commitment to community inclusion and enrichment. She is a member of the Australian Association of Social Workers, the Victorian National Parks Association, the Australian Conversation Foundation, Amnesty International, and Borderlands Co-operative.



Catherine Allison - Treasurer

Catherine holds a Bachelor of Business (Accounting) and is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants. She is employed at MetroWest Housing Services Ltd as a Company Accountant/Finance Worker and works one day per week at Molly’s House Women’s Refuge as a Finance Worker. Catherine has a strong commitment to the not-for-profit sector and has strong social justice principles.

Executive Officer

Robyn Shilton

With more than 10 years experience in the Not-For-Profit sector, Robyn brings to Community West her extensive knowledge and expertise in training, quality assurance, marketing and the community sector. Robyn has a vision to make Community West the most outstanding community agency in the west.

Funding Bodies

Community West receives funding for a range of funding bodies. We gratefully acknowledge the support of these funding bodies.

Program	Funding Body
Adult Education Program	Office of Training & Tertiary Education (OTTE - State) Adult, Community and Further Education (ACFE - State) Department of Science & Training (DEST - Commonwealth
Children's Contact Service	Attorney General of Commonwealth of Australia administered by Family & Community Services
Community Legal Centre	Attorney General (Commonwealth) Victoria Legal Aid
Occasional Childcare	Department of Human Services

Annual Report

Each year, Community West presents its Annual Report at the Annual General Meeting.

Download Community West's Annual Report:

Annual Report 2006 (1.58 Mb)

Annual Report 2007 (1.01 Mb)

Are you interested in becoming a member of Community West?  Download our membership form here

Community West Rules of Association

For a copy of Community West's Rules of Association click here.

You will need to have Adobe Acrobat installed on your computer in order to view Community West's Annual Report and Membership Form. If you do not already have a copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader, you can download it for free from http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html.