Board member, appointed 2023

The Hon. Fiona Patten was first elected to the Victorian parliament in 2014 and re-elected in 2018. In 2018 she became the first independent Chair of the influential Legal and Social Issues Committee. During that time, she initiated and delivered legislative reforms that many thought impossible including voluntary assisted dying, abortion law reform, the decriminalisation of sex work, spent convictions legislation and drug law reform. In all, she was influential in the passage of over a dozen social reform Bills.

Ms Patten has been a passionate campaigner for harm reduction policies for over 30 years and was a Board Member of the Australian Federation of AIDS Organisations. Before entering parliament, she ran the adult goods and services industry association (Eros) for over 20 years. In 2016 her autobiography, ‘Sex, Drugs and the Electoral Roll’, was published to critical acclaim by Allen and Unwin.

Since leaving parliament Ms Patten has continued to work on social reform issues including, medicinal cannabis, electoral reform, religious accountability, justice reform and greater separation of church and state and legalised sex work. Her hobbies include swimming and gardening. She also owns a registered wildlife sanctuary on the border of Kosciuszko National Park.