Commissioner Allen awarded Member of the Order of Australia
6th June 2026
The Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission (the Commission) is delighted to congratulate our Commissioner, Ro Allen on receiving the Member of the Order of Australia in the General Division of the King’s Birthday Honours 2026, recognising their service to the community through social reform and human rights advocacy.
“It’s a real honour to be recognised. You don’t change hearts or legislation overnight – it’s a long journey, never alone and always requiring revolutionary patience.”
– Ro Allen AM
Commissioner Allen has a way of bringing people together. For more than three decades they have worked to build understanding, advocate and drive lasting change for marginalised communities.
From the beginning, as a youth worker in inner-city Melbourne and Shepparton, Commissioner Allen built community dialogue in the shared experiences of discrimination and established the Diversity Project, supporting same sex attracted and gender diverse people for over 30 years. Commissioner Allen has always been about systemic change, so seeing a state-wide need, went on to chair the Youth Affairs Council of Victoria to advocate for funding and support for similar groups across rural and regional Victoria.
As a leader at all levels of LGBTIQA+ inclusion, Commissioner Allen has continued to listen and establish new approaches to support, fund and mature Victoria’s LGBTIQA+ sector which continues to demand and deliver programs to support diverse, historically disadvantaged communities. Amongst these is the establishment of the Victorian Pride Centre (VPC) in St Kilda, as well as being an architect of Victoria’s landmark change and suppression prohibition law, outlawing conversion practices which seek to change or hide sexual orientation or gender identity. It was through this work that Commissioner Allen was recognised as the 2017 Australian LGBTIQ+ Hero of the Year.
As the first Victorian Commissioner for LGBTIQA+ Communities, a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, a Fellow of the Institute of Public Administration Australia and now the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commissioner, Commissioner Allen’s skill for community-centred strategic leadership has been a driving force in the uplift of equality and human rights across a range of organisations. This includes time as the chair of the Victorian Skills Commission, as well as the Chair of the Adult, Community and Further Education Board where Commissioner Allen played a key role in supporting the establishment of the Learn Local sector. Learn Local, commenced in 2017 and continuing to this day, provides adult Victorians with access to low-cost, flexible pre-accredited courses. Offered by over 190 not-for-profit organisations, the courses provide Victorians with the mobility to return to study, change careers or find employment. Today, the Ro Allen Pre-accredited Training Award is awarded each year to an adult Victorian who has undertaken Victorian Government funded pre-accredited courses in literacy, numeracy, English language skills or digital skills, and successfully established pathways for themselves into further education and/or volunteer roles as a direct result of their pre-accredited training participation.
However, Commissioner Allen’s attention to the needs of community has never been restricted to sector leadership, they are always ready to roll up their sleeves to be part of a solution. Following the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires, Commissioner Allen played a critical role in the establishment and support of Kinglake local relief centre, relocating their family to Kinglake so they could be on-site for three months as a conduit between community and government. This role enabled on-going community-centred, self-determined relief and recovery work. It was here Commissioner Allen also supported the establishment of Firefoxes – a safe and supportive space for women in community recovery.
Commissioner Allen’s work as the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commissioner, sees them collaborating with law and policy makers, institutions and communities to enable law reform and systemic change.
- As a member of the Australian Council of Human Rights Authorities, Commissioner Allen facilitates discussion on common human rights concerns across Australia.
- In Victoria, they established and chair the Council of Victorian Commissioners which provides the Victorian Government with collective advice on intersectional approaches to human rights.
- Commissioner Allen continues to work closely with First Peoples communities including as a member of the Victoria’s Aboriginal Justice Forum focused on lowering custodial rates and improving outcomes for First Peoples in the justice system.
- As a member of the Victorian Government’s Equal Workplaces Advisory Council, Commissioner Allen is focused on issues such as equal pay and workforce participation for women.
Looking ahead, Commissioner Allen continues to use the platform given to them by their work, and furthered by this award, to give a voice to communities without one. Reflecting on this achievement and its meaning to the diverse and minority communities they serve, Commissioner Allen said; “I have always worked to get a seat at the table to make sure the table has seats for everyone else.”
It is this trajectory that continues to guide the work of the Commissioner and the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission to create opportunities for connection, learning and leading systemic change through initiatives like the Stronger Together 2025: Victorian Anti-Hate Summit, and to advocate for legislative reforms, such as Victoria’s newly adopted anti-vilification and hate speech laws and continue to build belonging for all people in Victoria.
The Commission is proud of our Commissioner Ro Allen AM and congratulates them on this important and well-earned achievement.