Rishana Oakley

• Reviewed and assessed the Victorian Department of Families, Fairness and Housing’s complaints and feedback model and developed an enhancement plan through comprehensive internal, external and regulatory stakeholder engagements
• Conducted a formative evaluation of the Victorian Government’s Sick Pay Guarantee scheme, resulting in evidence-based recommendations for its continuation and expansion
• Undertook an outcomes and process evaluation of a government-backed program for regional councils to effectively respond to large-scale flooding, providing valuable recommendations for future program development
• Operationalised climate change policy documents to align practices of EPA (VIC) with statutory obligations stated in the Environment Protection Act 2017
• Led the analysis for an international human rights prospectus that analysed The Migration Amendment Bill 2021 against international human rights standards.

Rishana has volunteered at several organisations that focus on championing the rights of people with refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds through supporting the provision of basic needs and the empowerment of young people within an educational setting. She also supported and completed projects with Deakin University to assess the student experience and develop training programs to ensure specific student communities could access resources to improve graduation rates.

Rishana graduated from a Bachelor of Commerce (economics) and a Bachelor of International Studies (international relations), partially completed at Sophia University (Jochi Daigaku) in Tokyo.

Rishana enjoys spending quality time with her friends, often cooking a meal to share or sitting in the park chatting for hours on end.