AccountabilityConnect

AccountabilityConnect is a full-day event bringing together practitioners, policymakers, and community leaders to strengthen approaches to engaging men who use violence and support meaningful behaviour change. 

The program offers a unique space to share knowledge, highlight innovative programs, and foster collaboration across the sector. By showcasing diverse perspectives and expertise, the event creates opportunities for reflection, professional growth, and stronger connections between those working toward safer communities. 

The morning program will focus on policy insights, offering a platform for dialogue on the systems, strategies, and reforms that shape accountability and safety. In the afternoon, the spotlight shifts to practice, where practitioners will share tools, case studies, and innovative approaches to engaging men in transformative change. 

A panel of leading experts from Australia and across the world will offer inspiration and practical knowledge. With opportunities to connect over lunch and throughout the day, participants will leave equipped with fresh perspectives, stronger networks, and renewed commitment to safer futures. 

Meet the speakers

Jess Hill

Jess Hill is an award-winning journalist, author, and speaker who specialises in gendered violence and social issues. Her groundbreaking book See What You Made Me Do won the 2020 Stella Prize and was adapted into an SBS series. Jess is widely recognised for her work on coercive control and continues to educate diverse audiences through writing, training, and public speaking.

Professor Patrick O'Leary

Professor Patrick O’Leary is an internationally recognised researcher in gender-based violence, child protection, and social work. He is Chief Investigator at the ARC Centre of Excellence for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and Co-Director of the Disrupting Violence Beacon at Griffith University. His research focuses on men’s use of violence and the lifelong impacts of child sexual abuse.

Tim Kelly

Tim Kelly is an experienced Director and GBV trainer specializing in gender-based violence prevention and intervention. With expertise in trauma-informed care, accountability-based approaches, and systemic practice change, he is known for delivering impactful training that bridges evidence-based practice with real-world application.

Sarah Brown

A Ngāpuhi/Te Rarawa wāhine Māori, Sarah Clare Brown MNZM is a best-selling author, communicator, and co-founder of She Is Not Your Rehab. An experienced facilitator and ambassador for New Zealand’s ‘It’s Not Ok’ campaign, she works alongside Griffith University’s MATE initiative and Aviva Families to prevent family harm. Sarah is passionate about creating positive social change, turning grassroots initiatives into movements with global impact.

Dr Tony Fletcher PhD

Tony Fletcher is a researcher, consultant, and practice leader with over 25 years’ experience in community safety and men’s behaviour change. His work spans program development, clinical supervision, and offender risk assessment, with a strong focus on culturally safe, justice-driven interventions.

Murray Benton

Murray Benton is a proud Barkindji Koori man from Central West New South Wales and Deputy CEO of Youth Justice at Queensland’s Youth Justice and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Protection Peak (QATSICPP). He is also a Board Director of DVConnect and a member of Queensland’s Child Death Review Board. With extensive frontline and leadership experience across housing, youth justice, and child protection, Murray is a strong advocate for preventing violence against women and children, bringing both professional expertise and lived experience to his work.

Rodney Vlais

Rodney Vlais is a queer, male-privileged transfem autist who seeks to learn collaborative solidarity in the struggle to end gender-based violence. They write, advocate, train, supervise, evaluate and co-inspire towards transformative justice and community accountability to address family, domestic and sexual violence harm. Rodney is an experienced former practitioner who leans on their activist roots as much as their professional identity.