Dallas Widdicombe is a proud Dharug man who holds a Bachelor of Social Work and an Advanced Diploma of Business (Governance). Dallas previously worked in the remote Western Australian community of Balgo for over seven years where he held positions including the Chief Executive Officer of the Wirrimanu Aboriginal Community.

Over the past nine years Dallas has worked for the Bendigo and District Aboriginal Co-operative firstly as the Executive Director overseeing the BDAC Medical Clinic and Family & Community Services teams. In this time BDAC has grown to over 200 staff running various programs for his community and has significantly increased the income of the organisation’s medical clinic. Dallas has developed several programs to help his community with substance addiction, family violence and positive health.

The Minister for Child Protection and Family Services invited Dallas to be a participant in a new Child Protection Legal Reference Group which is an advisory forum to support the Department of Families Fairness and Housing on matters relevant to the Child Protection and Family Services portfolio. Dallas is also a Board member of the National and Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations “NACCHO” and “VACCHO” and Chairperson of Loddon Mallee Aboriginal Reference Group “LMARG”.

Dallas is also a co-writer of an article that has just been published in the Australian Journal of Primary Health. The article highlights the significant contributions of the Loddon Mallee Aboriginal Reference Group’s (LMARG) leadership, led by BDAC, in advocating and leading the submission for a regulation amendment to ensure culturally appropriate oral health promotion for Aboriginal children. The amendment now authorises Aboriginal Health Practitioners to administer fluoride varnish to children ages 3-17 years.

Dallas is currently the Chief Executive Officer at BDAC and has a huge passion for working to better the health of his people and believes self-determination plays an integral part in achieving this goal.