It is with regret that the board of Multicultural Australia announces today that Bill Gamack has resigned as CEO and will be leaving us on 21 August.

When he joined us in January 2020, Bill’s focus was to continue to build on both our strong financial position and our important “change the conversation” work about creating a more welcoming Queensland. Who could have imagined that just two months later, Australia’s borders would be closed and all of us would be living and working, socially distanced, within progressive government restrictions. As an organisation whose foundational service is the settlement of refugees, the closure of Australia’s borders has been very difficult for Multicultural Australia and the settlement sector generally.

Although leading through a global pandemic was not quite what Bill had imagined when he took up the appointment of Multicultural Australia CEO, through the peak of COVID-19 in Queensland he remained committed to ensuring our services remained accessible for our clients and that Queensland’s cultural communities were deeply supported through this crisis.

We openheartedly acknowledge and thank Bill for this leadership and for his stewardship of Multicultural Australia through these unprecedented times. We know that he stands with us, as a passionate advocate for a welcoming Queensland, as a member of the Multicultural Australia alumni.

We will be in touch in the coming days with details about our plans to recruit Multicultural Australia’s next CEO. In the interim, we have appointed Tim Draper, our Executive Manager for Economic and Social Inclusion as Acting CEO.

Please join me in wishing Bill all the best for his future endeavours.

Yours sincerely,
Peter Forday
Chair, Multicultural Australia

A message from Bill…

I am very grateful for the time I have had in an organisation which does such important work in the Queensland community. I want to acknowledge and thank all those I have worked with – the Board, staff members, our stakeholders and community leaders – who have contributed to and enriched my time here. The past many months have represented a very difficult time for the humanitarian settlement sector, but much has been achieved.

Multicultural Australia is a remarkable organisation full of many dedicated and amazing people. I will remain a major supporter of their work and I wish them all the very best for the future.

For me – it will be a new path with new adventures and I am excited by the opportunities – even in these ‘strange’ times!!

I look forward to continuing my personal mission of making a difference in the lives of those who are disadvantaged.