Shane Maddocks
Shane Maddocks
Chief Executive Officer
BSW (Hon), MPolAdmin, GAICD, JP

Shane Maddocks commenced as Chief Executive Officer in July 2017.

Shane joined ac.care from the Red Cross where he served in national leadership roles in community development. He has previously been employed within state government departments involved in social issues such as child protection, juvenile justice, early childhood health, education and care and in contributing to policy and legislation reform in the family services sector.

To be able to return to work with country people and advocate for their needs and to reconnect with South Australian communities after five years working at a national level were some of the reasons Shane accepted the CEO role in ac.care.

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The ac.care board is responsible for governing and overseeing the outcomes developed through ac.care initiatives. From time to time we call on members of the public to participate with and perhaps join our governing board to assist with providing ac.care services.

Richard Fisher

Richard Fisher
Convenor

Rick has been a member of the Anglican Parish of Mount Gambier since moving from Adelaide in 1985.

He was part of the founding management team of ac.care (formerly South East Teenage Care) in 1986 and has been part of its evolution across the years; serving as a director and sub-committee chair for eight years and as Convenor of the Board of Directors since 2020.

Educated at Adelaide University, Rick was a high school mathematics and science teacher. Beyond the classroom he chaired professional teacher associations, sat on examinations and curriculum boards, was a curriculum writer and a faculty leader. Although now retired, Rick continues to be a registered teacher, does occasional school work and in-class research for the Australian Council for Educational Research.

Rick is an active member of the Anglican Community of Mount Gambier as director of music and member of numerous church committees and task groups. He is a member of The Synod of the Diocese of The Murray and Diocesan Council.

Rick graduated from the Australian Institute of Company Directors in 2019.

Rick’s wife Lynn was an employee of ac.care for 25 years. They have two adult children and four grandchildren all of whom reside in Mount Gambier.

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Paul Duka

Paul Duka
Treasurer and community representative

Paul is a CPA Accountant and Manager who has experience in both the public and private sector.

Being raised and educated in Ballarat, Victoria, Paul attained a Bachelor of Business degree majoring in Accounting from Ballarat’s Federation University. After graduating, Paul has held a variety of management positions in the private sector before undertaking several financial and management roles in Local Government Councils within South Australia.

In 2015, Paul moved to Millicent with his wife Toni and two sons Noah and Henry to work at the Wattle Range Council as the Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Director Corporate Services.

Paul has a passion for accounting, management and governance. Having held previous treasurer positions on management boards and sport associations, and currently being a member of three audit and risk committees including ac.care, he is passionate about developing and supporting the growth of management boards.

Being community minded, the opportunity to contribute to ac.care and its future direction was both of interest and exciting, and he looks forward to being able to contribute to the sustainable stewardship of ac.care going forward.

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Brittany Shelton

Brittany Shelton
Anglican Parish Council representative

Brittany Shelton comes to us with a background in Law and Corporate Governance. She holds a Bachelor of Law & Legal Practice, a Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting) and a Masters of Education. Brittany commenced her career in private legal practice and has practiced as a solicitor, both in Adelaide, and more recently in the Limestone Coast area with local law firm Bersee Legal.

Brittany is currently the Strategy & Governance Coordinator at the District Council of Grant, which includes oversight of the Governance, Strategy & Risk portfolios. This role combines her passion for law with an opportunity to service our local community in a diverse and engaging environment.

Having grown up in the Limestone Coast region, Brittany has a keen sense of advocacy for rural communities, and has previously been involved in organisations such as the Salvation Army, Lions Community Club and Lifeline Australia. She is currently the Co-Chair of Women in Business & Regional Development and relishes any opportunity to empower women in our region.

Brittany is particularly looking forward to jumping into the strategic planning as a member of the AC Care Board, to review what services our community require, where the gaps currently are and how we can get ahead of cycles of disadvantage with a proactive, preventative approach.

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Tony Wright

Tony Wright
Local Government Representative

From Kingston in south-eastern South Australia, Tony is the Limestone Coast Local Government Association Executive Officer, Generations in Jazz chair and an ac.care board director.

An experienced and successful leader, Tony’s career spans community and political engagement, strategic planning, economic regulation, strategic supply chain, capital work planning, contestable energy and water markets, land development, water resource planning and major project delivery.

Since 1994, Tony has held a range of executive roles in the power, water and local government sectors in South Australia, Northern Territory, Australian Capital Territory and Victoria.

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Emma-Kate Griffiths

Emma-Kate Griffiths
Limestone Coast Representative

Emma-Kate is an experienced Human Resources professional working across executive roles in public and private sectors.

She holds a Masters, Human Resource Management from the University of South Australia and is currently the lead for People and Culture at Timberlands Pacific, with responsibility for HR, safety and stewardship of plantation forest resources across South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania.

Emma-Kate is passionate about working with and supporting others to achieve their goals, both professionally and personally. As a board member of ac.care, she believes that valuing compassion and relationships can result on positive change for members of our regional communities.

Emma-Kate has two sons who are starting their working lives and resides in Mount Gambier with them and her husband Marcel.

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Ruth Daws

Ruth Daws
Riverland representative

Ruth has lived in the Riverland for 32 years and loves the people and district. She has been the Riverland representative on the ac.care board for 14 years and is enthusiastic about the way ac.care has grown.

She believes the people who work for ac.care have high levels of professionalism, striving to fine tune their work practices with compassion and integrity. They are the organisation’s greatest asset.

As a retired Junior Primary and Special Ed teacher, she has high hopes for the next generations and believes that the work of ac.care to be an efficient and effective way many in our rural communities can be empowered to live thriving lives of purpose, resilience and accomplishment.

Church involvement has been a large part of her life and she is currently a member of The Synod of the Diocese of The Murray and the Diocesan Council and a lay preacher.

Ruth is married to Malcolm, a lawyer, and they have three adult children with five grandchildren, all who live in Adelaide and are ‘the apple of her eye’.

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Ken Pidgeon

Ken Pidgeon
Fleurieu Peninsula representative

Ken was raised and educated formally in the Melbourne suburb of Murrumbeena. The son of plumber/hardware/shopkeeper parents, Ken was highly influenced by the association with the nearby St Peter’s Anglican Church.

Attending Murrumbeena Primary, Oakleigh and Swinburne Technical Schools and the University of Melbourne, Ken then spent two years in England in research with Pilkington Glass before coming to Adelaide as technical manager of a glass decorating and processing plant. He then became a research and development chemist at SOLA (optical lens manufacturers) in Lonsdale, before retiring in 1998.

Ken is formally trained in management and governance and has sat on many committees, including The Royal Australian Chemical Institute, serving as branch president twice, and as national board chair once.

Ken also inaugurated The Colour Society in South Australia and has been national chair.

He served 18 years as Trustee of the Leigh Trust, most of them a member of their Investment committee.

Since 1974 Ken has been involved with St Hilary’s Morphett Vale and has served in most organisational positions, plus Synod.

After retirement, Ken spent much time in Diocesan and Provincial activities including finance, Diocesan Council, Bishops Election and Legislative Review.

Ken enjoys being associated with ac.care to voice thoughtful comments and sits on the board with a promise to have read all the papers and thoroughly prepare for meetings.

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Louise Nobes

Louise Nobes
Murraylands representative

Louise is an award-winning social entrepreneur, founder and Chief Executive Officer with a 17-year background in social work and business. She is highly recognised for her ability to provide innovative solutions to complex social problems, including youth unemployment.

Louise started her career as a social worker and then moved into education, entrepreneurship, and business.

For Louise, joining the ac.care board is deeply meaningful and provides an opportunity to contribute to an organisation she believes in. Louise has a strong interest in contributing through an innovation lens and being part of an organisation that is run by country people, for country people.

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ac.care Locations

ac.care is a dynamic organisation servicing the South Australian communities the Limestone Coast, Murraylands, Riverland, Adelaide Hills and Fleurieu Peninsula.

Our mission is for all country people to have a safe home, enough money to live on and strong, positive relationships.

Please find our service locations here or use our contact form to request a service.

Mount Gambier
Head office and Foster Care

70-72 White Avenue Mount Gambier, SA 5290
PO Box 1842 Mount Gambier SA 5290
Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm

Mount Gambier
Community Centre

22-24 Ferrers Street Mount Gambier, SA 5290
Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm

Mount Gambier
Family Relationship Centre

1 Helen Street (cnr Bay Road) Mount Gambier, SA 5290
Monday
9am to 5pm
Tuesday
10:30am to 5pm
Wednesday
9am to 5pm
Thursday
9am to 5pm
Later by appt
Friday
9am to 5pm

Berri Community Centre
Servicing the Riverland

5 Kealley Street, Berri, SA 5343
PO Box 1345 Berri, SA 5343
Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm

Murraylands Centre
Servicing the Murraylands, Adelaide Hills and Fleurieu Peninsula

29 Bridge Street, Murray Bridge, SA 5253
PO Box 2090 Murray Bridge, SA 5253
Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm

Millicent
Community Centre

57-59 George Street Millicent, SA 5280
PO Box 378 Millicent, SA 5280
Monday to Friday 9am to 4pm
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