Lionel Austin
2026 Fellow
Lionel Austin is a proud Gunditjmara man with a strong commitment to improving community health and wellbeing through culturally grounded and evidence‑based health promotion activities. Currently serving as the Preventative Health and Population Health Promotions Manager for the Victorian Aboriginal Health Service (VAHS), bringing over 15 years of experience in the health sector.
Lionel’s current role is to developed and manage a statewide consortium in partnership with 13 Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHO’s). This collaborative network is focused on creating a universal action plan for the ACCHO’s in the state of Victoria, ensuring consistent, high‑impact approaches to population health promotion and community engagement across the state. Part of this consortium is to manage the population health promotion campaign The Koori Way and oversee a workforce of 16 staff members delivering health promotion initiatives at scale. 75% of the workforce are Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islanders.
Between 2013 and 2018, Lionel worked with the Institute of Urban Indigenous Health (IUIH) on their population health promotion campaign Deadly Choices. Lionel was part of the leadership group for Deadly Choices and contributed to the growth, development of activities and quality management during my employment.
Lionel managed the developed and implementation of the community‑led, statewide anti‑vaping campaign Flip The Vapewhich has received multiple awards, including 2025 Victorian Public Healthcare Awards. This campaign has been recognised for its innovation, cultural leadership, and impact on reducing vaping harms across communities in Victoria.