Bernadette Black AM

Bernadette Black is a primary prevention expert and the lead author of Australia's National Primary Preventative Framework, a whole‑of‑government, whole‑of‑society roadmap designed to prevent harm before it takes root. As lead designer and architect of the incremental reform catalogue now being piloted in Tasmania, she translates lived experience and frontline wisdom into practical, achievable policy shifts across government. Together with an exceptional team, Bernadette convenes a quarterly advisory council of 24 experts, ensuring that this work remains grounded in evidence, experience and rigorous thinking.

Bernadette contributes to global conversations on prevention through her role as an Advisory Member (International) – National Prevention Strategies with the NYU Centre on International Cooperation (CIC), where she shapes emerging international guidance on national prevention architectures from an Australian perspective. She is also an Advisory Member with the Sydney Policy Lab at the University of Sydney, bridging the worlds of community, policy and research around prevention and early childhood development.

Rooted in lived experience, Bernadette is a skilled systems change leader who understands the deep, structural issues that drive intergenerational disadvantage. Her work centres on bringing together diverse stakeholders—Commonwealth and State Governments, philanthropy, community leaders and advocates—to reimagine how Australia can shift from crisis response to prevention. The Primary Preventative Round Table she convenes is one manifestation of this vision: a forum where prevention is no longer peripheral but central to how we design and fund the systems that support families, our communities and future.

Bernadette's foundation includes an Executive Certificate in Public Leadership from Harvard Kennedy School, a Graduate Diploma in Perioperative Nursing, a Bachelor of Nursing and a Diploma in Business. She is also a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Her contribution to public life has been recognized through appointment as a Member of the Order of Australia for significant service to young people, communities and local governments, and through accolades including Australian Tasmanian of the Year, Telstra Tasmanian Businesswoman of the Year and recognition in the Australian Financial Review's Top 100 Women of Influence. She is a Winston Churchill Fellow, currently studying international models of primary preventative funding and frameworks to inform Australia's long‑term approach to social change.

Bernadette is married to Steven, a mother of three and a proud grandmother of two.