Eleanore Fritze

Eleanore Fritze has witnessed up close the injustices that arise when legal and other systems do not understand, accommodate, support and respect people with disability on an equitable basis. Her work over the last 20 years - as a lawyer, strategic advocate, board member, research and policy officer, clinical educator and support worker - has been driven by her passion for supporting, empowering and protecting the rights of people with disability in these systems. 

In 2021, Eleanore was appointed as the Principal Solicitor at the Office of the Public Advocate, supporting the Public Advocate and her staff in their work to promote and protect the rights and interests of people with disability in Victoria. Prior to this, she worked at Victoria Legal Aid for over 15 years (principally in the Mental Health and Disability Law program), as well as in disability-focused roles at the Centre for Innovative Justice, the University of Melbourne Law School and Fitzroy Legal Service.

In 2014, Eleanore was awarded a Churchill Fellowship to explore how legal services can best protect the human rights and dignity of people with disability who are detained and subjected to compulsory treatment in closed environments. Influential at the time, there been a recent resurgence of interest in her Fellowship report in light of the Royal Commission into Victoria's Mental Health System. 

Among other accolades, Eleanore was co-recipient of the Victorian Disability Award for Excellence in Promoting Rights, Fairness and Safety (2021), was a Law Institute of Victoria ‘Rising Star of the Year’ finalist (2012), received the Chief Justice’s Victoria Law Foundation Medal for Excellence and Community Service (2006) and was awarded a University of Melbourne National Scholarship (2001). 

Eleanore continues to be very active in law reform, strategic advocacy and innovative community legal education projects to improve outcomes for people with disability. She enjoys working to improve the design and delivery of legal and other services for people with disability. Eleanore values the expertise which comes from lived experience and has learnt a great deal from working alongside and co-designing projects with self-advocates. She also regularly presents at conferences and events, participates in steering committees and consultations, and has published a small amount of research.

In recent years she has been building her governance and strategy experience as a board member and sub-committee chair of the 'Association for Children with a Disability' and as founding Vice President of the health promotion charity 'Through the Unexpected'.   

Eleanore holds Bachelor degrees in Arts and Law from the University of Melbourne and has completed post-graduate study in disability and forensic disability.