Lucas Patchett

Lucas Patchett is the co-founder and CEO of Orange Sky, the worlds first free mobile laundry service for the homeless. Starting with one van on a mission to improve hygiene standards in Brisbane, Orange Sky has now grown its mission to positively connect communities. The organisation now provides 63 services across 43 locations spanning Australia and New Zealand. Each week 3000 volunteers support some of the 122,000 Australians who are doing it tough gain access to 1,700 loads of washing, 150 safe hot showers and more than 2,300 hours of genuine and non judgemental conversation. To date Orange Sky has facilitated more than 3.5 million kilos of free laundry and is on a mission to positively impact 40,000 people in 2025.

Awarded Young Australian of the Year in 2016 and an Order of Australia medal in 2020. Lucas has been instrumental in the significant growth of Orange Sky in all aspects of the business including operations, fundraising and setting up governance best practice as the organisation has evolved.

This interest in homelessness and volunteering stemmed from meeting people doing it tough in his local community when he was 15 and started volunteering on a food van in high school with his best mate Nic (the other co-founder of Orange Sky).

Lucas also serves as a director on the Gold Coast Hospital and Health Service (HHS) as a part of QLD Health and a part of the Audit & Risk, Safety & Quality and Finance & Performance sub-committees where he brings a focus on innovation, culture and community.