Troy McDonald

Troy McDonald

Gunai Kurnai Gunditjmara Man
Corporal
4th/19th Prince of Wales’s Light Horse Regiment
Royal Australian Armoured Corps
Australian Army

Medals

Australian Operational Service Medal – Border Protection
Defence Long Service Medal with 1st clasp
Australian Defence Medal

“My military career spanned nearly 30 years, with two distinct periods of service in the Royal Australian Armoured Corps as a reservist with the 4th/19th Prince of Wales’s Light Horse Regiment. I first enlisted in 1980, serving until 1994, and then re-enlisted from 2001 to 2015. These periods included full-time contracts and an operational deployment in 2014.

Throughout my service, I was privileged to learn from exceptional instructors and leaders who instilled a can-do mindset. The discipline, leadership, resilience and training I gained from my military career as a Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) have been invaluable skills-based assets, driving me to achieve meaningful change in both my professional and personal life. I successfully honed my skills in strategy, planning, and leadership that seamlessly translated into my civilian role within the Victorian Public Service, 2001-2022. These skills were instrumental in my contributions as a public servant and social justice advocate enabling me to navigate complexities, drive change and implement reforms across a variety of portfolios. However, it is the Aboriginal Water Reform actions in the Department of Environment Land and Water (DELWP) that I’m most proud of, and which I could not have achieved without the support of my colleague at the time, Catherine Lewis. This was an effective initiative from 2016-2018, the legacies of which are still being realised in 2024.

My work with the Aboriginal community of Victoria, particularly in areas such as water reform and service planning also benefited immensely from my military training. I was nominated by my Traditional Owner group to represent the Gunai Kurnai in the Victorian treaty movement. In 2001, I was honoured with the inaugural Regional Aboriginal Justice Award for Gippsland, which I shared with Magistrate, Edwin Batt. This award recognised my efforts in advancing social justice reform opportunities for Aboriginal communities in Gippsland. In 2015, the Department of Health and Human Services awarded me the Diversity and Inclusion and Excellence award, acknowledging my contributions to promoting diversity and inclusion in the workplace. I was invited back twice to talk to the inspiring young Aboriginal men by the Local Aboriginal Education network in the early 2010s to discuss leadership and how to apply potential within a complex environment where industry reform was reshaping the Latrobe Valley.

I’ve played crucial roles in planning and coordination across major events such as The Great Divide Fires, the 2008 Gippsland Flood event and the 2022 Victorian floods. However one of the most impactful experiences of my military career was with Operation Vic Fire Assist during the Black Saturday Fires where I was deployed to support forensic search and rescue operations across affected areas. The experience reinforced my commitment to public service and to learn how to best support and inform community resilience in a complex and traumatic environment. This experience also allowed me to take on a coordination role during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in Victoria. Deployment on Operation Resolute gave me a deeper understanding of the complexities behind border security including challenges associated with piracy, human trafficking, and the geopolitical considerations that affect many lives in Australia and abroad.

During a military trip to Israel/Palestine in 2008, I witnessed firsthand the profound impact of ideological differences and the lack of political representation when there are dominant cultural perspectives. This experience highlighted the importance of advocacy for the voiceless through platforms that promote civil association and inclusion. Through my observations, I saw that here in Victoria, there is alignment with the Victorian Treaty movement and the Traditional Owner movements while acknowledging there are vastly different considerations.

Balancing two careers—one in the public service and the other in a mechanised cavalry unit—may seem unconventional, but both paths enriched my life and provided clarity of purpose. As a survivor of child Institutional sexual abuse and being cruelly voted by my schoolmates as the student most likely to end up in Pentridge Gaol, I left school at 15 with limited education abilities hoping to find work. It was during this early phase of my life that I learned pretty damn quickly that I had to work twice as hard to be considered half as good. My success would not have been possible without the support of my wife, Sonya, and my children, Rene, Kayle and Monica and the many people who believed in me throughout my journey.

In closing, I could not have achieved anything without collaboration, teamwork, and understanding individual differences in how we get the job done, thanks to everyone who has supported me. I give a big shout-out to Beryl Booth (Mum) for ‘always trying to keep me grounded’ and to my dad, Noel McDonald. I am also indebted to many other people, including family, the Australian Defence Force, professional colleagues, and the judiciary, who have given me a fair go on this journey.”

– Troy McDonald