Series 808 - Annette O'Neill papers on social work in Papua New Guinea

Annette O'Neill (nee Dallimore) attended the University of Melbourne and earned a Diploma of Social Studies, and subsequently, a Bachelor of Arts. At the time of her marriage in 1967, Annette was a social worker at Larundel Psychiatric Hospital in Melbourne. Upon moving to Papua New Guinea in 1969, although unable, as a married woman, to be appointed as a contract officer to the social worker positions, Annette O'Neill found employment as a Technical Officer, Psychological Services, Public Service Board of Papua New Guinea. Later that year, she was appointed the Honorary Secretary of the Council of Social Service of Papua. This involved developing and submitting proposals on social policy to the Administrator of the Territory of Papua and New Guinea – the executive head of the colonial government of the two territories of Papua (a colony/external territory of Australia) and the Territory of New Guinea (a Trust Territory of the United Nations) that were being brought together to independence as a single country.
At this time Annette O'Neill prepared the Directory of Community Services for Papua and served the Executive Committee of the Council and conducted the international liaison. In 1970 she was appointed the Social Worker at the Port Moresby General Hospital, but kept up her involvement with the Council of Social Service of Papua. In 1972, Annette O'Neill and others set up the Papua New Guinea Social Workers’ Association. Annette O'Neill served as the Association’s first President. The Association was active in the lobbying to get a Social Work course (and Faculty) set up at the University of Papua New Guinea.
During 1973-1974, Annette O'Neill was in London, where she received a Master of Science in the Economics, Sociology and Politics of Planning. She returned to Port Moresby in 1975, where she continued in her roles with the Council for Social Services for Papua and the Papua New Guinea Social Workers’ Association. She also was a consultant to the National Planning Office of Papua New Guinea on urbanisation policy and taught occasionally at the Administrative College, Port Moresby.
Annette O'Neil returned to Australia in 1977, where she became a tutor and session teacher at University of Sydney Social Work Department and was a director of a firm of third world development consultants. She was also involved in community and Council committees and as, President of the Nicholson St Public School, was very involved in the substantial preparations for the centenary of the School (1983), which included researching and writing (with journalist Tony Stephens) a book about Balmain “Larrikin Days.”
From 1989 to 1997, Annette, although not a lawyer, was the Senior Member for New South Wales of the Social Security Appeals Tribunal. From 1997 to 1999, she was Manager, Strategic Planning and Specialist Housing Programs in the NSW Department of Housing and then from 1999 to 2002 a member of the NSW Administrative Decisions Tribunal and from 2002 until 2012 was a Senior Member of the NSW Consumer Trader Tenancy Tribunal (subsequently incorporated into the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal).
Annette was Chairman for five years of the Centennial and Moore Park Trust. Her period of office involved the planning for and delivery of a number of events of the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games that took place took part in or used Centennial Park and the 2001 celebration of centenary of the inauguration of the Commonwealth of Australia, 1 January 1901 that also took place in Centennial Park. Annette was awarded a Centennial Medal.
Annette was also a Governor of the Law Foundation of NSW, a member then Chair of the Public Interest Advocacy Centre and also a member then Chair of Shelter (NSW). She died in 2022.