An aptitude for leadership and advocacy has seen Linda Matthews (BA ’90) devote four decades to assist some of our society’s most disadvantaged people through her career at the head of community, not-for-profit and government organisations.
From her initial role as Director of the Parks Community Legal Service, Ms Matthews has served as Director of the Women’s Information Service in the South Australian Department of Premier and Cabinet, then as Director of the SA Domestic Violence Prevention Unit, and as Director of the SA Rape and Sexual Assault Service.
As Director of the Funding and Advocacy Division with the Intellectual Disability Services Council of SA, she integrated a $70 million budget into funding agreements for 50 organisations. As President of Scosa, a not-for-profit service for adults with disabilities, she led its successful merger with Novita, a not-for-profit service for children with disability – a merger that ensured the organisation’s financial viability following the introduction of the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
Ms Matthews was SA Commissioner for Equal Opportunity for 15 years, then was appointed as Queensland’s first Privacy Commissioner. She then became Executive Director of Women NSW in the NSW Department of Families and Communities, leading reforms for victims of domestic and family violence. On her return to SA, she was appointed Director of STTARS (Survivors of Torture and Trauma Assistance and Rehabilitation Service.)
In 2020, as Chief Executive of Catherine House, a service for women experiencing homelessness, her leadership proved vital to navigate a successful merger with Housing Choices Australia.
She acknowledges with a wry smile that it has been a long, diverse journey since she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts at Flinders University. She commenced her studies in the 1970s, at a time when Flinders academics were especially interested in advocating for social change.
“My Flinders degree gave me a broad understanding of social issues that led me to policy areas, and multi-disciplinary work, which was quite rare in those days,” she says. “I can look back now and laugh at people who told me that a Flinders Arts degree wouldn’t do me any good, that it was only degrees from the sandstone universities that were taken seriously. My courses gave me excellent analytical skills, and the determination to put them to good use.
“I have always been purpose-driven and determined to make a difference, so I’ve taken roles that I thought were interesting and had a strong social purpose to them – but I knew that I needed skills to be successful. Just being an advocate is not enough. You have to have skills to effect change.”
Believing in the importance of change through education, she placed strong emphasis on programs for community education and collaboration with business, union, and community groups.
Throughout this journey, Ms Matthews promoted what she called “a climate of intolerance for discrimination in all its forms” – underlining her determination to introduce positive social change.
“My appetite to break down discrimination started in my first job, working in a bank. It was an era when women were still not allowed to be tellers, and I was genuinely shocked by the inequality of that,” she says.
“The more I talked with young women in the workforce back then, the more complaints I heard. Sex discrimination and sexual harassment were commonplace, with women being instructed to wear clothing that showed off their breasts, and expected to sleep with the boss if they wanted to keep their job. Nobody thought they could do anything about this discrimination. I was determined to influence change.”
Ms Matthews has held many Board positions over her career, most recently on the SA Housing Trust, and is currently a Board member on the Lifetime Support Authority and Chairperson of St Mark’s College (a university residential college affiliated with Adelaide University). She says her work with St Marks College serves her desire to promote access to higher education, and has seen her champion more scholarships and other financial support for students to stay at St Marks College.
“My view is that we need to open all institutions to maximum inclusion and participation,
So that people are not constrained by their background and personal circumstances, to open a pathway to higher education for all,” she says, “because this is the gateway to equality.”
Ms Linda Matthews has been awarded a 2025 Distinguished Alumni Award from Flinders University for distinguished leadership across government and not-for-profit sectors, championing the rights and wellbeing of society’s most disadvantaged.