About Us

Our Values

Communication & Community

We foster open, transparent communication and a supportive community where School Nurses are recognised as essential healthcare leaders in schools. We create spaces for connection, collaboration and the shared exchange of professional knowledge.

Professional Growth

We champion continuous learning and advanced professional development, ensuring School Nurses have access to the latest evidence, research and best-practice standards. Our commitment to lifelong learning elevates school nursing to a gold standard of care.

Proactive Primary Healthcare

We advocate for evidence-based, preventative and student-centred primary healthcare. School Nurses play a critical role in promoting wellbeing, early intervention and health education empowering school communities to thrive.

Professional Support

We provide strong, reliable support and collegiality for School Nurses as highly skilled professionals. By offering guidance, shared expertise and a wealth of collective knowledge, we strengthen the delivery of safe, consistent, gold-standard practice across all school settings.

Your Committee

President – Jess Turnbull

Vice President – Kylie De Blaquiere and Belinda Howlett

Secretary – Jodie Laube

Treasurer – Jacinta Sonego

Memberships Secretary – Karen Fyvie and Sabrina Vining

Social Media Officer – Olivia Tonks

Special Interest Group: Jessie Smith

General Members – Kerri Carboon, Lois Foster, Melanie Seuford

The Executive Committee is elected on a biannual basis and was last appointed in 2025 for the 2026–2027 term.

History

The Victorian School Nurses Association (VSNA) has a proud history dating back to the early 1980s. Anecdotally, the network began around 1981 when a Geelong Grammar School nurse invited colleagues from other private schools to a dinner to discuss school nurse duties and working environments. This informal gathering marked the beginning of a shared professional community and highlighted the importance of collaboration in supporting student health.

From these early meetings, the Victorian School Nurses (VSN) group steadily expanded. Dinner meetings rotated through various schools, initially attracting mostly private and independent school nurses, with Department of Education nurses joining over the years.

The association has evolved considerably from its humble beginnings once relying on receipt books and handwritten notes to now communicating across multiple modern platforms. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Zoom became an essential tool for maintaining connection and delivering professional education during stay-at-home orders. Today, quarterly meetings continue to be held via Zoom, support accessibility and accommodate the busy professional lives of school nurses.

In 1987, the VSN became a Special Interest Group of the Nurses' Union and in April 1988, the inaugural Annual General Meeting was held. In the 1990s, the Australian Nurses’ Union supported the association by distributing expressions of interest and hosting seminars to maintain momentum. Members prioritised the VSNA's core purpose: education, support and networking for school nurses.

Since then, the VSNA has grown into a strong and active association, with hundreds of members. Biannual (now national) conferences have become a hallmark of the group, complemented by seminars and educational workshops in alternate years. AGMs later moved to the ANMF building, complete with pre-meeting finger food to foster connection, networking and community among members.

After many years as an ANMF Specialist Group, the Victorian School Nurses Association became an independent incorporated association in 2023. The VSNA continues to work closely with the ANMF VIC Branch and is grateful for their ongoing support, reflecting its enduring commitment to collaboration within the broader nursing profession.

The success of the Victorian School Nurses Association is the result of the dedication, commitment and the hard work of many individuals over the decades. Their collective efforts have shaped a vibrant, supportive and enduring professional community for school nurses across Victoria, ensuring that students receive high-quality healthcare and health education in school settings.