Jane Miller (1940 – )

Jane Miller circa 1990s

Unsure of what to choose as a future career after she left school, Jane visited Open Day at The University of Melbourne and realized that life as a social worker might fit her interests. She began her Arts/Diploma of Social Work program full-time in 1959, and after graduation took a position with The Brotherhood of St Laurence. At that time social workers employed by the Brotherhood were not involved in social research, but carried out basic casework, a frustrating experience for Jane because there were so few services to address the obvious needs experienced by her clients.

Jane then made a move to The Alfred Hospital, seeking good supervision to help her develop her social work skills. She was placed at Caulfield Hospital, at that time part of The Alfred. This was followed by several years of part-time work in other settings as Jane raised her family, then by a further period as Senior Social Worker at Caulfield.

She then took a change of direction, joining the Public Service and becoming first the Disability Conciliator in the Commission for Equal Opportunities Office, then a senior policy worker at WorkCare when its rehabilitation program was beginning. Her last non-hospital job was with Community Services Victoria. With a change of government, conditions changed in the public service, and Jane decided to return to hospital social work. She took a position in the Social Work Department at the Royal Children’s Hospital, where at the time of the interview in October 1996 she was Senior Social Worker.

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