We acknowledge the Traditional Owners/Custodians of the lands and waters on which we work and live on across Australia. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging. We are committed to collaboration that furthers self-determination and creates a better future for all. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that this website contains images and names of deceased persons.

The Australian Centre for Social Innovation
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Barbara Binns

Senior Social Innovator – Weavers Implementation Lead

Barbara Binns
she/her

Working on Kaurna Land

From within a 14 year career in education, Barbara sought to understand and respond to unique learning experiences within the complexities of the education system. Now, as our Senior Social Innovator and Implementation Lead, she supports other organisations to implement peer-to-peer solutions designed and trialled by TACSI. Barbara believes that building communities where mutual support comes from shared experience is critical for families and individuals to thrive.

Quietly persistent with an empathetic approach, Barbara strives to see the world through other people’s eyes. Her glass is always half full, and she loves appreciating the greatness of people.

For the last seven years, her focus has been supporting the spread and implementation of ‘Weavers’, a peer-to-peer support model that helps carers manage the ongoing challenges of caring, reducing the stress of caring and increasing wellbeing.

When not working for TACSI, Barb values time with family, friends and community and finds joy in supporting people at significant times of their lives as a wedding celebrant and end-of-life doula.

  • Bachelor of Education
  • Certificates in Narrative and Art Therapy

Barbara's Message Stick

* A message stick is a public form of graphic communication devised by Aboriginal Australians. The objects were carried by messengers over long distances and were used for reinforcing a verbal message.

Download Barbara's Message Stick
Barbara Binns' message stick, heading text reads 'Bringing Aboriginal history and herstory alive!!' Image features an illustrated women

Barbara's project highlights

See all our Work

Case study: Peer Support for Young Parents

Case study: Peer Support for Young Parents

In 2023, we partnered with Junction Australia to reflect on the impact of The Young Parent Project and co-design the tools, insights and frameworks needed to scale the program.

Foster to Family

Foster to Family

A framework and toolkit for helping parents and foster carers work together towards returning children home.

End of Life Impact Network

End of Life Impact Network

What if all Australians and their loved ones had better end of life experiences: dying peacefully, connected, life in order, in a place of their choosing and free of pain? Our Impact Network seeks to achieve just that.

The Virtual Village

The Virtual Village

The Virtual Village provides peer-to-peer intensive support for regional families struggling to cope, feeling isolated or experiencing poor mental or physical health. We pair families experiencing stress or trauma with trained family support volunteers with lived experiences of family stress, family violence or isolation.

Changing the way we think about ageing

Changing the way we think about ageing

With the highest proportion of older people on mainland Australia, South Australia is uniquely positioned to lead how we redesign ageing for better lives. In partnership with the Office for Ageing Well, we listened to thousands of older people and consolidated what we heard into three strategic priorities necessary to reinvent how we age.

Co-parenthood

Co-parenthood

Co-designed with families and practitioners, co-parenthood is a shared-parenting model of foster care that helps parents and carers work together towards returning children home, with support services for parents and foster carers.

Weavers

Weavers

Our scaffolded peer-to-peer carers support model Weavers connects people who are caring for a significant other with someone who has lived experience of being a family carer. Weavers is co-designed with carers, which means we listen to the voices of carers and work with them to design a program that actually works for them.

Family by Family

Family by Family

Co-designed with South Australian families for families, Family by Family helps families experiencing setbacks by engaging and training families who have been through tough times to help other families going through tough times themselves.

Meet more of the team who make our work possible.

Meet the team