Innovation Case Study (2026): Ann Ly, City of Greater Dandenong
Greater Dandenong City Council
Ann Ly, Secretariat, Community Advocacy Officer
Uniting leaders to Back Your Neighbour
Ann Ly serves as secretariat and advocacy lead for the Back Your Neighbour campaign, delivered by the Mayoral and Councillor Taskforce Supporting People Seeking Asylum.
Since 2023, she has driven the campaign’s strategic direction, led advocacy and coordinated national engagement with policymakers, councils and communities to advance fair reforms for people seeking protection in Australia.
2026 MAVlab Innovation Awards Finalist:
Finalist for the Innovatio Pro Bono Publico Award: Emerging Leader Award, supported by JLT Public Service.
Bold leadership and strategic vision:
Ann demonstrated resilient, future focused leadership by transforming the Mayoral and Councillor Taskforce’s Back Your Neighbour campaign from an intermittent advocacy initiative into a sustained national movement.
Ann has worked at Greater Dandenong City Council for over 15 years in diverse roles and became the Secretariat and advocacy lead for the Back Your Neighbour campaign in 2023.
Ann identified critical structural weaknesses of the campaign early, including fragmented delivery, limited participation from member Councils, weak influence beyond Victoria and the absence of a consistent campaign framework that forced momentum to reset every few months.
Ann started to develop long-term strategy, continuity and shared accountability across the Taskforce’s member councils. A centralised model enabled coordinated action during key political windows e.g. elections and created a foundation for sustained advocacy for a complex topic – migration and people seeking asylum.
Ann introduced data-informed practices, including strategic mapping of electorates, demographics and migration data, alongside tailored communications and the campaign’s first long-term communication strategy.
She navigated successive Council and mayoral terms, sustaining momentum despite fluctuations in the Taskforce membership. With Ann's persistence, the Taskforce grew to 48 member councils and more than 90 organisational partners across the faith, education, legal, community and refugee sectors. This includes engagement with over 300 Councillors and staff combined.
Leading on the politically sensitive issue of migration, she took considered risks by elevating local government voices in national events. She coordinated mayoral delegations, developed cross-sector partnerships across five states and facilitated Taskforce participation in high visibility events such as national conferences, Refugee Week, Palm Sunday rallies and the Big Walk for Refugees.
Through clear vision and consistent leadership across the Taskforce’s 48 member Councils in times of pressure and political complexity, Ann transformed Back Your Neighbour into a national campaign.
Influence and enablement:
Ann empowered the Taskforce’s member councils, partners and communities to create sustained value through a collaborative approach, grounded in shared ownership, innovation and continuous learning.
Previously, the Taskforce lacked a consistent framework, with activity delivered in short bursts by consultants and participation from member councils was limited. Ann addressed this by establishing clear structures and processes, including a fit for purpose Terms of Reference that enabled councils to actively contribute. She shifted the model from siloed participation to an empowered, collective approach.
Central to this was aligning messaging across councils. Ann identified shared strategic priorities of members and linked them to the campaign’s objectives. She framed a clear, common narrative that connected local impacts to national refugee policy change, ensuring relevance across government levels. To support this, she developed practical tools such as briefings, talking points and advocacy materials, enabling consistent communication.
Mayors were supported to chair meetings and lead delegations, while councillors and officers were equipped with tailored toolkits and resources which Ann developed. Ann’s stakeholder mapping by locality created accountability that fostered active participation, and tapped into members' existing networks. By engaging multiple levels within individual councils, Ann built leadership, capability and ownership across the Taskforce.
She also strengthened alignment beyond local government by identifying and engaging 250 supporter organisations with shared missions, including peak bodies and national advocacy groups like the Refugee Council of Australia, Welcoming Australia, Rural Australian for Refugees and Australian Refugee Action Network. This reinforced consistent messaging and expanded reach.
Regular coordination, feedback loops and shared learning ensured consistent messaging that improved over time. Ann also mobilised broad community support through tools such as petitions, an Email Your MP platform, postcards and digital storytelling featuring lived experience.
Through this integrated approach, Ann built a cohesive, confident coalition capable of delivering coordinated, high impact advocacy.
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Agility, adaptability and growth:
Ann demonstrates a strong commitment to continuous learning and adaptive leadership, continually evolving her approach in response to changing political and organisational contexts.
She navigated successive Council terms by introducing annual induction and forum for incoming mayors, ensuring continuity of knowledge, advocacy priorities and campaign direction despite regular leadership turnover. Currently, there are over 300 Councillors and staff which Ann engages with to maintain campaign momentum.
She draws on best practice from sector peak bodies and applies these insights to strengthen campaign coordination and influence. After each political engagement, Ann evaluates effectiveness, refines messaging and improves coordination. This iterative approach, combined with shared learning amongst Taskforce members, led to more targeted advocacy, deeper engagement with decision makers and increased confidence among members.
Ann applies contemporary advocacy techniques from professional training to build members’ capability to engage in complex refugee policy discussions with consistency. She has also made deliberate strategic decisions towards national coordination and strategic partnerships. She has successfully expanded advocacy into QLD, NSW, TAS, SA and the ACT, building relationships across jurisdictions to unite Council leaders.
With limited budget, Ann took the initiative to improve the campaign’s digital infrastructure, redeveloping the website herself and building social media presence for the campaign. This resulted in stronger digital engagement and content that helped shift negative discourse about people seeking asylum in Australia.
For example, three lived experience video stories co-developed by Ann, garnered 13.7k views and contributed to a 400 percent increase in reach on social media in 2025. Additionally, media coverage in The Age, The Guardian and ABC Radio and high profile endorsements from MPs and capital city Lord Mayors helped increase much-needed public awareness of the campaign.
By embedding reflection, capability building and evidence-based decision making, Ann has strengthened participation, influence and long-term impact.
Impact and Enduring value:
Ann’s leadership has delivered impact well beyond a single campaign, embedding lasting change in how local governments collaborate, advocate and influence national policy. The Taskforce evolved into a sustained and scalable model for coordinated advocacy, with stronger participation across 48 Councils and a lasting shift in how councils engage with complex social issues.
By activating councils, peak bodies and community organisations, she expanded the campaign’s reach and credibility, increasing pressure on Federal decision makers. The voice of local councils and communities proved unique and has been commended by members of Parliament.
Under her leadership, the Taskforce evolved into a sustained and scalable model for coordinated advocacy, increasing membership by 10 councils since 2023 and expanding into South Australia and Western Australia. The Taskforce now, represents over 6 million residents and includes its first NSW council on the Executive, demonstrating national reach and influence.
Ann developed practical, accessible resources including letter templates, government briefs and community toolkits, enabling consistent and confident engagement across jurisdictions.
The collective advocacy Ann led contributed to tangible policy outcomes, including a $160 million Federal investment to address visa processing delays, permanent visas for 20,000 community members on temporary visas and a further 6000 people in visa limbo for 15 years, most recently.
She also built capacity for people seeking asylum to participate in the Taskforce's delegations, strengthening both advocacy impact and individual outcomes.
This model has demonstrated strong transferability, with elements adopted in other advocacy areas within Greater Dandenong City Council and shared by member councils as a best practice approach.
Ann has established a foundation that continues to generate impact, ensuring the campaign remains sustainable, scalable and influential beyond a single initiative.