4 Client Service Officers cover the metropolitan region.

Samuel Gentile

I was born in Melbourne and my relatives are from the Echuca and Shepparton area. My grandmother’s name was Minnie Atkinson and she introduced me to Aboriginal culture. I did a Certificate in Horticulture at a TAFE for a year and then left to pursue a career at VALS. My first role there was as Support Officer which involved filing, working in reception and taking D24 notifications. I have been a CSO for 4 years now. I enjoy my job, even though it can be demanding at times with night shift and being on call over the weekend. I enjoy my work and knowing that I’m helping the Aboriginal community is a great honour for me. I want to help the Aboriginal community to improve themselves and to educate them about the need for a positive relationship with the police. *

Shaune Austin

I’m a Wiradjuri Yorta Yorta man who has lived in many places all up and down the east coast of Australia from Brisbane to Wollongong, Nowra, down as far as Mount Gambier. I am now settled back in Melbourne where most of my family lives and where I currently play my football in the VFL for the Northern Bullants. I don’t have much community work experience, but in working at the community run Legal Service I hope to gain a lot more experience to help my mob in dealing with the justice system. I have worked in many jobs such as customer service at the ANZ Bank, worked as Security at the 5 Star Langham Hotel and many other smaller type jobs. Working as a CSO at VALS has allowed me to understand the justice system better and with that knowledge I will then pass it onto my community.

Gary Bamblett

I am a proud Yorta Yorta man. I was born and raised in Melbourne and I have lived here all my life. I have 3 brothers and 2 sisters and come from a large family. I have been working at VALS for almost 10 years now, starting in 2002. I have really enjoyed working for VALS as it has given me the opportunity to contribute to helping my community. I’m a massive sports fan. My AFL team is the Collingwood Magpies and the other teams I’m a fan of are the Fitzroy Stars, Melbourne Tigers and my basketball team the JB Magpies. In 2010 I took on the role of Client Service Officer (CSO). One of the changes I have made is changing the intake form to accurately measure calls to and from police stations and I am now working on reviewing the CSO Induction Manual as well as undertaking my day to day duties.

Helen Christensen

Helen Christensen is a client service officer based in metropolitan Melbourne. She joined the VALS team in August 2011. Helen is originally from Darwin and now lives just outside of Geelong. Her husband is Brendan and together they have 5 children. She is the proud mother of 3 boys (Allen, Luke and Aaron) and 2 twin girls (Molly and Olivia, pictured above). She also has a staffy who goes by the name of Boss. Helen’s eldest son Allen plays for Geelong Football club, wearing the number 28. She barracks for Essendon though! Helen has a Bachelor of Law degree and is presently at the College of Law. She is passionate about her fitness and has completed 3 x ½ marathons.