Tony Smith’s career has taken a few turns since he first walked through Brophy’s doors as a Community Services student.
There was study, placement, residential care, foster care work, and the growing demands of running a successful local business. But through it all, his interest in supporting young people never really went away.
Now, his path has brought him full circle.
Tony has returned to Brophy as a Case Support Worker in the Home-Based Care team, balancing casual shifts with his role running Pepper’s Pizza, a successful local business in Warrnambool.
For Tony, it is a chance to reconnect with work that has always felt meaningful.
His Brophy journey began while studying a Diploma of Community Services through South West TAFE. To meet requirements of the course, he needed to complete placement hours. That led him to walk through Brophy’s doors, firstly working in residential care.
What started as a placement opportunity soon became something much more personal.
After completing his placement hours, Tony joined Brophy’s Foster Care team, working as a practitioner and supporting children, young people and carers across the home-based care system. His motivation was simple: he wanted to do work that made a difference.
“I had a pretty good upbringing,” Tony said.
“My family on either side had been complete families. Once I learned more about out-of-home care while I was studying, I just gravitated towards that need for young kids who needed support.
Tony Smith outside Peppers Pizza in Warrnambool.
“You’d like to make a difference in their lives, but even if you can just do a one percenter, that was the difference for me.”
Tony’s interest in community services was also shaped by his own life experience.
As the father of a daughter with disability, he had a strong understanding of the way people in the community sometimes need extra support. That experience helped guide him towards studying community services, even though he was not initially sure where that path would lead.
“I feel like there’s people in the community that need help in some way,” Tony said.
“I’m not saying I can change the world, but if I could study in that area and somehow help people in their lives, that was the whole idea of doing the course.
“I didn’t know where I would fall job-wise, but out-of-home care really gravitated towards me.”
Tony worked with Brophy’s foster care team from 2021 to 2024, before stepping away from the organisation to focus on another major part of his life — Pepper’s Pizza.
As the business grew, Tony needed to dedicate more time and energy to the shop and the team he was building there. But his passion for working with young people and supporting the community never disappeared.
Through his business, Tony continued to meet and work with young people from across the community. He heard about their challenges, their lives and the things they were navigating. That connection helped keep his interest in youth and community services alive.
Now, with a strong management team in place at Pepper’s Pizza and a little more flexibility in his week, Tony has found a way to bring both parts of his life together.
“In my business I work with a lot of young people. You hear about their challenges in life,” Tony said.
“To come back to Brophy was about getting out in the community and helping people who need a little bit of help, whether it’s young children or teenagers.
“Just to be there to support them when needed.”
Tony’s current role gives him the flexibility to balance his business commitments with casual shifts at Brophy. It also allows him to stay connected to an area of work he cares about deeply.
“Shifts come available and I can take a shift where I can work it into my life,” he said.
“Running a small business is usually week to week, but I have a good management team that allows me to come and do this job role, just to spark my interest in the youth industry and home-based care.”
While Tony’s role now looks a little different to his previous practitioner position, the purpose behind the work remains the same.
He describes his current role as being about client transports, spending time with young people and providing practical support where it is needed. But within those moments, Tony sees the value of small wins.
One example that has stayed with him involved transporting three siblings. The first several trips were met with challenging behaviours, with the children experiencing big emotions. But by the final trip, something had shifted.
“They were gold,” Tony said.
“That was a win at the end of it. They were able to regulate their emotions and it was something the carers reflected when I spoke to them too. You could really see how much they’d grown.”
For Tony, those moments are a reminder that progress in this work does not always happen in huge, obvious ways.
Sometimes it is a child settling in the back seat of a car. Sometimes it is a young person feeling safe enough to regulate. Sometimes it is being a steady, supportive adult in a moment when they need one.
“It’s the one percenters,” Tony said.
That belief sits at the heart of Tony’s career journey.
It is also part of what drew him back to Brophy.
Tony said one of the things he values most about the Home-Based Care team is the support and connection between staff.
“They’re a really supportive team,” he said.
“In any team, you want to be able to approach people and ask questions. That’s what I find about the Home-Based Care team — really supportive and happy to help each other.
“From the top to the bottom, people are approachable.”
Tony said being part of Brophy also gives him a broader connection to work happening across the organisation.
Through all-staff meetings, dubbed ‘Staffies’, Learning Days, team meetings and organisational updates, he has been able to see the impact different programs are having across the community.
“You see what all the other teams are doing and the great things they’re doing for the community,” Tony said.
“The opportunities Brophy gives through training and learning days is amazing.”
Tony’s story is a strong example of what it can look like to create a career that fits your life.
His journey has not followed a straight line. It has included study, placement, residential care, foster care, business ownership and now a return to community services in a way that works alongside his other commitments.
For Tony, that flexibility matters. But so does the purpose.
He has built a successful local business, supported young people through his work, and now found a way to keep contributing to an area he cares deeply about.
And while he is currently enjoying the flexibility of casual work, Tony has not ruled out taking on a bigger role with Brophy again in the future.
“Hopefully one day I’d like to jump back into the organisation on a bigger scale, when my timeframes allow me to do that,” he said.
For now, Tony is exactly where he wants to be — connected to the Home-Based Care team, supporting young people, helping carers and making a difference in the small moments that matter.
Because sometimes creating the career you want means stepping away when life needs you somewhere else. And sometimes it means finding your way back.
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