Long before Peta and Hannah became colleagues, they had already spent a lifetime learning how to work together.
The Portland-raised sisters have grown up together, become best friends and learned where their personalities complement – and contrast — with one another.
Working just metres apart at Brophy’s Portland office, they’ve discovered the qualities shaping their sibling relationship translate naturally into the workplace.
“We’re really close outside of work anyway,” Peta said. “I would consider us best friends outside of work, just in life.
“You know each other’s strengths, and you know where each other might struggle.”
Hannah said becoming colleagues had only reinforced a trait already at the heart of their relationship.
“There’s definitely a strong level of respect and knowing each other’s strengths,” she said.
While they now work side by side, their journeys to Brophy could hardly have been more different.
Different beginnings, shared purpose
Peta initially planned to become a hairdresser, travelling to Warrnambool to complete her trade while also working behind a bar in hospitality.
After finishing her qualification, she realised it wasn’t her preferred long-term career.
Peta returned to study, completing a Diploma in Community Services and Counselling before gaining experience in the disability sector and joining Brophy’s Youth Support Team.
She began in youth homelessness and, during almost 10 years at Brophy, spent a stint in the Reconnect program before moving into alcohol and other drug support through the DARE program.
Peta said the breadth of the community services sector meant it took time and experience to discover where she wanted to focus her career.
“The variety in the diploma is so broad in terms of where you can go,” she said.
“It was almost overwhelming for choice. I started working in the field and found my feelers a little bit, what I wanted to do.
“Through professional development, there was always an opportunity to find what you’re interested in.”
Peta had long been interested in alcohol and other drugs when an opportunity supporting young people across Portland and Hamilton became available.
“A role popped up that suited me perfectly,” she said.
“It gave me the opportunity.”
Hannah’s career, meanwhile, began in education.
After initially studying childcare at TAFE, she decided she wanted more structure and changed direction to pursue primary teaching.
While completing a school placement, Hannah worked with a young person who was connected to Brophy services. She then completed some work with the organisation while studying, in the Kinship Care field, giving her an early insight into the community services sector.
She continued teaching until taking maternity leave, when an opportunity emerged to join Brophy as a Receptionist/Administration Officer in Portland.
“I had the option to come here, and I really enjoyed it,” Hannah said.
Although neither sister began with a perfectly mapped-out career destination, both remained open to changing direction, learning new skills and following the aspects of their work they found most meaningful.
A common thread of supporting young people
Despite their different professional beginnings, supporting young people has been a consistent thread throughout both Peta and Hannah’s careers.
For Hannah, connecting with young people was always the part of teaching she enjoyed most.
“It’s the same when young people come in here. My favourite part is having a chat with the young people who come in,” she said.
For Peta, one of the most rewarding aspects of working in alcohol and other drugs is being able to create a safe environment where young people can speak openly about subjects they may find difficult to discuss elsewhere.
“It’s having those raw, unfiltered conversations with young people where they’re not going to get in trouble,” she said.
“They can talk to me about things they can’t talk to other people about, which is pretty satisfying—knowing it’s a safe space for them to talk about that sort of stuff.
“You get to talk about something that is sort of taboo outside of this.”
Those conversations allow Peta to build trust with young people and provide support without judgement.
Different strengths, one strong partnership
Although the sisters share a commitment to supporting young people, they are quick to acknowledge that their personalities and strengths are very different.
“I’m probably the emotional, creative one, and Peta is the structure and the brains,” Hannah laughed.
“She’s super smart. She’s got all these random facts.”
Hannah also describes her sister as her “dictionary for everything” — not only because of Peta’s knowledge, but because of the experience she has accumulated during almost a decade at Brophy.
Peta said that familiarity with services across the region had developed naturally over time.
“When you’ve been around long enough, you start to become familiar with the other services that are available,” she said.
“If someone comes in with something we can’t help with, Hannah might come out and ask, ‘This person has asked about this — do you know such and such?’
“It’s about sharing that information. I think that’s just a time thing.”
Peta, meanwhile, describes Hannah as the more maternal and nurturing of the pair—a quality that complements Peta’s own “structured” approach.
Their strengths may be different, but together they provide one another with knowledge, perspective and support.
Part of Portland’s own Brophy community
That same sense of support extends throughout Brophy’s Portland office.
Although staff work across different programs and roles, Hannah said the office had developed its own close-knit community.
“We’ve got our own little community,” she said.
“Everyone is in a different position, but there’s a lot of respect between all the different roles. We’re all like a team.”
Peta said staff worked independently but collaborated well, without the sense of hierarchy that can sometimes develop in larger offices.
“We are solely independent, but we all work together really well,” she said.
The smaller office also allows staff from different programs to remain connected rather than becoming separated into silos.
For Peta and Hannah, working locally also carries meaning because they understand the realities of living in a smaller regional community.
“We know what Portland is like, being a regional community,” Peta said.
“We can miss out on a lot of things and services sometimes. Services can be out of town or outsourced, so it’s nice that we can offer a little bit (for young people and the community through our work) as well.”
Helping people find the right door
Both sisters are proud of the services Brophy can provide locally, but their support does not end when someone needs assistance outside their own programs.
“We’re super stoked and proud to be able to offer what we can offer,” Peta said.
“But we’ll also support people and try to get them in touch with whatever else they need, even if we can’t offer it.”
Hannah said the Portland team was committed to helping people navigate services rather than simply turning them away.
“If people come in and we can’t offer it, we’ll try to find somewhere they can get the right help, the right service or the answers,” she said.
It reflects Brophy’s belief that there should be no wrong door for a person seeking support.
“We know what it’s like in a small community,” Peta said.
“If we can’t offer it, we’ll at least try to help you find the right direction and the right place.”
For Peta and Hannah, creating the careers they wanted did not involve following one straightforward or predictable path.
It meant trying different things, recognising when a career was not the right fit, taking opportunities to study and develop, and allowing their experiences to guide them towards work that felt meaningful.
Today, they are creating impact in the community they know—supported by a close-knit Portland team and, uniquely, by the sister and best friend working just a few doors away.
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