Vanessa Brettell

Vanessa Brettell is Australia's Local Hero for 2025, alongside her partner Hannah Costello for their work building and operating a Work Integration Social Enterprise, Stepping Stone - which provides meaningful employment and paid training opportunities for migrant and refugee women who face multiple barriers to employment. Vanessa believes social enterprise is the future of business and is an effective tool to create social and environmental change.

Vanessa is also passionate about evidence based social policy, climate change mitigation and sustainable community development with an emphasis on children, women, refugees and indigenous communities.

Her innate desire to help others in less privileged circumstances motivates her to create social enterprises and innovate to make them as efficient as possible and leads her to having a diligent and conscientious work ethic.