Patron & Trustees
Our Patron
Most Reverend Vincent Long Van Nguyen OFM Conv DD, Fourth Bishop of Parramatta
Bishop Vincent Long was born in 1961 in Dong Nai in Vietnam. Since the fall of Saigon in 1975, his family has been dispersed: his mother, a brother and a sister are in Melbourne, three brothers are in Holland, a sister remains in Vietnam, and Bishop Vincent is now in Parramatta.
In 1984, he became a professed Conventual Franciscan friar (OFM Conv) and studied for the priesthood in Melbourne.
After his priestly ordination on 30 December in 1989, he was sent to Rome for further studies and was awarded a licentiate in Christology and Spirituality from the Pontifical Faculty of St Bonaventure.
He served as an assistant and then parish priest for seven years in Kellyville within the Diocese of Parramatta and for seven years in Springvale in Victoria before being elected Superior of the Order of Friars Minor Conventuals in Australia in 2005. He served as Assistant General in Rome from 2008 until 2011, responsible for the Asia-Oceania section of his Order.
In 2011, he was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Melbourne in which role he served for nearly five years. Bishop Vincent is the first Vietnamese born bishop to lead a diocese outside of Vietnam and the first Vietnamese born bishop in Australia.
During that period, he was Episcopal Vicar for Justice and Peace and for Social Services and was Chair of the Catholic Education Commission (Victoria).
Nationally, he serves as the Bishops Delegate for Migrants and Refugees, Chair of Australian Catholic Social Justice Council and member of the Permanent Committee.
On 5 May 2016, he was appointed the fourth Bishop of Parramatta in succession to Bishop Anthony Fisher OP following his appointment as Archbishop of Sydney in 2014.
On 16 June 2016, Bishop Vincent Long OFM Conv was installed as the fourth Bishop of Parramatta at St Patrick’s Cathedral, Parramatta.
Our Trustees
Trustees oversee the work of the Australian Refugee Foundation, ensuring that it complies with the legal requirements imposed on trust funds. The current trustees are:
- Jasmina Bajraktarevic-Hayward, Chair of the Australian Refugee Foundation and President of the Refugee Council of Australia (RCOA)
- Professor William Maley AM, Vice-President of RCOA
- Frances Wade, Treasurer of RCOA
- Steve Denenberg, Trustee (appointed 2013)
- Sue Ismiel, Trustee (appointed 2021)
- Ahmad Shuja Jamal (appointed 2025)
The trustees of the Foundation are supported the staff of RCOA. The Chief Executive Officer of RCOA, Paul Power, is Executive Director of the Foundation.
Past Patrons
The following distinguished Australians have served as Patrons of the Australian Refugee Foundation:
- Professor Dame Marie Bashir AD CVO (1930-2026), patron 2008 to 2026
- Rt Hon Malcolm Fraser AC CH GCL PC (1930-2015), patron 2001 to 2015
- Sir Zelman Cowen AK GCMG GCVO PC QC (1919-2011), patron 1998 to 2011
- Dame Roma Mitchell AC DBE CVO QC (1913-2000), patron 1998 to 2000
