About Us

WHO WE ARE

Our Vision

Inspire, Engage and Equip Young People to be their best self.

Our Mission

Our Mission – to design, develop and deliver programs, activities, and initiatives for young
people between the ages of 10 – 21 years that:

• enhance connection and positive engagement with their peers and their community
• equip young people with tools to support their mental and physical wellbeing
• strengthen relationships between young people and key Blue Light Victoria partners including Victoria Police, emergency services and other key stakeholders.

Blue Light Victoria was established in 1976. Police members at the outer eastern Melbourne suburb of Mooroolbark set about designing and delivering a drug and alcohol-free disco for young people that was safe, supervised, and encouraged positive engagement with police members. Popularity grew from this this first disco, quickly spreading to multiple locations across the state with thousands of young people attending each year.

What started from humble beginnings soon became iconic; a rite of passage for many young people and cemented the ‘Blue Light Disco’ into Victorian history. The then Chief Commissioner of Police Mr Sinclair ‘Mick’ Miller AO LVO QPM strongly endorsed the value of this approach and the entity of ‘Blue Light Victoria’ was established as a not for profit organisation and registered charity. Victoria Police provided some financial resourcing for the organisation to support the continuation and expansion of this work and whilst the central focus continued to be discos, an expansion of youth engagement approaches also flourished.

Although Victoria Police remain an important partner, in 2014 Victoria Police discontinued financial support for Blue Light Victoria and no longer provide funding for the initiatives now delivered.

Today, Blue Light Victoria has an array of partners and community stakeholders with which we collaborate and deliver initiatives. Our activities include school-based programs, fitness, personal development and creative arts programs, social enterprises, and adventure challenges. Whilst we still run discos, they make up only a small percentage of our programming.

There are 24 Blue Light Victoria branches across the State, overseen by a committee of dedicated volunteers and a centralised state office based in Melbourne CBD.

Blue Light Victoria is currently funded via a variety of sources including federal and state Government
grants, fundraising initiatives, sponsorship and donor support, and fee for service initiatives.