Dr Josh Fergeus GAICD

Councillor for University Ward

Current Council Appointments

Member - CEO performance and remuneration committee

Member - Oakleigh Activity Centre SteerinG Committee

LIAISON- FRIENDS OF SCOTCHMAN'S CREEK AND VALLEY RESERVE

liaison - monash friends of vemasse

PREVIOUS Council Appointments

VICe president - VIctorian Local Governance Association

CHAIR - Eastern alliance for greenhouse action

Chair - Municipal Health & Wellbeing Plan Steering Committee

CHAIR - disability advisory committee

Chair - Clayton Activity Centre Committee

Co-Chair - Gender Equity Advisory Committee

co-chair - environmental advisory committee

deputy CHAIR - lgbtiq+ advisory committee

DIRECTOR - EASTERN INNOVATION BUSINESS CENTRE

CommitteE MEMBER - MONASH GALLERY OF ART COMMITTEE OF MANAGEMENT

Member - community safety advisory board

member - audit and risk committee

Member - Metropolitan Transport Forum

LIAISON - FRIENDS OF DAMPER CREEK

Delegate - Young Person's Reference Group

Upcoming Ward meetings:

TBC

Biography

Josh was first elected to Council in 2016 and re-elected in 2020. In 2024 he was elected to represent the new University Ward, which includes Oakleigh East and parts of Chadstone, Clayton, Mount Waverley, Notting Hill and Oakleigh.

Josh is not a member of a political party and sits on Council as an independent.  

His primary areas of focus on Council are:

1. Better local infrastructure, investing in our footpaths, bike paths, seating and playgrounds;

2. Sustainable development, prioritising the needs of local people over profits for developers;

3. Protecting our local environment including climate action and the retention of canopy trees; and

4. Sound financial governance, ensuring sustainable investment in infrastructure and services while responding to the cost of living crisis.

Outside of his duties as a Councillor, Josh is the Chief Executive Officer of the charity Kevin Heinze GROW (KHG). KHG has operated for more than 45 years creating opportunities for meaningful inclusion and positive personal development through therapeutic horticulture, primarily for people with a disability.

Josh is a Member of several decision-making Tribunals and Panels including:

• the Mental Health Tribunal, assessing applications for compulsory treatment orders within the health system;

• the Suitability Panel, ruling on allegations of abuse and neglect within the out-of-home care system;

• the Worker and Carer Exclusion Scheme Panel, investigating the conduct of workers and volunteers in the out-of-home care system.

Josh is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD) and has extensive professional and governance experience. He is Independent Chair of the North-Eastern Montessori School and a Board Director at Robinvale District Health Services. Josh is a former Vice-President of the Victorian Local Governance Association (VLGA).

Josh comes from a fostering family and is a former President of the Foster Care Association of Victoria. He is passionate about creating and maintaining a safe and nurturing environment for all children and young people, education, social justice, and human rights.

Josh completed his PhD thesis titled ‘The needs of foster and kinship carers and the mental health and wellbeing of children’ at Melbourne University, and holds a Master's Degree in Social Work and Bachelor's Degrees in Arts and Teaching.

Josh would like to acknowledge that the City of Monash sits on the land of the Wurundjeri and Bunurong Peoples of the Kulin Nation.