Helen Boussounis is an accomplished human resources and safeguarding professional with more than 30 years’ experience supporting organisations to navigate complex workforce, compliance and governance challenges.
As Human Resources Principal at Safeguarding Services, Helen works closely with boards, executives and senior leaders to align HR practices with safeguarding obligations, strengthen organisational culture and support safe, ethical and compliant workplaces.
Helen’s career spans a wide range of sectors including education, aged care, health, finance, professional services and faith-based organisations. This breadth of experience enables her to bring both strategic insight and practical understanding to complex safeguarding and workforce issues.
She plays a critical role in supporting organisations to create safer environments by embedding safeguarding obligations into human resources systems, governance frameworks and day-to-day practice. Her work frequently sits at the intersection of HR, safeguarding, risk and compliance.
Helen is particularly valued for her ability to work collaboratively with clients, understand organisational context and deliver advice that is both defensible and workable in real-world settings.
Experience
Helen has delivered extensive HR, safeguarding and governance support across multiple sectors. Selected examples of her work include:
- Conducting a comprehensive safeguarding review for a major national provider of hospital, aged care and community services, identifying system gaps and delivering strategic improvement recommendations
- Leading independent safeguarding reviews for large faith-based governance bodies, including policy analysis, stakeholder interviews and tailored improvement plans aligned with national standards
- Providing ongoing HR and safeguarding consulting to multiple Religious Orders, covering workforce issues, misconduct management, complaint handling and cultural improvement initiatives
- Completing independent safeguarding reviews for not-for-profit organisations, assessing organisational readiness and developing practical, risk-informed recommendations
- Supporting faith-based and community organisations with investigations and advisory work relating to alleged misconduct, boundary concerns and cultural risk
Qualifications
Formal education:
- Graduate Diploma in Human Resource Management and Industrial Relations – RMIT University
- Bachelor of Business Administration (minor in Accountancy) – RMIT University
Helen regularly contributes to discussions on safeguarding governance, HR compliance, workforce risk and organisational culture.
She is particularly sought after for her ability to translate legal and regulatory requirements into practical HR and governance frameworks.
Her work focuses on helping leaders and boards understand their responsibilities and build systems that support safe, ethical and sustainable practice.
