
Mel Wilde
Senior Case Manager, Courts Innovation Program
Department of Justice
Melissa Wilde is a Bularnu First Nations woman, living and working in north west Qld Mount Isa. She is a Senior Case Manager for the Court Link program, a statewide therapeutic jurisprudence, bail based support and referral program that works with vulnerable people at a high risk of re-offending. Court Link is delivered by the Department of Justice’s Court Innovations Programs and is offered in 11 Magistrates Courts across QLD. The program intensively works with DFV defendants to support them to break the cycle of DFV and accounts to the Magistrates Court a participant’s program engagement before and at sentencing. Melissa’s DFV lens has been shaped by her work with DFV male offenders; and female DFV offenders who are not identified as not being primary aggressors during the court processes. Her unique delivery style models and promotes collaborative case management by all services in the DFV space and has made a significant impact on service delivery approaches for those working with First Nation people in her region.