About the CAV

The Chinese Association of Victoria Inc. (CAV) was founded in 1982 by a small group of Chinese who shared common objectives for the future of Chinese in Australia.

Our Mission & Vision

Our Mission and Vision is to promote Chinese Language, Art, Dance and Music, and to preserve the Chinese Heritage.

The Chinese Association of Victoria (CAV) is a non-political, non-religious organisation formed to serve and represent the interests of those members of the Chinese community who recognise a common set of needs, and wish to take positive action to achieve these aspirations.

While encouraging integration with Australian society, we take cognizance of the fact that as a minority group of new Australians we need an effective organisation to:

  •  look after our welfare and cater to our special needs
  • promote greater understanding and appreciation of the Chinese community in Australia
  • enable us to play a positive role in local affairs which affect our well-being

The Chinese have a rich cultural heritage. We believe that many aspects of our Chinese culture are worthy of preservation and could be shared with other Australian communities, just as we could share in the richness of their cultures. Members of the other Australian communities who are interested in Chinese culture are welcome to join our Association.

We encourage integration with Australian society, and actively support multiculturalism in Australia. The Chinese have a rich cultural heritage which we can share with other Australians and ethnic communities. We promote greater understanding and appreciation of the Chinese Community in Australia. At the same time we look after the Chinese welfare and cater to our special needs.

We play an active and positive role in affairs which fall into our Objectives.

CAV’s future depends on the supports from not only the Chinese, but the wider Communities. All are welcome to join our Association and support us.

Objectives

  • To promote Chinese language, Chinese culture and to preserve Chinese heritage.
  • To provide facilities and venues for the promotion of Chinese language, culture, custom and heritage.
  • To provide assistance and relief to individuals and families in need in the Chinese community.
  • To assist and encourage new arrivals of Chinese origin to integrate with the Australian community.
  • To encourage and foster goodwill, cooperation and understanding with similar Chinese organizations and the wider communities in Australia.
  • To represent the interest and concerns of Chinese in Australia. The Association does not have any political or religious affiliation.
  • To provide facilities and opportunities for social, sporting and other recreational activities ancillary to the stated purposes of the association and as a centre to support the above purposes.

The Management Team

The Chinese Association of Victoria is run by a capable team of volunteers, who give freely of their time to ensure that Mission and Objectives of the Association continue to thrive and grow in Victoria.

The 2023 Management team

Who We Are

The 2023 Team & Leadership

BC’s team vision is to build a more lively and better managed CAV where every member, subgroups, school parents and teachers can enjoy better facilities and where every member can feel part of a greater community.

The majority of this team were in the 2020, 2021 and 2022 EXCOs and their continuity into the 2023 EXCO will ensure maximum continuity and follow through for projects started in 2020-22

Boon Chuan Tay

Boon Chuan Tay

President 会长

Christina Chia  谢智丽

Christina Chia 谢智丽

1st Vice President

Christina is the Chief Operating Officer & Principal (VIC) for North Shore Coaching College and is responsible for multi-site operations of 20 Campuses across Victoria providing strategic leadership and management oversight to drive inclusive growth and organisational change for our learning community.

She is also involved with Rotary International (Assistant Governor for District 9810), the Mental Health Foundation Australia (MHFA) (Vice Chair to the MHFA Ambassador Program and also, its Multicultural Ambassador), Asian Australian Family Association (AAFA, President).

Her contributions over the past decade has led her to be inducted into the inaugural Victorian Multicultural Commission Honour Roll in 2022, Business Excellence awards (VMC), Skylark Foundation Inspirational Role Model 2020 and the Rotary International Paul Harris Fellow for outstanding community contributions and Philantropy.

Christina is involved with multiple volunteer organisations and holds a MBA and Bachelor of Business Marketing & HRM from RMIT University.

Chee Yeong came to Melbourne in 2018 and has been a CAV member and a school parent since then. He was elected to the Exco in 2020. Before coming to Melbourne, he worked in several multinational companies in Penang, in production engineering, product engineering, product development and program management, early in his career.

He then moved to marketing and was responsible for worldwide and regional business. In this role, he has traveled to many countries including the US, India, China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, most of the ASEAN countries and Australia/New Zealand.  In this way, he is able to appreciate the diversity of the CAV members and be able to organise cultural activities that will appeal most to them.

As a CAV school parent, he sees the importance of the healthy development of CAV and wants to be an integral part of it. This is Chee Yeong’s third year in EXCO and second year as a VP. This year, he has also taken on the role of School Council Chairperson. He hopes that by joining the CAV EXCO, he will also inspire other parents to join the CAV and involve themselves in more CAV activities, so as to build a bigger and flourishing community.

Chee Yeong Neoh  梁志勇

Chee Yeong Neoh 梁志勇

2nd Vice President 第二副会长

Henry Teoh

Henry Teoh

3rd Vice President

Henry graduated in Engineering from the UK. Over his span of work life for the past 26 years, he has worked in Australia, Singapore and Malaysia. His expertise is mainly in semiconductor, electronics and nanotechnology manufacturing. Since he moved to Australia, he is now involved in Facilities Management and his main forte is NetZero around the APAC region, lately he is heavily involved in looking for ways to reduce carbon footprint in industrial settings. 

 

During his free time, Henry enjoys gardening, home improvement, travelling and exploring Melbourne food joints. Henry speaks 5 languages and recently started learning Japanese together with her family. Henry’s daughter attended CAV Chinese school and he volunteered his time supporting CAV chinese school. Apart from that, he has a 2 year old puppy Jack Russell that keeps him occupied while at home. 

Dominic joined CAV back in 2014 as a table tennis member. After spending more than 35 years in the medical field of Radiation Oncology both overseas and in Melbourne, Dominic retired in 2013. During his career in Radiation Oncology in Melbourne, He oversaw developing two new Radiation Oncology Centres both at the Austin Hospital and Ballarat Health.

Dominic developed a passion with the Table Tennis game during his high school years and is now running the Table Tennis subgroup at CAV for over 5 years.

Dominic is a devoted catholic and is happily married with his wife, Helen for almost 40 years.

Dominic Au

Dominic Au

Hon. Secretary 名誉秘书

Mark Tyssen 马克泰森

Mark Tyssen 马克泰森

Assistant Secretary 副秘书

Mark Tyssen joined CAV in 2015 and has been a great help to CAV in many aspects since 2011, many years before becoming a member. He has helped CAV in technology implementation, supporting our IT and is very hands on and important person when CAV maintenance services are required.

He holds B.AppSci and MBA qualifications and is also a Certified Feldenkrais Practitioner. Mark has a vast experience in Project and Quality Management in many industries. He has also been involved in many family land developments from 1974 to 2008.

Mark has held positions in EXCO since 2016, as Assistant Secretary & Committee Member (property & asset maintenance 2016-current), BPC (2016-2017), 2018 Constitution Review Committee and the School Council as Secretary. He also assisted with VASS Coordination for over 6 years. His CAV projects include obtaining Grants to do the conversion of all lights to LED and the installation of the Solar Panel System.

Mark has quite a mixed cultural heritage. His father is Dutch (emigrating in 1953), his mother is from Seremban in Negri Sembilan, Malaysia (emigrating in 1956) and his grandmother is Portuguese/Malay/Chinese. His wife Joyce, was born in Hong Kong (her parents are originally from China), emigrated to Australia in 1973.

Mark enjoys 4WD activities, being a member of the Subaru 4WD Club of Victoria since 1993, having undertaken roles lasting 2 or more years, as Editor, Membership and Treasurer. He is in his third consecutive year as President.

Ellie Wei

Ellie Wei

Treasurer 财政长

Ellie Wei, originally from Mainland China, is the new Honorary Treasurer for the Chinese Association of Victoria. With an extensive background in corporate finance, Ellie is passionate about promoting Chinese culture and language education. 

She joined CAV as a school parent at the Chinese Language School in 2020 and has been actively involved in cultural exchange initiatives. Beyond her work with the Chinese Language School, Ellie has been involved in promoting cultural exchange initiatives that foster greater understanding and appreciation for Chinese traditions and values. Her passion for promoting Chinese culture has been instrumental in strengthening ties between Chinese and non-Chinese communities.

Shirley Thong is a registered BAS Agent with the Tax Practitioner Board and is a member of The Institute for Public Accountants. She has also established and runs her own Accounting Services business providing bookkeeping and business consulting services for over 25 years. She has over 35 years of professional and accounting experience in Family Office, Corporate banking, finance, property investments and development, retails, real estate and not for profits.

Shirley is a great communicator and her aim is to bring her connections to assist  businesses to access wider community organisations. She is also currently running a mentoring program by providing training to under-graduates completing their tertiary education, preparing them for the work force when graduated.

Shirley has had a long involvement in community services and was the Treasurer and Vice President of the Music Auxiliary, Scotch College and Scotch Arts. She was also the CAV Treasurer (between 2020-2022) and is a BPC Committee Member. She is a member of various prestige clubs in Australia and is the current Treasurer of the Australian Asian Business Women’s Associations. With her experience and networks, Shirley looks forward to raising the profile of CAV and share her experience with CAV members.

Shirley Thong 唐翠婵

Shirley Thong 唐翠婵

Assistant Treasurer

Adwin was born in Shanghai, studied in Hong Kong and migrated to Australia in 1985. He has held important positions in various sectors such as insurance, education, migration, Church and other charitable organisations.

Adwin joined CAV in 1985 as a Life Member and participated as a committee member for many years including several years as CAV Public Relations Officer. He is well experienced in and dedicated to providing advice on developing educational facilities, first aid trainings and childcare programs. He has been a member of the Victorian Eastern Region Multicultural Advisory Committee since December 2017.

Adwin also volunteers as a senior migration consultant at the Australia for Christ Church in Rowville, where he provides pro bono migration services. In this role he helps refugees, students and other migrants to settle in Australia.  

Adwin Town 汤文海

Adwin Town 汤文海

Public Relations Officer 公关长

Beng Law 刘墨明

Beng Law 刘墨明

Committee Member 委员

Beng is a retiree IT professional doing software development, and data warehouse projects with over 35 years of experience. He joined CAV in 1995 as a school parent.

He enjoys Tai Chi and he is currently acting as an assistant instructor in the CAV Tai Chi group and has been helping to organize various CAV activities for many years. Beng was also the 2019 and 2020 Assistant Treasurer and has been helping CAV to streamline and consolidate the accounting system between CAV School and Main Account.

In 2021 Beng stepped up to also be the Chairman of the CAV School Council, a heavy role that he has since passed to Neoh Chee Yong.

Eunice was born in Malaysia, came to Australia in 2004 and lived in Sydney for 5 years, working as a Store manager in Asian Groceries. She then moved to Melbourne to work in an import and distribution company as a State Manager.

Eunice is currently setting up her own business with some partners with the aim of promoting Asian cuisine more widely to Australia community.

Throughout the years, Eunice has toured many Asian countries to source for food and it has helped her understand more about the connection between food, people and culture.

Eunice likes to meet new people, make friends, exercise and gardening.

Eunice Chin

Eunice Chin

Committee Member 委员

Jordan joined CAV in 2012 as a school parent. Jordan hails from the Shenzhen area in Guangdong, Mainland China.

Before joining the CAV EXCO, Jordan was the Vice President and Executive Vice President of the ‘The Federation of Chinese Associations of Victoria’ (FCA) for 8 years. ​

Jordan currently works at Oculus Biomed Pty Ltd,  a Biotech R & D company as a business Development manager.

Jordan Qing Liang 梁青

Jordan Qing Liang 梁青

Committee Member 委员

Justin Chua

Justin Chua

Committee Member 委员

Justin is a general practice lawyer.  He joined CAV in 2020 and is passionate in helping the Chinese community where he can and connect more with Chinese culture. 

Justin enjoys the outdoors and playing sports. He is looking forward to helping out at events and being involved in various groups at CAV. 

Nicholas joined the CAV in 2017, and has been part of the BDG group since that time. He was elected to Exco in 2020, and became the Hon Secretary in 2021-2022. He is also a BPC committee member. Nicholas first came to Melbourne in 1976 as a Singapore Colombo Plan scholar studying Engineering at Monash University. He was subsequently awarded a Melbourne University Postgraduate scholarship in Biomedical Engineering and later completed a Masters degree in Business Administration.

Most of Nicholas’s career has been in technology related companies, with stints in Computer Operations, Networking, Manufacturing, Public Relations and Marketing. As CEO of an internet startup, he took the company to a $1 billion listing on the US NASDAQ. As VP of Motorola in China, he was responsible for the introduction of 3G mobile phone technology to China in the early 2000’s. At  CAV, he manages the website and general IT infrastructure.

Now retired, Nicholas spends his time volunteering in the Vinnies Organisation in both, Brighton and Seaford, in a food related charity Feed One Feed All, and regularly attends Bible Study Fellowship classes in Melbourne.

Nicholas Lee  李 明 德

Nicholas Lee 李 明 德

Committee Member 委员

Roger Chong

Roger Chong

Committee Member 委员

Roger is the Deputy Company Secretary and Senior Corporate Counsel at Australia’s largest waste management company Cleanaway, and provides risk, governance and legal advice and leadership. Roger has 25 years Australian and international experience spanning the legal, logistics and technology industries.

Roger is involved with the Asian Australian Family Association (AAFA, Secretary), Freemasons Victoria (Lodge Board Secretary), Australia-India Business Council (legal adviser), and has volunteered with Rotary International and the Mental Health Foundation Australia (MHFA).

Roger joined CAV in 2022 and his interest to contribute to the Chinese community prompted him to join the Ex-Co in 2023. Roger holds an MBA and Bachelor of Laws from the University of Western Australia. He is an admitted Legal Practitioner in Victoria, and is a Fellow of the Governance Institute of Australia.

Roger enjoys family time and is the proud father of 2 adult daughters. In his spare time, Roger enjoys gym exercise classes, playing tennis, photography, travelling and is an avid foodie.

” Our Association is at the forefront in educating and promoting the essence of our national multicultural policies among our members and the wider Australian community. Chinese Australians are part and parcel of “One Strong United and Successful Australia”. We promote integration and sharing, mutual respect, understanding and peaceful coexistence.”

Dr Ka Sing Chua
   CAV President 1984, 1991, 1992, 1993, 2016 AND 2017

F.A.Q.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I become a member?

You can be a CAV member by joining a subgroup activity. If you need an introduction to a subgroup, send us a message. You can also join by introduction from one of our CAV members.

What are the benefits of CAV membership?

As a member of CAV, you will enjoy all our activities at members’ low rates. Firstly, the CAV subgroups provide interesting and weekly activities depending on your interests. Secondly, CAV organises a large number of cultural functions and get-togethers throughout the year for you to meet and network with like-minded people. You will also receive frequent newsletter updates throughout the year and participate in our cultural events held at the center.

I am not of Chinese origin, but would like to join in one of your subgroup activities, am I eligible to join?

Absolutely, you can still join as an Associate member and participate in all activies while enjoying the same low fees as all our CAV members. However as an Associate member, you cannot be in our Executive or subgroup committees and cannot vote in any committee group decision.

Who is eligible to join CAV?

An Australian citizen or permanent resident who is, and identifies as being of, Chinese ethnicity 18 years old or above, may apply to be an Ordinary Member. Any other person aged 18 years old or above may apply as an Associate Member. The spouse and children under 18 years old of the applicant as included in this application form will be considered for admission as members in their respective categories of membership. Please refer to our membership application form for more information.

I am single, what age group am I eligible to join? ?

You can join in any of our activities (other than the CAV school) if you are over 18 years of age.

My children go to the CAV school, can I participate in CAV group activities or do I have to pay separate membership to join?

CAV membership is already included in the School fees so you can already join any CAV activities or subgroup activities by paying the applicable subgroup fees.