By Gabriella Vukman
“It’s not work.
They say you don’t work a day in your life if you do what you love…
and that’s what I do.”
Founder and Chief Executive Officer of not-for-profit, Bayswater-based organisation ‘Pinchapoo’ Kate Austin has been through it all.
From fleeing home at 16 after a near death experience due to family violence to experiencing homelessness, appearing on Victoria’s 2024 honour roll for women was not something Kate even imagined was possible.
“It is such a crazy privilege. I haven’t wrapped my head around it yet!”
Registered on the honour roll under the category of ‘Change Agent,’ Kate has dedicated herself to address the issue of hygiene poverty in Australia through her organisation ‘Pinchapoo,’ – Australia’s number one not-for-profit hygiene provider.
Kate said, “Pinchapoo came about at a time in my life when I had to flee a domestic violence situation after nearly losing my life at the hands of my parents.”
“The only thing that I could think to take with me was my toothbrush in the heat of the moment, which is not very practical if you think about all of the things you should have taken. But it was that real instinct of how important it is to be able to brush your teeth, think straight, feel fresh and take some steps forward stuck with me,” Kate said.
“I was 16 when it happened but I guess unconsciously, that is where ‘Pinchapoo’ started.”
Several years later, Kate was in the shower washing her hair with a shampoo that she had ‘pinched’ from a hotel when the idea for ‘Pinchapoo’ first came to her.
“I thought ‘what if I just got a few people I know who are travelling for work or for leisure to start pinching the hotel toiletries,’” Kate said.
“I knew they were included in the cost of accommodation so why not see if we can help a few people who are in situations that I have been in and that really helped me heal some mental health issues that I was having with ptsd.”
“It’s an epidemic that is not spoken about. “It is affecting as many as 1 in 3 Australians, so it is a pretty significant statistic to be ignoring. We should be putting it up in lights.”
Featuring in Victoria’s 2024 honour role came as a complete surprise for Kate.
“I just received a letter out of absolutely nowhere having no idea that we had even applied, or submitted an application for the award but to hear that I was on the honour roll is amazing because I watch those awards every year and look at the incredible work these women are doing in so many different spaces so to be able to have my name sit with theirs is pretty surreal,” Kate said.
“I think somebody must have nominated me for another award and ticked a box saying ‘do you want this application to go towards the women’s honour roll?’”
“It happened a couple of weeks before I had a really long-term trip to Italy planned so I had a couple of my volunteers represent me on the ceremony night so that was a really beautiful thing for them to be able to do as well.”
The ceremony was held at the arts centre in St Kilda and was attended by minister for women Natalie Hutchens.
Starting off with just a few individuals and a warehouse in Bayswater, ‘Pinchapoo’ has grown to 2000 volunteers and operates in multiple states throughout Australia.
Despite operating ‘Pinchapoo’ for 15 years and providing hundreds of thousands of people with hygiene products each year, Kate insists that there is still “lots more to do.”
Kate said, “We are going to take on the Government in a very big way next year and I think this award has helped to open some of those doors which for me, is what is the best thing to come out of this.”
“We work with so many Government institutions, it’s insane that we are not getting the funding to reflect our work in that space. We have a schools program, we supply to all the hospitals in Australia so taking on the Government is the next step,’ she said.
“I will be stepping into a real advocate role and will be knocking down doors and chaining myself to the front of Parliament House if I need to.”
Another of Kate’s achievements is converting 1000 tons of landfill into hygiene products.
“The sustainability aspect is a wonderful fallout of our work,” Kate said.
“The beauty and self-care industry hasn’t had an avenue to do anything purposeful with its waste so having us as someone they can reach out to is really great.”
“Whether the item is close to expiry or we have changed the labelling, there might be a number of reasons why we might be able to rescue it and we scoop it up in very large quantities and it works because we have such a huge demand for our service. It’s just awesome to be able to save the environment but also put hygiene products into the hands of people who need it.”
With over a third of its worker base made of people with various disabilities, Pinchapoo is a holistic, culturally appropriate, gender inclusive personal hygiene solution for everyone in every situation of need.
For more information about how to donate or volunteer, visit the ‘Pinchapoo’ website at: https://www.pinchapoo.org.au/
