Amber CommunicationsDiscuss your project

Strategic communications and engagement advisory

Helping policy
land where it matters.

Amber works with governments, community organisations, institutions and publicly funded services to make complex policy clear, engagement meaningful and implementation practical.

Discuss your project

What Amber solves

Good policy can still lose people between the decision and delivery.

Communication is not the final layer added to a program. It is part of how people understand what is changing, trust the institutions involved and decide whether to participate. Amber helps clients close that gap.

Services

Four connected areas of practice.

Focused advisory support, shaped around the decisions, audiences, funding environment and delivery conditions that matter.

01

Strategic communications

Communication strategy, policy translation, public information, executive messaging and narrative development for complex public environments.

Strategy · Policy communication · Public information · Messaging
02

Engagement and co-design

Stakeholder strategy, consultation, facilitation and co-design that connect institutional priorities with lived experience.

Stakeholder mapping · Consultation · Facilitation · Co-design
03

Funding strategy and grant development

Helping organisations identify suitable opportunities, shape fundable projects and develop compelling applications aligned with government priorities, evidence and community need.

Funding scans · Grant strategy · Project design · Applications and submissions
04

Implementation and reporting

Practical communication support that helps funded programs reach people, demonstrate progress and turn insight into better delivery.

Program communication · Research · Annual reports · Evaluation

A systems lens

We map the relationships that make delivery work.

Amber looks beyond individual messages to the whole environment around a policy or program: who makes decisions, who carries information, who delivers services, how communities experience them and how insight travels back into the system.

  1. 01Policy intent
  2. 02Institutions and partners
  3. 03Community experience
  4. 04Learning and adaptation

Selected work

Evidence of thinking applied.

Brief examples of founder-led work brought into Amber.

Catherine Jonathan participating in a VicHealth community discussion
Catherine Jonathan in discussion at a VicHealth community panel

VicHealth

Community of Practice

Facilitating shared practice for culturally responsive community engagement.

Facilitation · Capability building

BRMC

Annual Report

Bringing organisational activity, stakeholder contribution and community outcomes into one clear public narrative.

Annual reporting · Narrative development

Regional Runways Inc.

Strategy and reporting

Connecting community needs, government priorities and organisational delivery through co-design and strategic reporting.

Strategy · Co-design · Reporting

Community sector

Social cohesion funding support

Translating community need into a structured, policy-aligned funding proposal with clear outcomes, partnerships and delivery logic.

Funding strategy · Project design · Grant development

Sector focus

Public systems that shape everyday life.

  1. 01Women’s health and mental health
  2. 02Education and learning
  3. 03Employment, skills and workforce participation
  4. 04Regional and place-based delivery

Why Amber

We understand how institutions make decisions, how delivery systems connect and how those decisions are experienced in communities.

Government-literate

Advice grounded in public-sector priorities, accountability and decision-making.

Systems-aware

Attention to the relationships, dependencies and feedback loops that shape implementation.

Community-informed

Communication shaped by how people receive, understand and act on information.

Delivery-focused

Strategies and recommendations designed to work beyond the page.

About Amber

A specialist advisory connecting systems and people.

Amber Communications was founded by Catherine Jonathan to help governments, community organisations, institutions and delivery partners communicate with clarity, engage with purpose and implement work in ways that reflect the communities they serve.

Catherine Jonathan

Founder and Principal Adviser

Catherine Jonathan

Strategic communications and stakeholder engagement adviser with experience across government advisory, public affairs, media, community engagement and program delivery.

Aanya Bhatt

Community Engagement Adviser

Aanya Bhatt

Community-facing engagement and facilitation practitioner with experience in culturally responsive program delivery and stakeholder coordination.

Discuss your project

Working on a policy, reform or program people need to understand?

Tell us what you’re working on

Contact

A short conversation can clarify the brief.

Amber works with government agencies, councils, community organisations, institutions, health and education organisations, publicly funded services and delivery partners across Australia.

Based in Geelong, Victoria.