Tracey Cave, founder of the Sister Project, has been named a finalist in the 2026 Western Australian of the Year awards. Her journey began with a harrowing childbirth experience in Japan, where she faced an emergency caesarean without anaesthesia.
A Traumatic Beginning
Living and working in Japan as an Australian two decades ago, Ms Cave gave birth to her first child. “When it was time to give birth, I had no one around me that could speak English, and it resulted in, well, I almost passed away, basically,” she recalled. “I had an emergency caesarean with no pain relief. Myself and my daughter almost died on the operating table, and she was in ICU for a month, and I still didn’t have anyone who could communicate, so I was so powerless, so dependent on others to know what was going on.”
Her daughter was treated at a hospital an hour away and remained on life support for a month. Ms Cave described it as a “pretty horrible time,” but noted that such experiences foster resilience: “Those times are when you draw the most resilience, you find you can dig deeper, and you have this inner strength that you can call on the next time you need it.”
Sister Project: Supporting Migrant Women
Now a mother of four, Ms Cave is the CEO of Sister Project, a social enterprise founded in 2019 and based in Ellenbrook. The organisation helps hundreds of women overcome language and cultural barriers when moving to Australia. Services include assistance with domestic violence, emergency accommodation, employment, legal support, English classes, and social connection.
Despite its impact, Sister Project has never received state funding in its seven years. Ms Cave sold her car and caravan to finance the organisation after moving from NSW to WA in 2015. “We are not funded by the government, by anyone. We are all volunteers, all of us,” she said.
The organisation operates with 10 volunteers and a generous landlord who provided free rent for 18 months. “Our landlord gave us probably a year and a half when we first started, maybe a bit longer, of free rent . . . but we are still at this stage not able to pay our monthly rent, and he allows us to operate here because he can see that the work we’re doing is making a huge impact,” Ms Cave explained.
Becoming a Social Enterprise
About two years ago, Sister Project transitioned to a social enterprise model, generating income through catering, media groups, and renting rooms to other organisations. This shift improved financial viability.
Countering Anti-Migrant Sentiment
Ms Cave hopes her nomination will counteract “anti-migrant” feelings in some parts of WA. “I think this is a divisive tool used for political reasons and there are individual repercussions of that divisive tool, and I want to counterbalance that with the understanding that we have more in common than we have different,” she said.
She emphasised collaboration: “Let’s work together to remove those barriers and challenges, because at the end of the day, we are all better off. The economy is better off, our communities better off, individual families are better off, the schools, hospitals, we’re all better off if we work together for the same goals.”
Awards and Recognition
Tracey Cave is a finalist in the Alcoa of Australia Community award category of the 2026 Western Australian of the Year awards. Winners will be announced on Thursday, May 28.
Women’s Domestic Violence Helpline: 1800 007 339
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