Tony Gill has over the past 30 years gained a wealth of knowledge and experience in forming, managing and governing co-operatives. He has assisted in the formation of over 100 co-operatives since 1980, and has been a director and secretary of 16 and four co-operatives respectively. After establishing and managing the Ballarat Employment Co-operative Ltd in the early eighties, Tony held various co-operative development positions within the Victorian Government between 1983 and 1988, including being the first Co-operative Development Officer appointed within the Victorian Registry of Cooperatives.

From 1989 to 1999, Tony managed Victoria's peak co-operative organisations; as Victorian Executive Officer for the Australian Association of Co-operatives Ltd (1989-93) and Secretary of the Co-operative Federation of Victoria Ltd (1993-99). He also represented Victoria on the Co-operatives Council of Australia between 1994 and 1999. Tony played a key role in the development of the Victorian Co-operatives Act, which became the model act for consistent co-operatives legislation around Australia. He assisted in the preparation of a Green Paper on Co-operatives Legislation released by the Victorian Attorney-General in 1988. From 1989 to 1992, Tony was a member of the Victorian Ministerial Advisory Committee on Co-operation and its legislation sub-committee, and prepared submissions on behalf of AAC on two draft Co-operatives Bills prepared by the then Victorian Labor Government in 1989 and 1992. From 1993 to 1997, Tony was periodically engaged by the Co-operative Federation of Victoria to develop the current Victorian Co-operatives Act, including organising consultation and information seminars for co-operatives, preparing policy for the act, negotiating with the Attorney-General's Legislation Unit, assisting in preparing drafting instructions, and lobbying both government and opposition politicians to support a new Co-operatives Act. He also had an input into the drafting of the model rules and regulations. Since 1999, Tony has been Director of Co-operative Development Services Ltd and has managed a diverse range of projects for government, private and co-operative clients.