John S. Payne is a 28-year veteran, serving the Victorian community within Corrections, Government Investigations and as a Volunteer Firefighter. He was born in Lincoln England in 1960.

Along with his parents and three sisters he immigrated to Australia in 1967. He lives in the northern suburbs of Melbourne Australia with his wife Kerryn. Together they have two children, Kylie and Glen and are grandparents to Ava, Riley and Sophie.

During his career, he was involved in many incidents including the Black Saturday bushfire of February 2009 in which he was honoured with the National Emergency Medal.

As a direct result of his service, he was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) a condition he has lived since 2009. John is passionate about addressing the stigma associated with mental illness and advocating Mental Health and Suicide awareness to the greater community, particularly to first responders.