Recently, I caught up with Amanda and Grant — our People’s Rights Committee (PRC) Chair and Deputy Chair — to talk about the work we’ve been doing together to make sure participants’ voices are heard loud and clear.
Amanda and Grant told me that one of the highlights of their role was that they get to work directly with Ability Options to help shape meaningful change; they team up with our staff and our Board to implement improvements to services, policies, and to resources that help participants understand our organisation and the scheme that supports them.
At its core, the PRC is all about speaking up, making a difference, and ensuring people without a voice can still have their say.
Over the past few months, the PRC has been busy co-designing Easy Read newsletters, reviewing policies and processes, and even helping choose images that better reflect who we are and how we support people. They also judged the Participant Choice Award for our STAR Awards — a highlight for everyone involved.
Grant and Amanda also took part in our Speak Up Campaign, which launched with a short film all about empowering people to share their voice.
You can watch the Speak Up Campaign film online. The video is being shared with participants in our Group Centres and Accommodation sites encouraging conversations on the importance of speaking up. It will also be shared with colleagues through our internal communication channels and you’ll catch some content on our social media pages.
We’re always looking for new members, especially from the Hunter and Mid North Coast regions. If you’re a participant or family member who’s passionate about helping others and speaking up for what matters, we’d love to hear from you. Email us at communications@abilityoptions.org.au to express your interest in joining our People’s Rights Committee.
Thank you to Amanda, Grant, and every PRC member for the difference you make. Your work is helping shape a stronger, more inclusive Ability Options for everyone.
From our services
Employment
In some exciting news, Ability Options was chosen to deliver Inclusive Employment Australia as part of the CoAct network across Macarthur and three new regions for us – Inner Sydney, Inner Western Sydney and St George Sutherland.
Inclusive Employment Australia is the program replacing Disability Employment Services on 1 November.
Inclusive Employment Australia will:
- deliver participant focussed employment services,
- increase flexibility and tailoring of supports,
- broaden eligibility to include more jobseekers,
- have a strong focus on quality service delivery, and
- increase wage subsidies to support the creation of employment opportunities.
Disability
In April 2025, Medium Term Accommodation was launched at Casuarina Grove in a newly refurbished property with modern furnishings. The program provides a fully accessible, home-like environment for individuals transitioning from extended hospital stays, fostering community connections and promoting independence. It has already supported its first customer in finding a permanent home and is now expanding, with two additional customers now accessing the service.
In the disability space, we have been making headway on our Transforming Community Services project. As a part of that project, we have been meeting with families across our network to hear their feedback on our services and work together to improve them. Thank you to everyone who has joined one of our recent Participant and Family Forums. We look forward to hosting more and continuing to hear your feedback as the year continues.
Best wishes,
Michelle
Chief Quality, Practice & Assurance Officer
