People with disability deserve an inclusive Australia

Achieve is widely recognised as a leader in supporting people with complex disabilities. We invest in advocacy as part of our passion for inclusion and our purpose to support people with disability to build extraordinary lives. 

Much of our advocacy work is in collaboration with others – the people we support and their families and carers, the Alliance20 group of leading disability providers, and The Achieve Foundation. We also work with governments to build their understanding of what social inclusion looks like in action.  

It’s clear that we are in the midst of the most significant reform opportunity since the inception of the NDIS, so we are finding new ways to raise the voices of people with disability to decision-makers.  

Achieve Australia’s NDIS Review submission 

We recently briefed NDIS Minister Bill Shorten on key recommendations from our NDIS Review submission and will continue to work with governments to turn our vision into action. The NDIS must return to its original intent of maximising the autonomy of people with the most complex disabilities, based on a social model of support. I invite you to read Achieve Australia’s submission to the NDIS review. 

We are also helping decision-makers understand what a broader ecosystem of support should look like for people with complex and acute needs, outside of the NDIS. 

However, we have never waited for governments to act, and we are not waiting now. Our founders were a group of parents who wanted something far better for their children than the limited options available in 1952. They forged a path to inclusion across accommodation, education, and training that was truly innovative for that time.  

As a for-purpose organisation, we continue to invest in innovation across new services, practice excellence, and dismantling barriers to inclusion, both within our organisation and for our clients. The programs and services we invest in show how we can fulfill the promise of the NDIS Review. For example: 

Disability Employment Catalyst 

In partnership with Achieve Australia, Life Without Barriers and Yooralla, The Achieve Foundation is building pathways for job seekers with disability into employment within the disability service sector. This project is designed, delivered, and led by people with disability.  

My Life My Say  

Co-designed by young people with a cognitive disability, this program builds people’s independence by developing their communication, self-advocacy and life skills. Learn more about My Life My Say. 

Quality Champions 

People with lived experience of disability are employed to gather feedback on Achieve’s services, using client interviews. This helps us to improve our services, drawing on feedback about people’s unique needs and perspectives. We’ll be sharing more about this program at the 2024 DSC NDIS Conference. Read more about Quality Champions. 

Our partnership with Inclusive Housing Australia (IHA) 

IHA provides specialist disability accommodation to NDIS participants and invests in innovative SDA solutions, including co-designing projects with people with disability and their families. Achieve has partnered with IHA to separate our service delivery from accommodation provision to maximise the choice and control of our clients. Read more about IHA. 

Stay across our journey 

Achieve Australia wants to play a leadership role in showing how person-centered services and programs can work. We want to help create the modern disability ecosystem in partnership with people with disability, so they can live extraordinary lives. 

I’ll continue to share what we are doing to create a more inclusive Australia. 

It’s certainly an exciting time to be working in this space!