The 16th Annual National Disability Summit – Returning in 2025!
Be the first to know! Register your interest to receive updates on the dates and location.
The National Disability Summit is a must-attend event for disability service providers, community care organizations, and industry leaders looking to navigate the latest developments in disability care and support.
This year’s program will feature in-depth discussions on the NDIS, funding models, workforce challenges, service innovation, and policy changes, with practical insights to help providers improve service delivery and outcomes for people with disability.
Who Attends?
Join a dynamic audience of NDIS service providers, senior executives, community care organizations, local and federal government representatives, independent carers, aged care providers, and technology leaders to explore strategies that enhance independence, inclusion, and participation for people with disability.
Stay informed, connect with peers, and be part of the conversation shaping the future of disability services.
What you can expect from the 2025 agenda:
- How can providers and participants effectively navigate the latest NDIS changes?
- How can providers prepare for compulsory registration?
- Understanding the new NDIS Act: What are the key changes and timelines?
- Navigating the new short notice cancellation requirements: What do providers need to know?
- How can Support Coordination be leveraged in employment services?
- Effective time management for Support Coordinators and Recovery Coaches: What strategies work?
- How can organisations grow and support their lived experience workforce?
- What are the most successful strategies for employing people with disability?
- Beyond SIL: What innovative housing models are improving lives?
- How can disability services better support mental health needs?
- Assistive Technology: How to choose, fund, and implement effectively?
- What does successful Person-Centered Active Support look like in practice?
- Empowering Self-Advocacy: What tools and techniques really work?
- How can we improve healthcare experiences for people with disability?
- Overcoming challenges in rural and remote service delivery
- Cultural Competence in Disability Support: From Theory to Practice
- Ensuring Financial Sustainability for Disability Service Providers
- How can we smooth the transition from education to employment for people with disability?
- Aging with Disability: What support strategies are most effective?
- What practical support makes the biggest difference for families and carers?
- Enhancing Digital Safety and Literacy for People with Disability
- Emergency Preparedness: How can we ensure the safety of people with disability?
CALL FOR PAPERS – NOW CLOSED FOR 2025 (Closed 12th May 2025).
We encourage you to register your interest to speak, and/or nominate a colleague! Please include any topic, themes, or ideas you want to be featured in 2025.
For speaker submissions, please include the following information:
- Name, job title, organisation
- Presentation title
- 3-5 dot points explaining your main discussion points (40 words max.)
- Would you like to join a panel discussion? Please list your topic suggestions
- Would you like to facilitate a workshop? Please suggest workshop topics
To submit and for any queries, please contact:
Katrina Bowns
Senior Conference Producer
e: [email protected]
t: 02 9080 4322
Sponsors
Silver Sponsor
Session Spotlight Sponsor
Supporting Sponsor
Exhibitor
Sponsorship & Exhibition Opportunities
Don’t miss this opportunity to get involved early in next year’s National Disability Summit!
There are many opportunities for networking including social events such as networking drinks, lunch and refreshments breaks making this not just a conference… but an all-encompassing industry experience.
Sponsorship or exhibiting will allow your organisation to:
- Build relationships with potential & existing clients
- Network with the industry
- Generate leads from a targeted audience
- Demonstrate your product/service in person
- Build brand awareness
To see what we have available please contact;
Danielle Newman
Senior Business Development Manager
P: 02 9080 4318
E: [email protected]
2025 KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
Emma Vulin MP
State Member for Pakenham, Parliament of Victoria
2025 Speakers
Shannon Miller
Disability and Family Violence Practice Leader, Centre Against Violence
Debbie Phillips
Senior Sergeant, Disability & Elder Abuse Coordinator, Domestic, Family Violence and Vulnerable Persons Unit, QLD Police
Jeswynn Yogaratnam
Commissioner, NT Anti-Discrimination Commission, Principal Community Visitor, Community Visitor Program
Amelia Evans
CEO, Queensland Airports
Bianca Bassett
Senior Consultant, Get Skilled Access, Disability Inclusion Advocate
Trent Belling
Co-Director and Founder, Alicia’s House
Cat Lancaster
Executive Director, Innovation and Practice Excellence, Life Without Barriers
Perrin Abbas
Project Lead – Disability Inclusion, Multicultural Communities Council of SA
Angela Mucic
Chief Allied Health Officer, NeuroRehab Allied Health Network
Mary-Jane Stolp
CEO, The Bridge Incorporated
Catherine Walsh
Chief of People Officer, Qantas
Maddison Gray
Communications & Media Specialist, WCMICS (c/o Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre), Lived Experience Disability Advocate
Claire McCullagh
Principal, Nous Group
Geoff Sjollema
Principal, Nous Group
Di Geddes
Registered Nurse, Director, Exceptional Care for You
Sharon Xabregas
Managing Director, Sign Hear
WORKSHOP
PRE-CONFERENCE WORKSHOP | Wednesday 17th September 2025
13:00 – 16:30 PRE-CONFERENCE WORKSHOP
Agenda
AGENDA AT A GLANCE
Plan your conference, see what sessions will be featured, and watch this space for the full agenda – to come soon!
08:45
OPENING ADDRESS | A Force to Be Reckoned With
KEYNOTE ADDRESS | Navigating NDIS Changes: Practical Strategies for Providers and Participants
PANEL | Beyond Placement: Supporting Employers to Increase Retention
11:00
NETWORKING BREAKS
11:30
SESSION SPOTLIGHT | Patient Handling, Mobility and Improving Quality Care
PANEL | The Housing Reality Check: Moving Beyond the Current Conversation
SESSION SPOTLIGHT |
13:00
NETWORKING BREAKS
14:00
IN CONVERSATION | This Is Not Taboo: Reproduction, Birthing and Reproductive Rights for People with Disability
KEYNOTE ADDRESS | Culturally Appropriate Care for First Nations People with Disability
IN CONVERSATION| Foundations for the Future: The Impact of Support Coordination, Local Area Coordination, Foundational Support and Occupation Therapist
15:30
NETWORKING BREAKS
16:00
IN CONVERSATION| The Impact of Community Health
PANEL | Let’s Shift the Culture: Changing the Outlook of Our Workforce
17:30
NETWORKING DRINKS
08:45
OPENING ADDRESS | Beyond the Game: The Impact of Sport and Inclusion for People with Disability
KEYNOTE ADDRESS | Keeping Up the Pace: NDIS Growth and Sector Capability
KEYNOTE PANEL | Justice, Safety and Rights: Responding to Violence and Criminalisation in the Disability Sector
10:30
NETWORKING BREAKS
11:00
SESSION SPOTLIGHT | Pathways to Possibilities
KEYNOTE ADDRESS | Reasonable and Necessary
IN CONVERSATION | Aging with Disability: Planning and Support Strategies
Understanding the Legal Changes to the NDIS: Disability Roadmap for Providers and Participants
13:00
NETWORKING BREAKS
14:00
Emergency Preparedness for People with Disability
IN CONVERSATION | The Flight Plan: Accessible Air Travel Solutions
CLOSING ADDRESS | Harnessing the Digital World for People with Disability
15:40
END OF SUMMIT
Insights
How this Senior Territorian is seeking justice for people with disability
At birth, the parents of disability advocate Dr Robyne Burridge OAM were told her diagnosis of cerebral palsy was so severe that she would struggle to hit milestones like sitting up, let alone walking and talking…
Nothing about us without us – are we there yet with disability rights?
“Nothing about us without us” – the idea that policy shouldn’t be designed without first consulting the people it targets – has become a prominent mantra in the disability rights space in recent years…
The right way to treat people with disabilities at school
When Matthew De Gruchy was diagnosed with Stargardt’s disease, a rare genetic eye condition, at the age of nine, he did not know that his difficulties with blindness would pale in comparison to the social challenges he later experienced…
Photos From 2024 Event
Testimonials
Elizabeth O’Shannessy, Alfred Health
“It was a wonderful event and I really enjoyed being part of it. It had some really important conversations with many participants around challenges accessing healthcare and it has me back to work feeling buoyed with enthusiasm to keep educating our staff. As a speaker I was kept to date and informed along the way. I was so impressed by how inclusive the event was.”
Anonymous
“It’s good to be involved in events with a strong focus on improving the quality of care and service to people we serve (in this case people living with disability).”
Anonymous
“The National Disability Summit was invaluable for connecting with many passionate leaders and speakers in the NDIS, disability and mental health space. I felt recharged from attending and motivated to keep improving the systems and services we provide to persons with a disability and most of all, ensuring that persons with a disability are at the core of everything we do. What a fantastic event!”
Anonymous
“A valuable opportunity to learn about challenges and discuss solutions for people with disability, and to connect with key individuals and organisations in the sector.”
Venue
Crown Melbourne
8 Whiteman Street
SOUTHBANK VIC 3006
Contact
Still have a question?
Katrina Bowns
Conference Producer
[email protected]
Danielle Newman
Senior Business Development Manager
+61 2 9080 4318
[email protected]
Event Code Of Conduct
We want everyone who comes to our events to have a great experience. This code explains our expectations and rules, which includes general good practice behaviour, and how to report anything witnessed or experienced that goes against them. Read our Event Code of Conduct here.