08:00

Registration & Morning Coffee

08:40

DAY ONE OPENING

08:45

The Morning Bulletin: Opening Remarks from the Chair

Benjamin Keast, CEO, ARC Disability Services

08:50

OPENING ADDRESS | Redefining Inclusive Leadership and the Impact on Quality Service Provision

Emma Bennison, Principal, Emma Bennison and Associates

09:20

KEYNOTE ADDRESS |

Senator the Hon Jenny McAllister, Minister, National Disability Insurance Scheme

09:40

KEYNOTE |

Ali France MP, Federal Member for Dickson, Australian Labor Party

10:10

PANEL | The Housing Reality Check: Moving Beyond the Current Conversation

• Hidden homelessness, cost of living, and accessible housing
• Innovative housing models: SIL, SDA and beyond
• What can we do as service providers to tackle challenges?
• Technology-enabled independent living
• Practical solutions, key takeaways and the future of home and living

Nicole Doherty, Managing Director, Empowered Liveability
Trent Belling, Co-Founder and Director, Alicia’s House
Cat Lancaster, Executive Director, Innovation and Practice Excellence, Life Without Barriers
Jo-Anne Hewitt, CEO, Achieve Australia
Shanais Nielsen, Housing Outcomes Specialist, Housing Hub
Moderated by Pauline Luchetta, Founder & CEO, Custodia Plan Management

10:55

Networking Break & Morning Tea

11:25

PARTNER KEYNOTE | From Provider-led to Participant-driven: Addressing Imbalances in SDA & Shared Support Settings

This session will explore the structural & cultural imbalances that limit participant choice & control in Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) & shared support settings. Drawing on real-world examples, we’ll unpack what it takes to shift towards participant-driven service models, from building a culture of open feedback to supporting problem-solving as issues arise. Attendees will leave with practical tools, insights & examples that demonstrate how improving fairness & communication benefits everyone involved, including providers.

Joanna Stewart, Capacity Development Lead, Housing Hub

11:50

PANEL | Beyond Placement: Supporting Employers to Increase Retention

• Workplace accommodations, supports and tools that work
• Sustainable employment: reviewing practices and policies
• Success stories: from job seeker to valued employee
• Navigating personal relationships and day to day conversations
• Supporting employers to overcome micro biases, retention, whole workplace experience

Perrin Abbas, Project Lead – Disability Inclusion, Multicultural Communities Council of SA
Josie Fakira, General Manager of Organisational Development (and D&I lead), Coles Group
Matt De Gruchy, Blindness and disAbility Advocate, Matt Degruchy Vision (MDV)
Moderated by Benjamin Keast, CEO, ARC Disability Services

12:30

SESSION SPOTLIGHT | Inclusive Policy Reform: Embracing Multicultural Perspectives in Shaping the NDIS

Settlement Services International (SSI) is a not-for-profit organisation with 25 years of experience supporting diverse communities. This session will explore the unique barriers and challenges faced by people with disability from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds.

We’ll share practical approaches to inclusive service delivery and co-designed service models that have proven effective. The session will also highlight opportunities emerging from current scheme reforms, and showcase SSI’s advocacy work in this space.

Join us to learn how you can collaborate with SSI and contribute to shaping a more inclusive future.

Ben Fioramonte, General Manager, Children Families and Disability Supports, SSI
Nicole Smith, Head of Disability Support, SSI

12:50

Networking Lunch 

13:50

SESSION SPOTLIGHT | Advancing Pressure Care with Next Generation Support Surfaces

Joel Braden, General Manager, Crescent Healthcare

14:10

KEYNOTE | Psychosocial disability and the NDIS: time for equity

• Reduced psychosocial disability access to the NDIS
• Impact on quality person-centred care for people with psychosocial disability
• Informed reform: the human cost of cutting costs

Gill Callister, Chief Executive Officer, Mind Australia

14:40

PANEL | Let’s Shift the Culture: Changing the Outlook of Our Workforce

• The importance of a lived experience workforce
• Developing your workforce pipeline
• Working hand-in-hand with the aged care workforce: July 1^st and beyond
• Workforce planning and the future of the workforce: technology and AI

Angela Mucic, Chief Allied Health Officer, NeuroRehab Allied Health Network
Sharon Xabregas, Managing Director, Sign Hear
Mary-Jane Stolp, CEO, The Bridge Incorporated
Di Geddes, Registered Nurse, Director, Exceptional Care for You
Moderated by Benjamin Keast, CEO, ARC Disability Services

15:25

SESSION SPOTLIGHT | Leveraging Virtual Reality to Bridge the Gap to Open Employment for Neurodivergent and Cognitively Impaired Individuals

This session explores a co-designed Virtual Reality (VR) tool that helps neurodivergent and cognitively impaired individuals transition from Australian Disability Enterprises (ADEs) to open employment. By allowing Supported Employees to safely explore job roles in immersive environments tailored to their needs, the tool reduces stress, builds confidence, and enhances career readiness. Learn how this pilot program aims to place 20 individuals into sustainable employment and create a scalable model for inclusive workforce development.

Professor Charmine Härtel, Director, Opportunity Tech Lab, Impact Labs, Monash Business School

15:45

Networking Break & Afternoon Tea 

16:15

Partnering for Change: The Positive Impact of Community Health

People with disability in rural, regional and remote areas face growing gaps in community health. In this session, Stu and Jethro share their lived experience and offer practical ideas for rebuilding local supports through community partnerships, smarter funding, government policy, and better connections between services. A positive, solutions-focused look at how disability service providers can drive change where it’s needed most. We could call this Foundational Supports!

Jethro Hepton, Board Chairperson, Advocacy WA
Stu Schonell, CEO, Advocacy WA

16:45

This Is Not Taboo: Reproductive and Birthing Rights for People with Disability

Cherise Smith, Women with Individual Needs Clinic, The Royal Women’s Melbourne
Danielle Corden, General Counsel, The Royal Women’s Melbourne

17:15

The Afternoon Bulletin: Closing Remarks & Key Takeaways from the Chair

17:20

Networking Drinks Reception

18:00

END OF DAY 1