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Annual Public Forum 2023

DATE: Thursday 2 November 2023
TIME: 12pm – 1.15pm
VENUE: The Arena, NAB Docklands, Melbourne (or join ONLINE)

Transforming supports at home: Making it work for NDIS participants

Join us for the 2023 Summer Foundation Annual Public Forum to discuss the good, the bad, and the ugly of home and living supports. We’ll be talking about how we can transform supports at home so they truly meet the needs of people with disability.

Our host, Elizabeth Wright, Disability Affairs reporter at the ABC and Paralympian, will lead the conversation about how we put people with disability at the centre of NDIS supports.

Elizabeth will facilitate the discussion with a panel of experts made up of policy makers, sector professionals and people with lived experience of disability.

Our panel

Penelope McKay – Deputy CEO, Market Stewardship and Home and Living – NDIA

Penelope McKay is the Deputy CEO at the National Disability Insurance Agency responsible for Home and Living and Market Stewardship. Penelope will join us to discuss the Agency’s perspective on how we can transform supports at home and what the NDIA is doing to improve outcomes for NDIS participants. 

With the NDIS seeking to foster innovation in the sector, there’s no better time for the Head of Home and Living to discuss the new home and living policy. The discussion with Penelope will provide insight into the challenges and opportunities the new policy may present.

David Clarke – CEO, InLife Independent Living

David Clark is CEO at InLife, a passionate not-for-profit organisation determined to break down everyday barriers and positively transform the experience of disability support. They recognise the challenges of living with disability support and want to reshape the experience for the better. David will talk about the issues and risks associated with poor quality supports and what, as a provider, can be done to make sure supports meet the needs of participants. 

David has spent the last 15 years using business ideas to improve public sector and non-profit organisations.

Samar Bain – NDIS participant and Disability support worker trainer

Samar

“It might feel like you haven’t got choice and control but there are avenues you can take if you have the right supports in place.” – Samar Bain

Samar is a disability support worker trainer and shares her lived experience to support people with disability. She lives with cerebral palsy but is able to live independently since moving into her SDA apartment.  

Samar’s SDA apartment provides her with the freedom she has long desired, and to live her life on her own terms. Although the NDIS has improved Samar’s life, she believes there are barriers to living  with true choice and control.

Dr Kate D’Cruz – Senior Research Fellow, Summer Foundation

Dr Kate D’Cruz is a Senior Research Fellow at the Summer Foundation. She leads research projects that evaluate the experiences and outcomes of young people with disability.

The Summer Foundation’s research into the personal impact of moving into purpose-built specialist disability accommodation (SDA) provides compelling insights into the importance of support for people with disability to live well.

Watch highlights from last year’s Annual Public Forum below:

Join us on Thursday 2 November for this free event. The in-person event will be held in Melbourne, with the opportunity to join us online for those who can’t attend in person. 

Face to face (Docklands, VIC) and Online – FREE

The Arena
The Village at NAB Docklands,
700 Bourke Street,
Docklands, Victoria 3008

 Get directions

Doors open at 11.30am
Annual Public Forum: 12pm – 1.15pm AEDT (online live streaming)
Light lunch from: 1.15pm