What should support outside of the NDIS look like? Here are some ideas!

You can read the full transcript of the event here.

You can watch the full recording here.

Here is the link to the survey: https://essentialresearch.recollective.com/open-dialogue-july-idea-feedback-survey/join?key=BR8O 

You can either make a profile or fill out the survey anonymously – it’s totally up to you.

Here’s the link to the Easy Read version of the survey: https://www.rixeasysurvey.org/kiosk/ZWDo

Event summary

This Open Dialogue was about what support outside of the NDIS should look like.

The event was hosted by G Treloar and Maddy Ruskin. G is a queer, disabled creative, based on Laurna Country. They are a stage manager with experience on numerous productions. Maddy is a Naarm/Melbourne-based writer, podcast host, and disability advocate focused on neurodivergent and chronically ill representation. 

G and Maddy began by introducing the topic for the event and the Feature Dialogue. They explained how the Feature Dialogue is a project run by the Disability Dialogue and led by people with disability.

The goal of the Feature Dialogue is to address problems or challenges that affect people with disability. This Feature Dialogue looked at how we can make support better for people outside of the NDIS, and how we can make support for children and families better.

Next Maddy shared some of the important things that we have learned through the Feature Dialogue. This included that people said they can’t get information in ways that make sense to them. 

The first speaker of the event was Kelly Treloar. Kelly is the Director of the Disability Dialogue. She talked about what we learned from the focus groups with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Kelly talked about how these groups were run differently from the other groups. 

We then watched a video that introduced the first big idea that has come out of the Feature Dialogue. This idea is called the Access Navigator App. The purpose of the Access Navigator App is for it to help people get trusted information in a way that suits them. 

Paul Riddle and Kirsten Deane answered some questions about the Access Navigator App. 

Paul is an infrastructure architect, which means he works with computers. He is also the person who built the test version of the app. Kirsten is an Enterprise Professor and Deputy Director of the Melbourne Disability Institute at the University of Melbourne. Kirsten has been working with the Disability Dialogue team on the Feature Dialogue. 

Following a short break, Maddy introduced some of the things we learned in the Feature Dialogue about how to make support for children with disability and their families better. One of the things we learned was that it is very important for children to feel they truly belong and are included. 

We also learned that children do best when they are doing activities they like, in places they are comfortable, with people they love. She also talked about how parents say they need more support, including ways to connect with other parents. 

We then heard from Brooke Canham, who is an experienced self-advocate with over 5 years’ experience working in the disability sector, currently as a Policy Officer with Inclusion Australia. Brooke talked about how she co-facilitated the Feature Dialogue groups with people with intellectual disability. She talked about how they ran these groups differently to make them accessible for people with intellectual disability. 

This idea is called The Hub, which is an idea for making support for children with disability and their families better. The Hub would have a school, a preschool, a public library, and a support centre. 

Kirsten and Kelly came back to answer some questions about The Hub. 

The event closed with a reminder complete to the survey to tell us what you think about the ideas shared during the event. 

Everyone was also invited to register for the August 2026 Open Dialogue event which will be about “What makes community inclusive?” happening in August.