What happened in 2025 for people with disability? A year in review.

You can read the full transcript of the event here.

You can watch the full recording here.

Event Summary

• This event was about some of the biggest things that happened this year for people with disability and their community.   
• It was hosted by Todd Winther, who is a policy expert in the disability sector, and Kelly Treloar, who is a disability advocate and works with the Disability Dialogue. They both are people with disability.
• Todd and Kelly began by sharing results from the optional pre-event survey. The survey asked participants how they felt 2025 was for the disability community. Most people said it was a mix of good and bad.
• The first speaker was Nas Campanella who is ABC’s National Disability Affairs Reporter. Nas talked about the major stories she worked on this year, including challenges with the NDIS, the Thriving Kids Program, and positive stories like Deaf playgroups for children,  
• Nas also spoke about writing her new fully accessible picture book for children.
• The second speaker was Natalie Wade, Associate Commissioner at the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission. Natalie spoke about her role, what it’s like being a person with disability in a position of senior leadership, and some of the big projects she worked on in 2025, including the commission’s first Disability Action Plan.
• After a short break, we heard from Carly Wallace who is the Director of the Disability Dialogue.
• Carly talked about what’s next for the Dialogue, including the first ever Feature Dialogue called “Our Future Foundations” which will explore foundational supports. She encouraged people to join the paid focus groups.
• Carly also announced the topics for next year’s Open Dialogues, including education, relationships, intimacy, ableism, and experiences of the criminal justice system. 
• The event closed with a Q&A with Carly. She answered questions about future Feature Dialogues, how people can stay updated, and shared her highlight of 2025.
• The event closed with an invitation to register for the first Open Dialogue of 2026.