NDIS WA Community Advisory Council membership

Stu has had a multi-discipline career, from being a small business owner in South West WA, CEO of a training organisation and a university academic to a researcher investigating emotion’s impact on ethics.

Stu has navigated workplace challenges throughout his career, with the added biases and discrimination that come with being a wheelchair user in the Australian workforce. Since 2022, he has been CEO of Advocacy WA, a not-for-profit organisation advocating for equality, justice and rights of people living with disability.

He is passionate about improving outcomes for regional, rural and remote people with disability, one of the most marginalised sections of the Australian community.

Stu is also a member of various boards, committees and councils, including the Edith Cowan University Council and the Disability Advocacy Network Australia board.

Jacquie is dedicated to progressing the delivery of quality, accessible, relevant and sustainable services to Western Australians through the NDIS. Her strong connections across state and federal levels, combined with her expertise, underpin this commitment.

Jacquie has extensive knowledge across policy, operational and business management principles related to the NDIS and its implementation for providers, clients and the broader community. She is also a member of the Cerebral Palsy Australia Board.

Jacquie is CEO of Ability WA, which convenes the WA Early Childhood Intervention Collaborative. The organisation is also a member of Ability First Australia, which is well regarded by the Federal Government and is a regular, strong contributor to policy development.

Melanie has spent more than 35 years working for various not-for-profit organisations, charity groups and non-government organisations in the areas of children’s services, childcare and family support programs, with experience in facilitating parent education workshops.

She has also undertaken voluntary roles, including serving as a state representative for a national organisation that supports and informs families of children with a rare genetic condition.

In her current role, Melanie works with families whose children have developmental delays, developmental concerns or recently diagnosed disabilities. She is also a board member for an education support secondary school and a paediatric therapy service provider.

As a parent of four children, including a son who is legally blind and has autism, and a daughter with Down Syndrome and a severe intellectual disability, Melanie has a strong personal understanding of the needs of families that include children with disability.

Julie is an experienced board director and executive, with an established career in health and disability services.

She trained as an Occupational Therapist, working with people with disability across a range of sectors, including service delivery in regional and remote communities. She has served on health and disability boards, including Independent Living Centre of WA (now Indigo) where she is a life member, Black Swan Health and the Disability Services Commission.

Julie grew up in regional WA and her lived experience includes providing family supports in mental health and autism.

Julie has led diverse organisations prior to and since the inception of the NDIS. She is currently responsible for early intervention and therapy services, working with children and families across Australia, and supporting a large team of allied health professionals.

Julie has qualifications in health, finance, and governance, with a particular interest in clinical governance and quality service delivery frameworks that promote safeguarding and deliver meaningful outcomes.

Melissa has been a solicitor with Legal Aid WA for 15 years, working extensively across both criminal and civil law, and specialising in NDIS law and policy.

In 2018, Melissa set up WA’s NDIS Appeals Service, providing legal assistance to applicants in NDIS Tribunal appeals. In 2023, she established Legal Aid WA’s NDIS Early Advice Service, a state-wide service providing legal assistance for initial NDIS requests and reviews to people from marginalised groups with co-existing legal issues.

Melissa has advocated extensively on individual and systemic levels for improvements to NDIS processes and outcomes, with a particular focus on people in custody, First Nations people, and people experiencing homelessness, family violence, abuse, or neglect.

She also draws on her experience working with people with disability in her previous career as a speech pathologist, and her lived experience of parenting a child who has an intellectual disability arising from a rare genetic condition.

Clare (she/her) is a disability and human rights advocate with lived experience of multiple disabilities, including autism.

She is chair of the National Disability Research Partnership and former co-chair of the Oversight Council for Australia’s first National Autism Strategy.

Clare’s work is distinguished by her leadership in climate change, disaster preparedness, and gender equality. She specialises in Disability Inclusive Disaster Risk Reduction, ensuring the voices of women and gender-diverse people with disability are central in climate and emergency planning.

Clare is also a board member of the Centre for Australian Progress, Chair of the WA Ministerial Advisory Council on Disability, and an emergency services volunteer, helping build community resilience.

Internationally, she has represented Australia at the UN Conference of State Parties (2022–2025), and the Commission on the Status of Women (2024-2025), advocating for inclusive approaches to disaster risk, climate action, and gender equity.

Leighton has lived experience of disability with his eldest son having high support needs, including complex communication access needs.

Through his son, Leighton has met many amazing people (with and without disability) and has learned a great deal about what it takes to provide rights-based contemporary supports.

Since 2014, Leighton has worked nationally as a consultant in the disability and mental health sectors, with some additional work in Canada. Much of his work has been with people, families and providers in the context of the NDIS.

Since 2016, Leighton has also had roles with the NDIA’s Independent Advisory Council and its reference groups. He is especially passionate about supported decision making, building and sustaining friendships, and people being able to live in situations of their choosing.

Leighton chairs the Lived Experience Advisory Panel for WA’s Disability division.

Stuart has more than 30 years of experience in the disability sector, shaped by a lifetime of lived experience with physical disability.

Growing up on a rural farm instilled resilience and a strong sense of community, while sport provided opportunities to compete internationally and connect with others living with disability.

Stuart has worked across local and federal governments, not-for-profit organisations, and NDIS providers, bringing practical insight to policy and service design. 

He has served on various advisory bodies, including the City of Perth Access and Inclusion Advisory Group, City of Bayswater Inclusion and Diversity Advisory Committee, and as Deputy Chairperson of the Ministerial Advisory Council on Disability. As vice-president of the Spina Bifida Association of WA, Stuart championed inclusive practices and community engagement.

Committed to equity and inclusion, Stuart continues to influence policy and advocate for meaningful change for people with disability.

Ellie is a Minang Noongar woman born in Esperance (Wadjuri Country). 

She has Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome and cares for her mother, who also has disabilities.

Ellie is employed as a lecturer for the Department of Social Work and Social Policy at the University of WA. For the past five years, she has also worked as a NDIS Support Coordinator, helping people with disability navigate the NDIS system.

Ellie holds an Undergraduate Degree in Psychology, a Master of Social Work and is a registered Social Worker. She is also completing her PhD.

Melissa has held board and committee positions across the disability, education, health, and community services sectors for at least 20 years and has been an active volunteer for more than 32 years.

She is the Most Accessible Communities WA Awards Ambassador and holds several volunteering roles, including those with Epilepsy WA and St John.

Melissa is also a member of access and inclusion groups for airport authorities and local governments and is a board member and Patron of Cecil Andrews College. A life member and former director of Ability WA, Melissa served on the board for 10 years and previously served as a board member with Disability Services Commission and Ministerial Advisory Council on Disability. She is also an Associate Fellow of the Royal Commonwealth Society.

Melissa is a passionate fundraiser, supporting many not-for- profit organisations at local, national and international levels. In recognition of her dedication and service, she is a Member of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem (Order of St John) - a prestigious international honour.

Melissa was an elected member with a metropolitan local government and was a deputy state councillor with the WA Local Government Association. She holds a Diploma in Public Relations and Local Government and other qualifications, including emergency management.

While Melissa has lived experience of sensory and physical disability, it doesn’t define her. Instead, she uses her disability to advocate and voice for others and create change for access, inclusion, welcoming communities, facilities, buildings and events, and advocates for policy and changes where others don’t have a voice.

Shazzy (she/they) is a registered and credentialed mental health nurse, autistic professional, wheelchair user and parent of two autistic children.

Living with mobility disability, chronic illness, neurodivergence and communication disability gives Shazzy deep insight into the barriers people with disability face, particularly across housing, health, education and community participation. Their lived experience sits at the heart of their work and advocacy.

Shazzy is the founder and principal counselling psychotherapist at Positively Living, a neuroaffirming therapy practice in Perth.

With more than 30 years’ experience in mental health, disability, trauma-informed care and community practice, she is committed to building accessible, culturally safe and inclusive supports for Western Australians with disability.

Shazzy holds several leadership and advisory roles across the disability, mental health and research sectors. She is the vice president of the Australian Clinical Supervision Association and has previously served on its management committee. She has contributed to Reframing Autism’s advisory and advocacy initiatives, including work related to intersectionality and lived experience, and contributes to the national Affirming Futures project under Australia’s First National Autism Strategy (2025–2031).

Shazzy is also an advisory group member for Macquarie University’s Neurodivergence and the Listening Brain project, Everymind’s Carer Capability Project, and Consumer Protection WA and CPRC’s Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) Lived-Experience Research Advisory Body.

In WA, she contributes to Volunteering WA’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Advisory Group and collaborates with People with Disabilities WA (where she previously served as chair), YDAN and other community organisations focused on co-design, lived-experience leadership and strengthening disability rights.

Terrence is CEO of Goldfields Individual and Family Support Association Inc (GIFSA). Since his appointment in 2019, he has led disability and community supports across the Goldfields-Esperance region, with a strong focus on quality, compliance, and genuine person-centred practice.

Terrence brings more than 25 years of leadership in regional not-for-profit services, including 16 years as CEO of the Eastern Goldfields YMCA and senior roles with MAX Employment, supporting people with disability into sustainable work. 

He has more than six years’ experience as a City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder councillor and was recently elected deputy Mayor.

He also serves as a Justice of the Peace, chair of the Goldfields-Esperance Development Commission, and a committee member on the WA Council of Regional Disability Service Providers, alongside multiple other board and committee appointments that strengthen regional inclusion, infrastructure, and service coordination.

NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission

Alisa is the Deputy Commissioner of Regulatory Policy, Insights and Review.

She commenced with the NDIS Commission in February 2022 as Assistant Commissioner Planning, Performance and Engagement. Her role supports the NDIS Commissioner to uphold the rights of NDIS participants through high quality evidence, analysis and policy advice on the regulations of the NDIS market.

Throughout her career, Alisa has worked in areas that deal with highly sensitive and complex social issues, such as aged care, disability and policy reform, child protection services, early childhood education, and environmental regulation. She is committed to improving communities, particularly for the most vulnerable among us.

Alisa has designed and delivered major reform and cultural change programs on behalf of government and organisations. She has an inclusive leadership approach, coupled with qualifications in change leadership, which allow her to skilfully manage diverse stakeholder priorities to deliver an optimal outcome.

WA Department of Communities, Disability division

Mhairi leads the Department of Communities’ Disability division, which is responsible for driving the WA Government’s vision that people with disability, and those who share their lives, are engaged and feel empowered to live as they choose in a community where everyone belongs.

Mhairi has worked in disability service policy and system reform since the introduction of the NDIS. She collaborated to co-author the first book on the scheme with contributions from leading disability thinkers from across Australia. She has previously held senior positions throughout the WA public sector within community and human services policy development.

Before joining Communities, Mhairi was a principal within an international consulting firm where she led the public policy practice. She has delivered projects for government agencies within WA and nationally on priority policy reforms and organisational transformation.

Mhairi holds a PhD on children’s rights and a Bachelor of Arts (Communication Studies).

WA National Disability Insurance Agency 

Barbie has worked in the Australian public service for 23 years, starting with the NDIA in 2013 (before the NDIS commenced) in the NDIA Hunter trial site.

She has continued her career with the NDIA, taking on several positions in regional and national locations. Barbie worked in WA during its NDIS transfer and transition stages, later moving to the role of operations director and is now WA state manager.

Barbie’s passion as a leader is to drive positive, productive, and diverse workplace culture. Through coaching and mentoring, she fosters innovation and delivers outcomes to support agency objections.

Barbie supports career progression and succession planning, ensuring the agency has the right people in the right jobs to deliver participant and agency priorities.

Department of Health, Disability and Ageing

James is a senior executive with more than 30 years of experience in human services, social policy, and program administration across both Commonwealth and Victorian governments.

Since 2017, he has led major reforms in disability policy, with a strong focus on the NDIS. This included serving as the Deputy Head of Secretariat for the NDIS Review, where he played a key role in shaping the blueprint for future reforms to the NDIS. He currently has lead policy responsibility for legislative changes to strengthen NDIS sustainability and improve participant outcomes, and NDIS governance including Commonwealth-state relations and the NDIS interface with mainstream systems (including health, education, justice, transport and aged care).

James holds an Executive Master of Public Administration from the Australia and New Zealand School of Government and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Melbourne.

WA Department of Communities, Disability division

Lauren is the Executive Director, Disability Engagement and Stewardship in the Department of Communities’ Disability Division.

She is responsible for driving greater access and inclusion across WA for all people with disability, with a focus on sector and cross-government stewardship to achieve outcomes and enhance service and system delivery, including through monitoring performance of the NDIS.

Lauren has worked in senior leadership positions in the Queensland Government and has played a key role in NDIS implementation in Queensland, including in regional and remote communities, improving accessibility and inclusion across governments and industry, and design and commissioning of community service programs for people with disability, their families and carers.

National Disability Insurance Agency 

Gaby has held a range of legal, policy, reform and leadership roles across Victoria and NSW.

Since 2023, Gaby has been a General Manager with the NDIA, working on reform, policy and intergovernmental relations. Before joining the agency, she worked as a senior executive with the Victorian Department of Justice and Community Safety, leading a range of projects including sexual assault reform, a recidivism strategy and public intoxication reform.

Gaby also worked for Victoria Legal Aid in criminal law practice, project and service reform roles, and was the founding Director of the Sustainable Business Forum in NSW. Her experience with disability includes living with multiple sclerosis.