Disability Sector Podcasts by National Disability Services (NDS)

Interaction is taking a cautious, people-first approach to AI adoption, focusing on practical use cases that save time, strengthen governance, and improve advocacy outcomes rather than replacing human judgement. Starting with tools they already had access to, AI is being used across quality, planning, and leadership decision-making. In this episode, we spoke to Brett Thompson, CEO of Interaction,...

In this podcast NDS is joined by Sharon Paley, Founder of the Australian Centre for Restraint Reduction and Elimination to share some key information and tips with Disability Service Providers for Continuous Improvement.   This podcast shares:  The aims and benefits of continuous improvement  How to engage staff in continuous improvement  Embedding a continuous improvement approach  Resource list ...

In this podcast NDS is joined by Kristie Walker, Director of On Track Investigations to share some key information and tips with Disability Service Providers for Planning Investigations in Disability Services. Investigations play a key role in providing safer and better-quality services by helping providers learn from mistakes and prevent future incidents. The process can also help with rebuilding...

In this podcast NDS is joined by Dr Hayley Croft – University of Newcastle (UoN) and Adeline Tan – Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA) to share some key information and tips with Disability Support Workers including: What polypharmacy is and when might workers identify polypharmacy Complications and challenges that may occur with polypharmacy Accessing government funded medication reviews in...

An annual comprehensive health assessment improves the detection of health needs, enables active management of those needs, and significantly reduces health risks and poor health outcomes. So how can you support people living with an intellectual disability access one? The CHAP tool is free and available to download from the Australia Government Department of Health and Aged Care at: Comprehensive...

Cervical cancer screening participation rates are lower among people with a disability than for the general population. Some women with disabilities may face barriers that make having a Cervical Screening Test harder to do. These barriers may include clinic accessibility, physical limitations, competing health needs, and informed consent. In this podcast, NDS talks with Judy Slape and Ayesha Ghosh...

This podcast explores the array of different roles available within the disability sector as well as common career pathways for workers to pursue. Get information to assess whether the disability sector would be a good fit for you. Learn more about the skills and qualifications you need to pursue a career in the disability sector. Explore different career pathway opportunities. In this podcast, Ky...

In this NDS My COVID-19 Vaccination Journey Podcast, NDS Senior Policy and Projects Officer Tahlia Seedy speaks with Sonia, a person with a disability. Sonia talks about why their CVOD-19 vaccination was, and is, important to them. This is the highlights.

The NDS Entry to Care Roles project has trained and coached long-term unemployed job seekers into entry-to-care roles within the disability sector. In this podcast Louise Hillman from NDS chats with Rikky Baird, Support Worker Unit Coordinator, from Action on Disability within Ethnic Communities Inc, better known as ADEC. They discuss how the ethnic diversity of the Entry to Care Roles students he...

The NDS Entry to Care Roles project has trained and coached long-term unemployed job seekers into entry-to-care roles within the disability sector. In this podcast Louise Hillman from NDS chats with Anthony Walsh, CEO of On-Call Training College about his experiences and what he learnt as a Register Training Provider with the Entry to Care Roles project. Anthony talks about how On-Call provided tr...

The NDS Entry to Care Roles project has trained and coached long-term unemployed job seekers into entry-to-care roles within the disability sector. In this podcast Tahlia Seedy from NDS chats with Ed Okuoga, State Manager Victoria, from Workforce Australia employment service providers Workskil Australia, about his experiences with the NDS Entry to Care Roles project and what he learnt. Ed was invo...

Professor Prue Morgan, Head of Physiotherapy at Monash University speaks to Disability Sector Consultant Heather McMinn from National Disability Services about Falls prevention, the consequences from falling and how disability workers can reduce falls in disability care settings.     This podcast was produced by National Disability Services, with funding from the Victoria State Government.  Go to...

Professor Bronwyn Hemsley, Professor of Speech Pathology at the University of Technology Sydney speaks to Disability Sector Consultant Heather McMinn from NDS about safe and enjoyable mealtimes and supporting NDIS participants with swallowing difficulties.   This podcast was produced by NDS, with funding from the Victoria State Government.    Go to the  DFFH website  for further information and re...

Reece Adams, Head of the Centre for Developmental Disability Health, Monash Health, speaks to Disability Sector Consultant Heather McMinn from NDS about deteriorating health in disability care settings, what disability workers should look for and how they can respond.   This podcast was produced by NDS with funding from the Victoria State Government.    Reece and Heather also talk about supporting...

In this NDS My COVID-19 Vaccination Journey Podcast, NDS Senior Policy and Projects Officer Tahlia Seedy speaks with Rhino, a a person with a disability. Rhino talks about his personal journey and why his COVID-19 vaccination was, and is, important to him.

In this NDS My COVID-19 Vaccination Journey Podcast, NDS Senior Policy and Projects Officer Tahlia Seedy speaks with Sonia, a person with a disability. Sonia talks about why their CVOD-19 vaccination was, and is, important to them. This is the full episode.

NDS Sector Consultant Graeme West looks at the Disability Royal Commission and outlines the theme and issues of interest to Australian Disability Organisation Boards and CEOs.

Disability providers overcame many significant challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, and now must work out how to prepare for a future with COVID-19 as an endemic disease.

Safer and Stronger - Yooralla CEO Terry Symonds talks with NDS Victoria State Manager Sarah Fordyce about how Yooralla has prepared for dealing with COVID-19 as an endemic disease.

There are concerns about COVID-19 vaccination rates for children with disability in the 5-11 years age group, particularly as Australia heads into winter. In this podcast, NDIS participant Leo and his mother Marika, share their experience with Leo’s COVID-19 vaccination, what steps they took to make it easier for Leo and why they think getting vaccinated is important. Information about COVID-19 va...

Infection prevention control consultant Bruce Greaves shares his insights and tips from supporting frontline workers within COVID outbreak environments. Part 2 focuses on PPE gowns, face-shields, reusable PPE, airflow and role of vaccination. Correct use of face masks videos are available on the NDS website, see PPE in the Infection Prevention Control Toolkit.

Infection prevention control consultant Bruce Greaves shares his insights and tips from supporting frontline workers within COVID outbreak environments with NDS Disability Sector Consultant Heather McMinn. Part 1 focuses on personal clothing as baseline PPE, waste management and mask wearing and care of facial skin. Correct use of face masks videos are available on the NDS website, see PPE in the...

Deb Howcroft from NDS is joined by COVID-19 vaccine champion Uli Kaplan who is a disability advocate and filmmaker. Uli talks about his belief in the vaccine program, his decision to get the vaccine, and his experience in overcoming his skepticism of it.

Deb Howcroft from NDS is joined by Vaccine Champion Peter Romer, a house supervisor in regional Victoria. Peter discusses overcoming his hesitancy toward the COVID-19 vaccine, the importance of seeking credible information, and shares some helpful insights on assisting participants to access the vaccine.

Deb Howcroft from NDS is joined by vaccine champion Trish Maloney who talks about how her experience living with polio has driven her commitment to vaccination and why the COVID-19 vaccine is important to her.