Consultative Forums 2026 – 2028
The NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission has refreshed its 2 consultative forums. These forums make sure the voices of people with disability and the disability sector are central to our work.
The forums create opportunities for people with disability, providers, advocates and sector representatives to share insights and lived experience. This advice informs our decision-making, regulatory priorities and strategic direction. This process is described in the NDIS Act 2013.
The 2 forums are:
- Advisory Council: amplifying the voices of people with disability.
- Sector Consultation Forum: providing insights from across the disability sector.
Diversity and inclusion
Membership of both forums reflect the NDIS Commission’s commitment to intersectional diversity. The forums include people with disability and organisations that deliver supports and services to people with disability, including:
- people with intellectual disability
- First Nations peoples with disability
- culturally and linguistically diverse people with disability
- LGBTIQA+ people with disability
- people with disability living in rural and remote locations
- young people with disability
- women with disability.
Advisory Council
The Advisory Council is an independent advisory body. It provides our leadership with strategic advice on issues affecting people with disability. Its purpose is to:
- embed and amplify the voices of people with disability in our work
- makes sure our regulatory decisions reflect lived experience.
The council has up to 12 members who are appointed for up to 24 months. Members bring lived experience, leadership and expertise across disability rights, advocacy, service delivery, policy and governance. See the Advisory Council Terms of Reference.
Advisory Council members
- Alan Blackwood, Western Australia
- Melinda Brown, South Australia
- Chris Coombes, Queensland
- Aaron Cotton, Queensland
- Kelly Cox, New South Wales
- C. Findlay, Victoria
- Carolyn Frohmader, Tasmania
- Ciara Galega, Western Australia
- Sharon Grocott, New South Wales
- Samantha Jenkinson, Western Australia
- Tamika Marshall, Northern Territory
Sector Consultation Forum
The Sector Consultation Forum is an independent forum. It provides our leadership with sector wide regulatory and operational insights on the delivery of NDIS services and supports. This aligns with Chapter 6A, Part 2 of the National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013 (the Act).
The forum includes up to 20 members who are appointed for up to 24 months. Members reflect the diversity of the sector and represent:
- service providers
- advocacy organisations
- professional disciplines
- community organisations.
See the Sector Consultation Forum Terms of Reference.
Sector Consultation Forum members
- Mustafa Al Rashid, Kanda
- Rachael Bowker, Darwin Community Legal Service Inc
- Emily Caska, Playgroup NSW
- Donna Crompton, St Giles Society
- Paula Davies, Integrity Matters
- Christine Hannan, Australian Association of Social Workers
- Gail Hilton, Childhood Dementia Initiative
- Sara Martins, Queensland Advocacy for Inclusion
- Angus McFarland, Australian Services Union
- Sarah Nicoll, National Disability Services
- Michelle Oliver, Occupational Therapy Australia
- Elizabeth Reid AM, Integrated Disability Action
- Andrew Rowley, Ability First Australia
- Garry Simpson, Ability Roundtable
- George Taleporos, Self Manager Hub
- Tanya Walford, Disability Intermediaries Australia
- Samuel Warren, Allora Options
- Grant Williams, GNA Services
- Peter Willis, Hireup
- Annabel Yagos, Leading Lights Early Intervention
Contact
Direct any enquiries about the Consultative Forums to the Secretariat at committee@ndiscommission.gov.au.