April 2025 – Institute for Urban Indigenous Health

NDIS Education Team

The NDIS Education Team is officially up and running — and coming to a clinic near you!

Our team will be available during dedicated drop-in consultation days to answer any NDIS-related questions and support you every step of the way — stress free.

Check out the list of education topics we will be covering over the next three months. We would love to see you there!

May

Drop-in consultation days across MATSICHS, Kalwun and YBB clinics.

June

“Supporting children with additional needs”
Drop-in consultation days across MATSICHS, Kalwun and YBB clinics

July

“No Shame in Disability”
“Self-advocacy in the NDIS”
Drop-in consultation days

You can find out more information about these events on Yarn It Up.

Allied health services - registered NDIS provider

The IUIH Disability Services team is a registered NDIS provider, offering a wide range of supports across several clinics and in the community.

We provide speech and occupational therapy services, along with other allied health supports including:

dietetics
podiatry
exercise physiology
physiotherapy
social work.

Have a yarn with our team to find out how we can support you through these services. You can also self-refer by visiting the Yarn It Up page and completing the expression of interest below.

Below is a table of when our speech pathology and occupational therapy services will be available.

IUIH at the Brisbane Disability Connect Expo

Our IUIH Disability Services team were delighted to meet with community members at Brisbane Disability Connect Expo on the 21 and 22 March 2025.

It was a fantastic two days of connecting with other deadly service providers, showcasing the work we do, and sharing our passion for supporting Mob through the NDIS. We also brought along some fun and educational games that were a big hit with the crowd!

Check out some great moments from the Expo in the photos below.

Disability Access Team

Our deadly Disability Access Team have supported Mob across South East Queensland since 2018. We support our community from the point of receiving a referral, to obtaining an NDIS-approved plan and facilitating linkage to service provision. Our team work collaboratively with your healthcare providers to gather appropriate evidence of disability to support an application to the NDIS.

Due to recent staffing changes, we would like to re-introduce you to our Disability Access Team.

Jodie Austin is our Project Lead – Aged Care and Disability Reforms. I am a proud Dunghatti woman dedicated to supporting my community. I have been with IUIH for the past 7 and a half years. Prior to this, I lived in New South Wales, where I worked with an organisation selected to be part of the pilot trial site in Newcastle for the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) in 2014. In this role, I had the privilege of rolling out NDIS plans from a service provision perspective. My experience also includes working with state model disability funding across various programs before the introduction of the NDIS. As an accredited Case Manager trained in Disability and Aged Care, I bring both personal and professional insights into the challenges and opportunities within the disability sector. As a single mother of three teenage boys and having grown up with a sibling living with a disability, I have a deep understanding of the importance of comprehensive support systems. At IUIH, I have worked within multiple facets of the NDIS, including access and service delivery. I initially led the team within IUIH’s Disability Service Delivery as the Team Leader of Support Coordination. The successes of the IUIH Disability Access Team have highlighted the growth and impact of our disability services for our community.

Nigel Jones – Disability Access Officer. I have recently returned to IUIH, bringing with me years of lived experience and over five years of dedicated work within the NDIS space. Throughout my career, I have been committed to supporting individuals in achieving their goals and improving their overall quality of life.Most recently, I worked as a Psychosocial Recovery Coach, where I had the privilege of walking alongside people on their mental health journeys providing guidance, encouragement, and practical support as they worked towards recovery and greater independence. Before that, I held the role of Support Coordinator, where I developed a deep understanding of the NDIS and the importance of building strong, person-centred plans tailored to each individual’s needs.

My passion lies in empowering people to make informed choices, access the right services, and feel confident in their ability to lead meaningful, self-directed lives. I am excited to be back at IUIH, where I can continue this work in a culturally safe and supportive environment.

Mikayla Bourke – Disability Access Officer. I grew up in the small town of Goondiwindi (Bigambul Country) on the border of Queensland and New South Wales. Seven years ago, I moved to Brisbane, where I’ve had the opportunity to work in a variety of industries, including hospitality, insurance, and auditing. During my time working for a certifying body, I gained valuable experience in quality auditing, focusing on standards such as the NDIS, HSQF, ISO, and other regulatory frameworks. This experience deepened my understanding of compliance and continuous improvement processes. While these roles helped me develop a diverse skill set, I soon realised that my true passion lies in making a positive impact within the community. To further my commitment, I am currently studying a Cert IV in Child, Youth, and Family Intervention to deepen my knowledge and expand my expertise in this field. Alongside my professional journey, I am a dedicated advocate for organ donation and actively volunteer at events for DonateLife, where I work to raise awareness and encourage others to register as donors. When I’m not working or studying, I love spending time outdoors, whether it’s playing tennis, snorkelling, or camping. I’m deeply passionate about continuing to grow both personally and professionally, and I’m excited about the opportunities to contribute meaningfully to my community through IUIH.

Miria Kiddie – Disability Access Officer. I am a proud Maori woman from New Zealand. I enjoy going to the gym and I have a career focus to be a qualified personal trainer with a vision of helping elders and youth with movement and mobility. I am passionate about directing young people into healthier habits, including fitness. My career background has been in working with Indigenous youth for 10 years in a range of different roles, most recently working in the youth justice system for the last five years. I am new to IUIH and new to the NDIS space.

If you would like to get started with the NDIS, or know someone who would, contact:

Phone 1800 317 378
If you already access other health services through our clinics, ask your healthcare provider to refer to us.
Email us directly at Disability.Access@iuih.org.au

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Background

A team of Indigenous and non-Indigenous researchers explored a range of topics relating to young people’s ways of seeing, knowing, doing, being and belonging. In total, 31 young people aged 15 to 24 years from over 21 different Nations participated in a yarn. In addition, the researchers yarned with 20 service providers such as health workers and social workers who work with young people.

A Youth Advisory Committee was established to guide and support the project including overseeing the design and development, data collection, sense-making and knowledge sharing. This committee includes young people from all walks of life.

The project highlighted four key areas that were important for young people. Health organisations and young people could focus on these areas

These include:

culture and identity,
shared commitment,
relationships,
and belonging and connections.

Strengthening culture and identity

Culture means making my ancestors proud and participating in cultural events and hanging out with people who are also Indigenous too like that brings me a great sense of culture, cultural community as well…and also my connection to my family and my community and my country.

Tamika, Youth Yarn

The project found young people are likely to take ownership and lead connections that foster and support their culture and identity. This is confirmation that our young people are invested and interested in the ways of Our Old People and Elders. They are wanting to learn the Propa Ways of our Mob, including storytelling, language, arts, traditional healing and being on Country as well as modern responsibilities and obligations.

Young people have a desire for strengthening their cultural knowledge and form identity.

Shared Commitment

I would say that it’s actually more so having other people that need my support because that can sort of kick me into gear and as long as I know I’m putting out something positive, I tend to worry a lot less … So, I think that I actually feel better by helping other people.

Jason, Youth Yarn.

Young people are excited and wanting to learn and share their stories – while also hearing from others, especially Elders, mentors or each other. Deadly young people take on roles as leaders and mentors, not always expecting anything in return. Instead, for young people it’s about being active in Community and leading by example.

That way young Mob have a space to be self-determined, and advocates for their social, cultural, emotional, and physical health.

Relationships

…It’s nice to have that yarn, and even if you sit in silence, sometimes it’s nice to just be in the presence of others who actually understand what you are or what you have gone through.

Naomi, Youth Yarn.

Relationships are important to young people and are important when setting up youth advisory positions or committees. The Youth Project found it is important to create environments that build and maintain connection with and between young Mob.

To foster these relationships, honouring cultural processes and protocols is essential. That may be connecting with and to family, Community, Elders, or friends.

Belonging and connections

There’s so many different stories, so many different Mobs, different connections, different things that have happened.

Elsie, Youth Yarn.

To our young people, belonging is not just one thing. Our young people come from all walks of life and journeys. So, finding a belonging in Community or connection is important to the journey and support of our youth.

Our Youth Project pointed to young people’s need for a sense of belonging and connection. This domain relates to a phase in a youth’s rite of passage. This phase being ‘The Wandering/Wondering Life’, is the stage between ages 15-21. A time when young people begin to ask questions and challenge ideals and concepts in front of them. In these wandering years, young people test their limits, discover consequences to behaviour and learn how choices shape their character. The next phase, from ages 21-28 is a stage guided by Elders, teachers and mentors known as the Truth stage. This is the time young people discover their true selves, gifts and strengths along with concept of life and beliefs and values (Best Start Resource Centre, 2010).

Similarly, to culture and identity our young Community desires a connection and belonging to their culture. For young Mob to contribute to health and wellbeing of community, they shared a need for safe spaces to be seen, heard and valued. Young people are diverse with different life experiences, world views, advantages, disadvantages and subcultures or abilities etc. so it’s important to accommodate the needs and diversity of young people from all walks of life. This may be a space for young Mob to yarn together and share their experiences and learn from each other to fulfill a sense of belonging and connection.

Improving and Integrating Urban Indigenous Health Services

Background

Strengthening culture and identity

Shared Commitment

Relationships

Belonging and connections

Servicing our South East Queensland Members

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