Author Archives: Able Australia

In honour of Volunteer Week last week (16-22 May 2022), we would love to share an inspiring story about our client, Rebecca. Rebecca is 25 years old and has been volunteering at the local Salvos store for the past 4 months. Able staff have supported Rebecca to get workplace experience and try new things that […]

From May 16 – 22 is National Volunteer Week. National Volunteer Week (NVW) is Australia’s largest annual celebration of volunteering, and is held from 16 – 22 May 2022. At Able, we have around 120 amazing volunteers who give up their time to support vulnerable members of the community in Queensland. Our volunteers help is […]

It is with sadness that we wish to announce the passing of Mr John Finch. John Finch was the first CEO of Able Australia, formerly known as The Deafblind Association, serving from 1985 – 2002. John also served as a Committee Member of The Australian Deafblind Council from 1993 – 2002, he was a member […]

Positive Behaviour Support. Clients with complex needs and multiple diagnoses often present with behaviour support needs, after putting themselves or others at risk of harm. We believe that these clients need a different approach in supporting them to live their best lives. Positive Behaviour Support is a well evidenced practice that has been utilised within […]

To celebrate Easter 2022, our seniors in Queensland enjoyed a lovely morning tea. The morning tea included some great music and craft activities. To keep things fun, everyone had the opportunity to make an Easter bonnet. The seniors each got their own bonnet which they could decorate with all sorts of art materials, even the […]

Last year, Dr Meredith Prain and her Centre of Excellence – Deafblind team were awarded the inaugural Eddie Keir Award for their Deafblind Webinar Series. We weren’t able to present Meredith with her award at the time due to COVID restrictions. Fortunately, Di Keir, Eddie Keir’s widow and their granddaughter Marnie, were able to pay […]

Able Australia ishosting a ‘Come and Try’ Day at our Northcote Tech Hub! This is a great chance to try mainstream and assistive technologies accessible to people with deafblindness. You will have the chance to try lots of smart assistive technology such as Smart glasses Technology to assist in the kitchen Smart home technologies Community […]

Craig has been attending the Moonah Men’s Shed in Tasmania for the past 3 years. Over those 3 years, Craig has worked on lots of different projects. “I like to design my own projects and work out what materials and measurements I will need, I have used most of the tools at the men’s Shed, […]

  By Dr. Meredith Prain, National Head of Research and Centre of Excellence – Deafblind, Able Australia. One of the driving forces behind the ‘Every Australian Counts’ campaign to establish a National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) was the inequity of disability service provision, between States, Territories and regions. Approaching its ninth year of implementation, the NDIS […]

Able Australia Board Chair, Peter Reilly OAM announces Lynette McKeown has been appointed CEO of Able Australia. Lynette comes into this role having held a series of executive positions within Able, most recently as Chief Operating Officer. Prior to joining Able Australia, Lynette held senior roles at Monash Health here in Australia and the National […]