This year’s WA NDS Disability Support Awards honoured outstanding contributions across the disability support sector in Western Australia and Intelife had much to celebrate.
From Busselton to Perth, Intelife teams and individuals received recognition for life-changing support. Meet the people behind these achievements.
Outstanding Leader: WINNER – Brian Kelly
Brian Kelly joined Intelife through the South-west Open Employment Pathways initiative in January 2025, and the impact since then has been hard to miss.
Since then, participant engagement has grown by 65 per cent. Four participants have secured paid employment – at award wages and ten have commenced structured work trials. Industries range from hospitality and retail to laundry services, gardening, jewellery making, and commercial cleaning .
But the numbers only tell part of the story.
Brian has spent the past year changing how employers in the South WestSouthwestSouth-west think about inclusive hiring. Rather than asking businesses to take a chance, he has equipped them with practical tools, addressed their concerns head-on, and then stayed involved to ensure things work. Businesses that have come on board have publicly endorsed the experience and encouraged others to participate.
He also chairs Intelife’s Service Co-Design Committee, a monthly forum that includes five paid participant members. It’s not a token consultation process. Insights from that group have directly shaped Intelife’s approach to employer engagement and job matching.
As one participants family noted, Brian is “the catalyst, the organiser, the lateral thinker, and the leader who encourages and facilitates work opportunities… an exceptional man”.
Excellence in Regional and Remote Support: WINNER – Team Michael (Katie Harland, Darcy Foord, and Kristy Overton)
Finding work in Busselton isn’t easy for anyone. Limited public transport, fewer employers, and long distances between towns make it genuinely hard, and for someone who needs consistent, structured support, it can feel almost impossible.
Katie, Darcy, and Kristy didn’t accept that.
Through local networking including connections through the Chamber of Commerce, they identified Geographe Holiday Homes as a values-aligned employer and built the case from scratch. They proposed a supported work trial with one-to-one coverage, meaning no burden on existing staff. They handled transport between sites, embedded visual supports and routines, and stayed on top of every detail as Michael settled in.
The result: paid, award-wage employment, five minutes from home.
The ripple effect has been significant. Geographe Holiday Homes has since asked whether there are more participants interested in similar roles. Other regional employers have reached out. New placements have followed in Bunbury, Cowaramup, Dunsborough, and Busselton.
Michael’s parents describe the change as profound. After years of uncertainty, they can watch their son go to work close to home, earn equal pay, and build a future in his own community.
Excellence in Supporting Employment Outcomes Nominee: Lisa
Aimee knew exactly what she wanted: a job in retail, at award wages, in an actual shop. Not a compromise, not something easier, retail.
Lisa took that seriously.
Rather than nudging Aimee towards more readily available roles, she spent time understanding what would make Aimee genuinely successful in a fast-paced, customer-facing environment. That meant working on the things that don’t show up in a job description returning to a supervisor after finishing a task, offering help without being asked, and staying aware of the shop floor.
She secured a structured four-week trial at Red Dot. Aimee was offered a casual position at award wages.
Since starting, the change has been visible. Aimee is more confident, more outgoing, and more engaged with the people around her. Her life skills trainers have noticed it too.
When concerns about Centrelink payments threatened to stall the whole process, Lisa went beyond her formal role. She researches the system thoroughly so she could give Aimee’s family the reassurance they needed to move forward.
Also nominated in this category was Team Michael, recognised for the person-centred approach that underpinned Michael’s employment success. The discovery process, the co-designed role, and the ongoing refinement of supports that turned a regional challenge into a sustainable outcome.
Emerging Leader Nominee: Jade Widdeson
Jade Widdeson has worked at Intelife for eight years. She started as a skills trainer, then moved through training officer and operations coordinator, and now runs supported employment operations across the organisation.
Her role covers about 150 staff, including 125 supported employees. They deliver commercial contracts in garden maintenance, horticulture, cleaning, and facilities work for local and state government clients. It’s a big operation with a lot of moving parts.
What stands out is how Jade runs it.
She believes good operations and person-centred support go together. So rosters are built around what people are good at, not just who’s free. Contracts are shaped to give supported employees room to learn new skills. When something gets hard – a contract changes, staff are stretched, a resource runs short – she pulls people into the conversation instead of handing down a decision.
Jade is known across her teams as someone who advocates for both staff and supported employees. Her manager, Roma De Souza, describes her as a trusted voice who keeps the focus on people, even when the operational pressure is high.
Jessica Player, a supported employee at Intelife, is one of the people whose day-to-day work Jade helps shape.
Jade’s nomination isn’t about one big moment. It’s about the steady, quiet work that keeps everything else running well.
Excellence in Disability Support Work Nominee: Louise Perkins
Melinda has had two goals for a while: get her driver’s licence and build her craft business. Louise has been quietly helping her chase both.
Over the past 12 months, Louise has supported Melinda through driving lessons, test preparation, and the frustration of setbacks, without ever taking over. Melinda is now booked in for her test and approaching it with a clear head: even if it doesn’t go to plan the first time, that won’t undo the progress she’s made.
Meanwhile, Melinda’s Handmade Crafts has grown from a hobby into a structured small business with a Facebook presence and local markets in its sights. Melinda chooses her product lines, sets her prices, and decides which opportunities to pursue. Louise helps when asked.
Louise’s manager, Kye, sums it up well: “Louise has created an environment where Melinda feels safe to be herself… she gives her independence, choice, and control.”
Melinda’s own take: “I am so excited because of it.”
Congratulations to all!
Every person recognised through these awards represents something real. Not just a good outcome, but genuine work, genuine relationships, and genuine belief in the people they support.
Congratulations to Brian, Team Michael, Lisa, Louise, and everyone at Intelife, whose work makes this kind of recognition possible.
Reference Link: WA Disability Support Awards – 2026 Winners and Nominees
