Born from a genuine desire to create real choice

The story of how we came to be

Impacted by conversations with fed up and exhausted families right across Australia, Jane could see the stark reality. People living with disability had very few genuine options when it came to accessing support.

 

“I was just shocked and disappointed. The more I researched the more I learned how hard families had it. I couldn’t just walk away and hope somebody else solved the problem”.

 

Frustrated by a sector weighed down by stigma and limited options, Jane set out to understand the complexity, the unnecessary bureaucracy and the red tape that stood in the way of what could be fair and fitting for families living with disability.

It was never going to be a quick exercise. Jane travelled hundreds of kilometres, sitting with families in their homes and communities, listening deeply and taking the time to truly understand the scale of the challenges they were facing and what could be done to change things.

Through these genuine and often heartbreaking conversations, a clear theme emerged. The intentions of Support Worker service providers and the lived reality for families were worlds apart.

The truth was that families were facing:

• Limited availability of Support Workers and instances of complete no-shows
• Support Workers who were not culturally appropriate
• Strangers coming into the home
• A lack of consistency in the quality of care provided

All of this created deep mistrust in a system that was simply not delivering for the people it was meant to support.

 

“As a human I felt a huge sense of responsibility. How could we live in such a ‘progressive country’ and mistreat people like this?! I felt an innate responsibility to make this right”.

 

Designing a better option

Fuelled with stories of the families she met, and the thought of how many more there are living the same experience, Jane set about designing a better option.

Researching the sector:
Speaking with peers and trusted voices, Jane went into fact checking mode. She focused on understanding what was genuinely possible rather than what people assumed was possible. This groundwork became the foundation for creating something new.

The idea of the NDIS:
Through this exploration, Jane discovered that what we now know as the NDIS was beginning to take shape. Even in its early draft form, its ambition was clear. It aimed to put real power in the hands of participants and families. For that vision to work, families needed organisations that genuinely supported choice and control.

Looking beyond our shores:
Jane expanded her search overseas, studying models and services that placed families at the centre. She found ideas and inspiration that could be adapted into a service model led by the family, not the provider.

Looking beyond to other sectors:
By drawing on existing employment frameworks and understanding how they could be interpreted for this context, Jane shaped a service model that would allow families to directly employ the support they needed in a way that felt genuine, flexible and truly their own.

 

“ The biggest challenge has been operating with commercial thinking inside a government framework. You need the ambition and the problem solving mindset of a commercial business if you want to solve problems like this.”

 

Testing and learning in order to design a useful solution

With a principal service model in hand, Jane finally had the opportunity to imagine what a better future could look like. But it was never as simple as setting it up and switching it on.

It began with getting out into the community and finding real opportunities. By exploring programs and services across the sector, Jane uncovered several openings for families to trial the model, including the DHHS direct employment pilot program, working with recipients of Funds in Court and collaborating with courses that offered short term respite packages.

These early opportunities gave Jane and her growing team the chance to shape the service around the real needs of families and to understand where we could have the greatest positive impact.

 

Serving a community vs. being part of the sector

Just as we are today, the focus of Carer Solutions was always on serving a community, not becoming part of the sector. Because of this, we were completely foreign to almost everyone. We were challenged at every turn, met with responses like “you cannot do that” and “that is not possible”.

But Jane and the team knew they were breaking new ground. The resistance was not a sign to stop. It was a sign that change was needed. And every barrier we pushed through showed that we were on the right path. It is something we continue to do every single day.

Through endless reviews of constantly shifting legislation, thousands of hours with lawyers and experts, and several significant court cases, we have built a growing community of people who partner with us to employ those they know and trust as their Support Workers

 

Scaling something good

Driven by a desire to make a positive impact on the lives of as many people as possible, Jane began meeting with stakeholders, lawyers and industry experts to understand how to scale this unique service and solve a crucial problem within the sector.

With the passing of the NDIS legislation in 2013 and the national rollout beginning three years later, families were finally given funding they could control. With this new control, and with the choice enabled by Carer Solutions, families were at last in a position to employ Support Workers they wanted.

Carer Solutions today

Since 2011, we have positively impacted more than 10,000 lives through our Directly Employ service.

For over 14 years, we have been co creating lives filled with genuine choice and relationships built on heart, authenticity and trust. We look forward to continuing to challenge the status quo, stand up for what is fair and see our Partners set the course of their own lives.