The Australian Disability Network has appointed three new directors to its board and announced a significant investment in funding and resources to accelerate the organisation’s goal to build a disability confident Australia.
Susan Davies, Australia Post’s Executive General Manager People and Culture, Kate Eastoe, Woolworths’ Group Company Secretary & Group Counsel and Alyson Tong, Arup Australasia’s Chief Financial Officer will join the board of the rapidly expanding organisation.
Australian Disability Network Chair Peter Wilson said the new board members will bring a wealth of experience and skills to the organisation during this growth period.
“We are delighted to have directors the calibre of Susan, Kate and Alyson joining our board as we drive our new strategy of creating a disability confident Australia.
Our network has almost tripled in size in the past six years, from 130 to 383 member organisations, and those members account for 2.2 million people or 17% of our national workforce.
While that is a huge achievement, we are very conscious that 83% of the workforce are not members and this presents an opportunity we will actively pursue in coming years as we seek to remove the barriers to accessibility and inclusion for people with disability,” Mr Wilson said.
The three new directors have welcomed the opportunity to join the Australian Disability Network’s board.
“It is an absolute honour to join the Australian Disability Network board. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to contribute towards creating a disability confident Australia,” Ms Davies commented.
“As we continue to understand the learnings from the Disability Royal Commission, it is timely for organisations to lean into what more can be done, including those to which we belong. We are pleased to collaborate with the Australian Disability Network, and I look forward to joining the Board as Australian Disability Network works to deliver on its ambitions.” Ms Eastoe said.
“I’m delighted to be joining the Australian Disability Network board, working with an organisation aligned to my personal values seeking greater inclusion,” Ms Tong said.
The Australian Disability Network – Australia’s peak body for disability inclusion in the workplace – will increase its staff numbers from 29 to 38 this year and create a new consulting division to better serve its customers and its 383 member organisations, which include many of the country’s largest corporations and government departments.
The nine newly created positions will allow the organisation to streamline and strengthen its programs, training resources and services including the Access and Inclusion Index and the Disability-Confident Recruiter, Pace Mentoring and Stepping Into programs.
Australian Disability Network CEO Corene Strauss said the substantial increase in staff numbers illustrate the organisation’s commitment to significantly improving disability inclusion in Australia.
“Our purpose is to build employer capability and be the employer’s voice to government, industry and community to achieve the inclusion of people with disability.
We will increase member engagement to substantially grow our impact in Australia and build employer readiness to support and include people with disability.”
For anyone wanting to join the Australian Disability Network please check out our Work with us webpage to find the job descriptions.
Media Contacts: For further details contact Clara Pirani on 0410 446 621 or clara.pirani@AusDN.org.au