Sport is for everybody, of all abilities.

That’s why we have a project called Inclusive Sport and Active Recreation Communities. It’s all about building better access to opportunities to get active and increasing the representation of people with disabilities in sports of all kinds, at all levels.

Beyond the Sidelines Reference Group is a team of people across Queensland, all with lived experience who help us identify what’s already working, make plans for improvement, and prioritise our efforts.

In this episode we will meet three members, Gladstone’s Ruby Lawler, Lauren Killen from Warwick, and Amy Tobin from the Gold Coast.

Interview: Emily Smith
Production: Jodie Van De Wetering

Pharmacist, model, disability advocate, public speaker, Instagrammer... Sara Shams has a lot going on. 

Sara is a bi-lateral above knee amputee, and currently studying a Masters of Public Health as she works towards getting disability on the agenda in public policy, the media, even the fashion runway. 

She’s a powerhouse of ideas and enthusiasm, and credits the support around her for helping turn her dreams into goals and her goals into achievements. 

The NDIS is here to help all Australians, but not everybody is comfortable sharing their story with service providers or official agencies.  If you've experienced discrimination in that environment in the past, it's understandable you'd be reluctant to put yourself in that situation again.

One of the groups who have faced generations of discrimination in Australia are the LGBTIQ+ community.

To make sure our services are welcoming and accessible to everybody, Carers Queensland now has a new way to get in touch.  During World Priode celebrations we launched a new email address - [email protected] - that connects you with a Rainbow Responder.  They're Carers Queensland staff who are themselves LGBTIQ+ and can support your enquiry from a place of lived experience and compassion.

To find out more about sitting at the intersection of the rainbow community and the disability community, we caught up with Brisbane's Tim Lachlan.  Tim's neurodivergent, queer and uses a wheelchair, and says each of those elements of his identity have shaped his experiences.

Tim's an accomplished wheelchair motocross athlete and recently achieved his qualifications as an occupational therapist. He's already run events and skill building sessions for other wheelchair users, and will be using his blend of personal experience and clinical skills to support other people with disability.

Disability Action Week and International Day of People with Disability are a time to celebrate how far we've come in access, inclusion, and respect for people with disability.  It's also a time to reflect on the work still to be done, to build a community where everyone is included and welcome, and their contributions recognised and valued.

Employment is one area where there's been a lot of work done, but still much more to go.  Employment and entrepreneurship for people with disability brings the dignity of taking a calculated risk, the pride of a job done well, access to the community, and the freedom of financial independence.

In this episode we meet four people with disability who are turning their career dreams into reality: personal trainer Shane Falconer, journalist and radio producer Braeden Jason, freelance virtual assistant Justine Fox, and nature photographer Michelle Taylor-Holmes.

Carers Week every October is a time to celebrate the amazing efforts of Australia's 2.65 million unpaid family carers.  Carers Queensland has marked the week with events across the state to thank carers for their contribution not only to their loved ones, but the broader community and the nation's economy.

It's a time to reflect, but also to look ahead - so we caught up for a chat with CEO of Carers Queensland, Debra Cottrell.

In this episode we also meet carer Susan Peters from southern Queensland's Granite Belt region.  She's carer for two family members, one who has autism and the other complex mental health.  Susan also runs a business along with her husband Darryl, a counsellor, and is a part of her local carers' support group.

MC Wheels is a Sunshine Coast-based hip hop artist known offstage as Nathan Tessman.

Nathan uses a wheelchair, and for the last couple of years has lived independently with support from the NDIS.

He's also been honing his craft, releasing new music, and performing at gigs around the southeast corner including opening for Bliss n Eso at the Brisbane Riverstage.

Alberto Campbell-Staines is a Brisbane-based Paralympian in the T20 category, for athletes with intellectual disability. 

He holds the under-20s Australian T20 record for the 200m, 400m and 800m sprints, and works as a teaching assistant while studying to further his career in education.  He's also living independently, with support from the NDIS.

Mark Berridge is an author, speaker, family man, and ready to face up to a tough physical challenge.

He had a successful corporate career that saw him working with international players like Rio Tinto, but that all changed in 2019 when Mark acquired disability in a cycling accident.

Mark documented his recovery and his life with severe spinal cord injury in his book, A Fraction Stronger, and uses his experiences to motivate others to embrace challenges, personal growth, resilience, and meaningful connections.

It’s great when the stars align and you can turn a passion into a career.  In this episode, we meet two blokes from the sporting world who have done just that. 

Josh Pople is heavily involved with his local rugby league team the Redlands Parrots. He’s done some coaching training and he’s a League Safe Officer.  Josh has cerebral palsy and uses and electric wheelchair, and he’s an active and vital part of his local team’s community.  

Archie Graham is a four-times world singles tennis champion and ranked number two in Australia in men’s singles tennis for players with intellectual disability. Like Josh he then turned his attention to coaching, and now shares his love of the sport with the next generation of tennis superstars.