Working together to help strengthen the disability sector
With the disability sector in Australia continuing to evolve, expectations placed on providers are shifting significantly. These changes are designed to strengthen the quality, safety and consistency of the supports NDIS participants, their families and carers rely on every day. It also highlights the importance of choosing providers that are prepared, capable and are committed to ensuring a participant focused sector for the future.
At JP Trusted Advisor we have always believed that well developed systems, confident leadership and staff who are well supported are essential to delivering safe, person-centred supports. Strong governance and capable teams do more than meet compliance requirements, they help to create stability, protect participants’ rights and build trust.
It is this belief that has led JP Trusted Advisor to take the next step. A step towards a collaborative partnership which, together with Facilitatrix, we have called Co-Create, formed to help organisations across the disability and mental health sectors and in turn, strengthen outcomes for the people they support.
We asked Jodi Perkin, JP Trusted Advisor’s Director and Specialist Support Coordinator and Caroline Marshall, Facilitatrix’s Director all about their Co-Create initiative, working in partnership and what Co-Create means not just for the disability and mental health sectors, but also for NDIS participants, their families and carers.
Who is Co-Create?
“Co-Create is a new collaborative partnership between JP Trusted Advisor and Facilitatrix,” says Jodi. “Caroline and I could see a real need in the disability and mental health sectors, where organisations need to feel supported to strengthen their systems, governance and workforce capability, so the services they deliver are safe, ethical and sustainable.”
“We could see organisations trying to keep up with reform, while still delivering high quality support. We wanted to offer organisations something practical, so we started Co-Create to help build confidence. Confidence for organisations navigating complex NDIS requirements, for leadership teams preparing for audits and registration and importantly, for participants and families so they know the organisations providing their supports and services are operating with integrity,” adds Caroline.
Between Jodi and Caroline, they bring together decades of frontline, leadership and consultancy experience and expertise across disability, mental health, aged care, government and human services.
“Caroline and I have both worked on the frontline and in leadership roles. We know what it feels like to be balancing compliance expectations while still delivering meaningful, person-centred support. Working together with Caroline, it means not only do we understand the regulatory requirements of the NDIS, but how those requirements translate into everyday practice in people’s homes, in community settings and in supported accommodation,” says Jodi.
Caroline continues, “when organisations are built on strong foundations, participants feel it. They experience consistency, safety, clear communication and they trust them. That’s what our Co-Create partnership is all about, we want to help bridge the gap to ensure organisations feel confident, capable and clear in how they operate, not overwhelmed, because meaningful change is achieved together.”
Why this partnership between JP Trusted Advisor and Facilitatrix matters
As the disability sector continues to change, the need for thoughtful, strategic preparation has never been clearer.
The introduction of mandatory Supported Independent Living (SIL) registration commencing Wednesday, 1 July 2026, is one of the most significant regulatory changes the disability sector has seen in recent years. Together with broader changes, unregistered SIL providers must now demonstrate stronger governance frameworks, clearer risk management processes, greater workforce capability and be able to demonstrate alignment with the NDIS Practice Standards.
“For many organisations navigating these changes, a number of important questions have been raised, such as are our systems audit ready, do our policies reflect how we actually operate, is our workforce confident in practice standards and participant rights and are we built for sustainability, not just compliance?” explains Jodi.
“For participants, their families and carers, these changes represent something important, stronger safeguards and greater assurance that the services supporting them meet consistent, national quality standards,” says Caroline. “However, preparing for registration is not as simple as submitting paperwork or adopting generic templates. It requires systems that reflect how an organisation truly operates. It requires leadership teams who understand their responsibilities and it requires staff who are confident in their practice and clear about participants’ rights.”
“That is why this partnership matters and why Co-Create exists, to provide practical, strategic and meaningful support for the long term,” says Jodi.
Co-Create’s approach to registration and compliance
“With mandatory SIL registration approaching, some providers are understandably seeking efficient registration solutions. However, templated systems that do not reflect an organisation’s operations can create challenges at audit stage and risk gaps in practice,” says Jodi.
“That is why Co-Create’s approach is intentionally different,” says Caroline. “Rather than offering short term solutions, we work together with organisations to build systems that are embedded, understood and sustainable.”
Co-Create’s services include:
Tailored training and supervision programs aligned to current sector needs, the organisation’s priorities and gaps within workforce capabilities.
Bespoke policy and procedure development aligned with best practice and regulatory standards.
NDIS provider registration and re-registration, ongoing compliance, audits and reviews and service development including mandatory SIL registration.
NDIS education and training programs to suit government agencies and departments as well as mainstream service providers who work with people with disability.
“We focus on ensuring quality and individualisation upfront, reducing the need for costly rework, reactive compliance fixes and reputational risk later,” explains Caroline.
How Co-Create benefits NDIS participants
“While Co-Create work directly with organisations, the ultimate beneficiaries are NDIS participants,” says Jodi. “Stronger governance means safer services, capable workforces mean consistent support, clearer policies mean ethical decision making and embedded safeguarding means dignity and rights are upheld. Participants may never see the policies or governance frameworks and all the work that goes on behind the scenes, but they experience the outcomes every day.
“When organisations operate with clarity and confidence, participants experience stability in support arrangements, reduced service disruption, improved communication, stronger advocacy and higher quality, person-centred care,” Jodi continues.
“Everything we do through Co-Create, ultimately comes back to participants. By working together, we can help strengthen organisations and outcomes for people with disability,” adds Caroline.
Co-Create’s shared vision for the future
At the heart of Co-Create is a shared vision between JP Trusted Advisor and Facilitatrix.
“This partnership was not formed in response to fear of reform or change, but in recognition of opportunity. An opportunity to lift standards across the sector, to strengthen organisations and to improve outcomes for participants,” says Jodi.
Caroline adds “by working together, we can support organisations to navigate change, complexity and growth, while ensuring services remain ethical and peron-centred. We believe, meaningful change is achieved by working together through collaboration.”
Change and reform presents an opportunity to build a stronger, more resilient disability sector and Co-Create offers practical, strategic support to help organisations be better equipped and capable to strengthen their systems so participants experience safer, more consistent and higher quality support.