The Disability Dialogue Podcast

The Disability Dialogue, Open Dialogues 2026: Let's unpack ableism

On the 29th of April 2026, The Disability Dialogue had an Open Dialogue event called, ‘Let’s unpack ableism’. The event was hosted by Skye Cusack, who is a writer, journalist and a comedian based in Naarm. And James Parr, a prominent voice in fashion and media. In this open dialogue, our guest will talk about their experiences with Ableism, including; what it can look like for different people and how it affects confidence, opportunities and everyday life. You will also hear about Disability Pride and what Disability pride means. Event guest speakers included Commissioner Rosemary Kayess who began her five-year term as Disability Discrimination Commissioner in January 2024. Ms Kayess helped draft the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability (CRPD) and currently serves on the UN Committee. Laura Naing, Laura works at NSW Council for Intellectual Disability. CID for short. Laura is part of a new project called the Driving Change. Listen in to hear more about this project. And our other guest is Barnby Lund. Drawing on a lifelong, lived experience Barnby has over 30 years of experience across the private and government sectors in roles spanning project management, policy and operation. The event begins with co-host Skye Cusack welcoming the online audience to the Open Dialogue event. This episode was produced by the Disability Dialogue in 2026.

The Disability Dialogue, Open Dialogues 2026: Friendships, relationships and intimacy for people with disability

On the 25 March 2026, The Disability Dialogue had an Open Dialogue event called, ‘Friendship, relationship and intimacy for people with disability’ The event was hosted by Jax Brown, who is a disability and LGBTQIA+ rights activist, writer and educator, and Madeleine Gay, who is a policy and research officer at Children and Young People with Disability Australia (CYDA) Event guest speakers included Daniel Johnston, a man supported by Life Without Barriers and Isabella Choate (Ch-oat), who is multi-award-winning Living Experience Advocate, passionate about community building and platforming the voices of young people with disability.  The event begins with Jax Brown welcoming the online audience to the open dialogue event. This episode was produced by the Disability Dialogue in 2026

The Disability Dialogue, Open Dialogues 2026: Equal education for teens and young adults with disability

On the 25 February 2026, The Disability Dialogue kicked off its first Open Dialogue event called,1 ‘Navigating high school, TAFE and university as a disabled young person’. This Open Dialogue event was about equal education for teenagers and young adults with disability, specifically, those navigating high school, TAFE and university as a disabled young person.  The event was hosted by Kiz Blanca-Jackson, who is a community organiser and disability rights advocate, and Sophie Geeves, who is a disability advocate and C.P. Active Champion. Event guest speakers included Madeleine Gay from Children and Young People with Disability (CYDA), Brooke Canham from Inclusion Australia, and Ryan Rowland from Up the Hill, a program that supports people with intellectual disability. The event begins with co-host Kiz Blanca-Jackson welcoming the online audience to the Open Dialogue event. This episode was produced by the Disability Dialogue in 2026.

The Disability Dialogue, Open Dialogues: What happened in 2025 for people with disability, a year in review.

The Disability Dialogue, Open Dialogues: What happened in 2025 for people with disability, a year in review. This Open Dialogue event was held on Wednesday 26th November 2025. This event was about some of the biggest things that happened this year for people with disability and their community.    It was hosted by Todd Winther, who is a policy expert in the disability sector, and Kelly Treloar, who is a disability advocate and works with the Disability Dialogue. They both are people with disability. Todd and Kelly began by sharing results from the optional pre-event survey. The survey asked participants how they felt 2025 was for the disability community. Most people said it was a mix of good and bad. The first speaker was Nas Campanella who is ABC’s National Disability Affairs Reporter. Nas talked about the major stories she worked on this year, including challenges with the NDIS, the Thriving Kids Program, and positive stories like Deaf playgroups for children,   Nas also spoke about writing her new fully accessible picture book for children. The second speaker was Natalie Wade, Associate Commissioner at the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission. Natalie spoke about her role, what it’s like being a person with disability in a position of senior leadership, and some of the big projects she worked on in 2025, including the commission’s first Disability Action Plan. After a short break, we heard from Carly Wallace who is the Director of the Disability Dialogue. Carly talked about what’s next for the Dialogue, including the first ever Feature Dialogue called “Our Future Foundations” which will explore foundational supports. She encouraged people to join the paid focus groups. Carly also announced the topics for next year’s Open Dialogues, including education, relationships, intimacy, ableism, and experiences of the criminal justice system.  The event closed with a Q&A with Carly. She answered questions about future Feature Dialogues, how people can stay updated, and shared her highlight of 2025. The event closed with an invitation to register for the first Open Dialogue of 2026. This episode was produced by Powered Media and Vision Australia for The Disability Dialogue in 2025.

The Disability Dialogue, Open Dialogue event: AI is here and it’s changing the way we live, work and connect.

The Disability Dialogue, Open Dialogue event: AI is here and it’s changing the way we live, work and connect.  This Open Dialogue event was held on Wednesday 22nd October 2025.  The event started with Carly Wallace, Director of the Disability Dialogue, welcoming everyone to the event. Kelly Griffis-Cox, who is part of the Disability Dialogue team, and Sam Mouakkassa, who works for the Victorian Advocacy League for Individuals with Disability (VALiD), co-hosted the event. The first speaker was Sisaleo Philavong. Sisaleo works at the Multicultural Communities Council of South Australia. He supports people with disability and people from different cultural and language backgrounds. He talked about how he uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) in his workplace, including to translate words and audio so people who speak different languages can understand each other. The next speakers were Zac Colton and Jon Paior. Zac has an intellectual disability and is an Ambassador for the Make it Easy app. Jon works in Information Technology and is an expert in cyber security and privacy. He is also autistic and a parent of a neurodivergent child. Zac and Jon talked about how Apps can use artificial intelligence to make the world around us easier to understand. It can help people follow instructions, like how to cook a recipe or read a menu. They also talked about how to stay safe when using artificial intelligence, and reminded everyone that artificial intelligence is not a real person. The event ended with all the speakers taking questions from the audience, and with an invitation to the next Open Dialogue, which is the last one of the year. This episode was produced by Powered Media and Vision Australia for The Disability Dialogue in 2025