Presentations

Graeme Innes AM is a lawyer, author, and company director.

He is the Chancellor of Central Queensland University, a member of the board of the National Disability Insurance Agency, and a member of the board of the State Insurance Regulatory Authority of NSW.

Graeme’s autobiography Finding a Way achieved popular acclaim in 2016.

He has been a human rights practitioner for more than forty years, and is a conference presenter and facilitator.

Graeme was a Commissioner at the Australian Human Rights Commission for almost nine years, responsible for issues relating to disability, race and human rights. On the international stage, he was a member of the Australian delegation that participated in negotiating the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities.

Graeme led the merger of four blindness agencies to form Vision Australia, and chaired the board of that agency. He is currently the chair of the Attitude Foundation, a start-up aimed at using media to change attitudes towards Australians with disabilities.

Graeme was awarded an AM for his work on the development of the Disability Discrimination Act, was a finalist for Australian of the Year, and, on the international stage, he was a member of the Australian delegation that participated in negotiating the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities. He was awarded Honorary Doctorates by the University of Canberra in 2014, RMIT University in 2016, UNSW in 2017 and Edith Cowan University in 2018, in recognition of his work as a human rights activist.

Since 2014, Graeme has received four Honorary Doctorates in recognition of his human rights advocacy.

Graeme is married with two adult children, loves cricket as a spectator and sailing as a participant, and relaxes by enjoying fine Australian white wine.

Sam Bennett has worked on disability, aged care, and health reforms at a national level for almost twenty years. He leads the Disability Program at the Grattan Institute. Prior to his role at Grattan, he led the Policy, Advice and Research Division of the National Disability Insurance Agency, where he shaped and delivered national policy, and implemented the Agency’s Research Strategy. Sam was also responsible for supporting the work of the NDIS Independent Advisory Council.

In the UK he led transformation programs in the National Health Service (NHS) integrating social care and health services.

Catherine McAlpine is the Chief Executive Officer of Inclusion Australia, the national representative organisation for people with an intellectual disability and their families.

Catherine is a respected leader in the disability community, with previous senior roles in state and national advocacy and not-for-profit disability organisations. Her focus is on supporting the rights and empowerment of people with intellectual disability and their families. She has spoken as a witness at several Disability Royal Commission hearings on employment and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Catherine has a track record of collaboration and innovation to increase the inclusion of people with a disability. This is informed by her previous roles in the corporate sector, and running a small business, which gave insight into the need to base reform around sustainable business models.

Kelly Treloar (she/her) brings deep experience in disability policy, advocacy, and systems reform. Kelly has over 25 years history in community services and advocacy, with the past decade predominately focused on advancing the rights of people with disability.

Kelly has led national policy and systemic advocacy work, built strong relationships across government, community, and the sector, and contributed to major reform including the Disability Royal Commission and Closing the Gap.

She brings her own lived experience to this work and is a strong advocate for ensuring people with disability are actively included in decision-making that affects their lives (preferably before the policy is already written!).

She is particularly passionate about highlighting intersectionality, including the experiences of First Nations people and LGBTIQA+ people with disability, and driving systemic change that reflects the full diversity of the disability community.

Her work is grounded in a human rights approach centred on shifting attitudes and challenging outdated assumptions so that people with disability are included, valued, and supported to participate fully in all aspects of life, including open employment.

She recently joined Disability Employment Australia to support its work in the NDIS space, drawn by DEA’s values-driven approach and commitment to building a stronger, fairer disability employment system. As DEA expands its focus in this area, Kelly is excited to help drive systemic advocacy that ensures more people with disability have the opportunities and support they need to pursue employment in ways that work for them.

Colin Entwistle has close to 30 years experience in the disability employment sector within both organisational and peak representative bodies in senior leadership roles.

Currently employed as Head of Employment with National Disability Services, Colin provides policy and advocacy advice and support to both our members and influence to government to enable the delivery of sustainable high quality employment support services to people with disability and to achieve ever improving employment outcomes.

Colin is a former DEA Board and is a Fellow of the Institute of Employability Professionals (FIEP).

Kirsten Deane is the Deputy Director of the Melbourne Disability Institute and an Enterprise Professor in Disability. Based at the University of Melbourne, MDI facilitates and supports interdisciplinary research that addresses the complex and systemic issues facing people with disability. MDI brings people with disability, families, government and non government organisations together with researchers to co-produce research that has real-world impact on policy and practice and helps to build a more inclusive and equitable society. With more than 15 years experience in the disability sector and a background in research, policy, advocacy, campaigning and communications, Kirsten is most well known for her role as Campaign Director for Every Australian Counts, the grassroots campaign that fought for the introduction of the National Disability Insurance Scheme. Kirsten was a panel member on the recent independent review of the NDIS and has also served on numerous boards, committees and advisory councils, including Co-Chair and Deputy Chair of the National People with Disability and Carer Council. Kirsten has three children and as a result has excellent conflict mediation skills.