Lets Connect Support Services

17/08/2026

Last year, our community helped get Andy moving. This year, we’re asking you to help him breathe. ❤️

We have supported Andy for several years, and his NDIS journey has not always been smooth sailing. We have faced battles, made endless calls and kept pushing when the system didn’t seem to have an answer.

Last year, Andy was virtually stuck at home when his scooter needed repairs and his funding wasn’t enough. Our network stepped up and helped us source a scooter.

We have never forgotten that kindness.

Sadly, Andy needs help again.

Andy lives in Brisbane with severe COPD and relies on oxygen. Following cuts to his NDIS plan, he has been advised that funding will no longer cover the portable oxygen he needs to safely leave his home.

MASS can provide the large oxygen bottles for his home — but what happens when Andy needs to leave?

Without portable oxygen, attending medical appointments, grocery shopping, seeing friends or simply getting out into his community becomes incredibly difficult.

Andy isn’t asking for a luxury. He is asking to breathe safely outside his own front door.

Andy recently turned 65 and was contacted by an NDIS delegate asking whether he intended to move to the aged care system. He said no.

We can’t say why these decisions are being made, but it raises an important question:

When essential supports that keep older NDIS participants independent are removed, what choices are they really being left with?

Turning 65 shouldn’t mean losing your independence or your connection to your community.

Andy wants to regain some of his freedom. He wants to shop, attend appointments safely, see friends and maybe even catch a live band again.

A portable oxygen concentrator could give him that freedom.

Andy has started a GoFundMe, and incredibly, in just four days we have already reached around 26% of our goal.

If you can donate, thank you. If you can’t, please share Andy’s story. Last year, sharing helped change his life.

Let’s see if our community can do it again.

Andy deserves more than simply being kept alive at home. He deserves the opportunity to live. ❤️

06/08/2026

27/07/2026

At the end of this week our office at Redcliffe will close. Please dont be alarmed. We are still here but all staff will be working from home. Same awesome team just not office based.

10/06/2026

Last Wednesday I was invited to speak at the Carer Event on the Sunshine Coast around setting up different types of housing for people with disabilities. Our main focus was providing some information around ensuring you choose good providers who align with your values and needs and also what is important to you or the family member you support. It was an excellent opportunity to talk about how Williams support has been set up for him and how well it works. It was an excellent day and great to meet new people and catch up with others I hadn’t seen for a few years.

04/06/2026

Important Update from Let’s Connect Support Services

To our valued clients, families, and stakeholders,

We would like to let everyone know that Let’s Connect Support Services will be closing our Redcliffe office.

Over time, the way we work has evolved, and most of our team now work remotely from home while continuing to provide the same dedicated support to our clients and community.

As part of this transition, our 1300 number will be disconnected from mid-July 2026. Please ensure you update your records with our current contact details.

Most importantly, we want to reassure everyone that we are not going anywhere. Our team will continue delivering the awesome work and support that Let’s Connect is known for.

We are also excited to share that we have some new projects happening behind the scenes, including upcoming training opportunities and workshops that we look forward to launching in the near future.

We sincerely thank you for your ongoing support and look forward to continuing to work alongside you.

Our Support Coordinators will reach out to you all in the coming weeks to provide their work mobile as well as an back up number if you require assistance.

Warm regards,
The Team at Let’s Connect Support Services

26/05/2026

Next Wednesday I am speaking at a Carer Network event on the Sunshine Coast on how our family supported William to move out of home into his own space with the right support team in place and how we built a strong community network around him. This is not about registered or unregistered provider but a general open conversation with other families who are looking at something similar.

This free event provides carers with information on the decision for your loved one to move out of home and live independently.

01/05/2026

This needs to be said—openly and honestly.

From a Support Coordination perspective, and as Australian citizens, we are watching a narrative unfold around the National Disability Insurance Scheme that is creating division, stigma, and fear.

The current focus on “fraud,” “cost,” and “sustainability” is dominating the conversation.Yes—integrity matters. Yes—accountability matters.

But the suggestion that widespread misuse is the norm is simply not what we see on the ground.

What we see is:• Families stretching every dollar to make supports work• Carers carrying 24/7 responsibility with little recognition• Participants trying to live ordinary, meaningful lives

Most people are doing the right thing.

And yet, the public narrative continues to position people with disability as a burden—framed through “taxpayer money,” as if they are separate from the very community that funds and sustains this country.

Let’s challenge that.

People with disability are not separate from taxpayers—they are part of them.Many contribute directly. Families contribute every day. And unpaid care saves the government billions.

The NDIS is not a handout. It is public infrastructure—like health and education. It exists so Australians can live, participate, and contribute.

If we are serious about how public money is used, then we need to look at the full picture.

We need to question the significant resources spent through the National Disability Insurance Agency on legal processes and disputes within the Administrative Appeals Tribunal—often forcing people to fight for basic, reasonable supports—instead of directing those funds where they were always intended: supporting people.

We can hold two truths at once:✔ Safeguards and integrity matter✔ But most people are doing the right thing

And we need to be careful not to let one narrative erase the other.

At the same time, we are seeing proposals to reduce or remove Support Coordination and replace it with “navigators.”

Let’s be honest about that too.

If “navigators” become a centralised, call-centre style model, they will not replace what is actually happening on the ground.

Support is not just information.

Real support involves:• Understanding complexity and risk• Building trusted relationships over time• Local knowledge and real-time problem solving• Advocacy when systems fail

You cannot build trust through short, scripted interactions.You cannot coordinate complex human support from a distance.

If we remove relational support and replace it with transactional models, the responsibility does not disappear—it shifts.

It shifts back onto:• Families• Carers• People with disability themselves

We have seen this pattern before.

The original intent of community connection—through Partners in the Community—was meant to provide that local, relational support. Where that hasn’t worked as intended, the gap didn’t disappear. It was absorbed by Support Coordinators and families.

There is another part of this conversation that cannot be ignored.

We are now hearing increasing discussion about limiting providers to a smaller number of “approved” or “preferred” organisations.

On the surface, this is being framed as quality and control.

But we need to ask—at what cost?

Because many of us remember what systems looked like before individualised funding:• Limited choice• A small number of organisations controlling supports• Funding tied to providers—not people

We remember block funding.We remember the lack of voice.And many remember the very real risks—abuse, neglect, and people having little control over their own lives.

The NDIS was designed to move away from that.

It was built on:✔ Choice and control✔ Individualised funding✔ The right to decide who provides your support

If we begin restricting providers to a select few, we risk shifting power away from individuals and back toward systems.

This is a system issue.

And now we need to talk about accountability.

The NDIS has evolved under multiple governments. No one side can claim success while blaming others for its failures.

But what is happening right now matters.

Decisions being made today—based on fear-driven narratives and political pressure—will shape who gets support and who doesn’t.

And when those decisions land, it is not governments who carry the consequences.

It is:• People with disability• Families• Carers

So let’s stop.

Stop blaming providers.Stop blaming Support Coordinators.Stop blaming Plan Managers.Stop blaming people with disability.

And start asking harder questions of the systems and governments—past and present—that designed, implemented, and continue to reshape this scheme without always understanding the reality of the lives it impacts.

This is not about defending roles.

This is about defending people.

We need:✔ Honest conversations, not fear-based narratives✔ Accountability across all levels—not selective blame✔ Systems that reflect real life—not just policy design✔ Recognition that this scheme depends on the very people being questioned

Because if we continue down a path of division and misinformation, we don’t just damage a scheme—we damage the lives of Australians who rely on it.

This is about people.And it always has been.

28/04/2026

I want to clear the air, as there have been many comments from many people.

I have seen comments claiming that I am making money from my own son’s plan. The answer is NO. Lets Connect Support Services does not make any money from my son’s plan.

As a Director, I have worked in the disability sector for over 20 years—well before the NDIS ever started.

As a mum in her 60s, I have the right to work. Whether that is in my own company or elsewhere, I pay taxes like anyone else.

I have read the comments over the last week on my post from various people, including some who seem disgusted that I work in this sector. What concerns me more is that there are people condemning parents and family members who work in the disability sector.

Most of our staff also have a family member on the NDIS. We offer employees flexibility in their working lives because we understand that caring responsibilities do not stop when the workday begins. Many workplaces do not offer that same understanding or flexibility.

The media has also created a narrative that anyone working as a provider in the disability sector must be committing some sort of fraud. This ongoing commentary is false and damaging. While wrongdoing should always be addressed, it is unfair to paint an entire sector with the same brush when the vast majority of providers are working hard, ethically, and professionally to support people with disability.

People with disabilities should not be tarnished by current or future governments as though they are defrauding taxpayers simply because they need support. Disability support exists so people can live with dignity, safety, inclusion, and opportunity.

There should also be honest conversations about broader government spending, including the cost of consultants, legal disputes, policy failures, and non-essential perks, before placing blame on people with disabilities, their families, and the workers who support them.

Let’s also open the conversation about how the Australian public can be better educated on what many families face every single day while supporting loved ones with disability.

Behind closed doors, many families are managing complex care needs, advocacy, appointments, therapies, funding systems, crises, emotional stress, and long-term planning—often with little recognition of the load they carry.

We do not judge people for choosing careers in health, education, aged care, or disability support. Yet parents and loved ones who work professionally within the disability sector are now being judged simply because they also understand disability through lived experience.

That lived experience should not be seen as a conflict—it is often a strength. It brings insight, empathy, practical knowledge, and a deep understanding of what quality support truly looks like.

Families are not asking for special treatment. They are asking for respect, fairness, and for the wider community to understand the realities many people live every day.

Education starts with listening to families, hearing real stories, and recognising that caring does not end when the workday finishes.

It also means recognising that many parents and carers have developed years of knowledge, advocacy skills, crisis management experience, and professional capability through both lived experience and formal work. That perspective is valuable and should be respected—not criticised.

It is time to replace assumptions with understanding, judgement with compassion, and division with respectful conversation

26/04/2026

Some great events coming to Redlands and Caloundra in the next couple of months

25/04/2026

Australia needs a better conversation about the future of the NDIS — one that focuses on building a stronger, sustainable scheme without harming the very people it was created to support.

Right now, the public discussion has centred too heavily on cuts, reducing plans, and removing people from the scheme. That approach places thousands of vulnerable Australians at risk. It creates fear for families, uncertainty for providers, and instability for people with disability who rely on supports every day.

Why has the national conversation not been led by a different question:
How do we build a sustainable NDIS that continues to support people in their homes and in the community for generations to come?

We should be talking about investing in early intervention and prevention, strengthening safeguards and accountability, reducing waste and poor practice, supporting and retaining a skilled workforce, helping families without expecting ageing parents or other family members to continue caring indefinitely, building inclusive communities, ensuring participants receive supports that genuinely improve outcomes, and working with people with disability, families, and providers to design practical reforms.

Older parents, siblings, and extended family members should not have to carry the caring role forever. Many have already given decades of their lives providing unpaid care, advocacy, and support. They deserve peace of mind knowing their loved ones will be safe and supported into the future.

Disability can happen to anyone. It does not discriminate. A strong disability support system is not just for a few people — it is something any Australian family may need at any time.

Government also needs to stop promoting “co-design” if people with disability, families, and those working on the ground are not genuinely being heard. Real co-design means listening, collaborating, and shaping policy together — not announcing decisions after the fact.

People with disability should be supported to live safely in their homes, remain connected to community, and live with dignity. When support is reduced, the pressure does not disappear — it shifts to families, hospitals, emergency systems, homelessness services, aged care, and state governments.

We are already seeing concerns raised by state governments because they understand that when Commonwealth supports are cut, the impacts are felt elsewhere.

A sustainable NDIS is possible. But sustainability should come from smarter systems, better planning, stronger oversight, and genuine reform — not from cutting the supports of people who need them most.

Australia can do better than a conversation based on fear and funding cuts. We should be building a scheme that is fair, responsible, and worthy of the people it exists to serve.