Wrap up from the SDA Services Christmas in July event
Amanda Dodds, Chief Executive Officer
It is hard to believe this time last week, we were wrapping up yet another incredible SDA Services Christmas in July event! Thank you again to all those in attendance for taking the time to join us! We hope you were able to use the time to make new connections and catch up with connections you already have well-established. The vibe was electric!
The event wouldn’t be what it is without our incredible speakers, so a very special thank you again to Fred Tanna, Tamara Reinisch and John Catania. Your insights had us all feeling inspired!
Presentation
Click here for the presentation. This includes the amazing Survey 2025 results presented by Tamara, the info presented by Greg, plus a link to John’s journey.
Connections/Introductions
If you made a connection during the day and would like an email introduction, please feel free to reach out! I am more than happy to facilitate that!
Final thoughts from Greg
As we know, Greg could speak to you all for days about this sector, but alas, we must cap him to 30 minutes! Please see below some final words from Greg:
Including extraordinary bravery and commitment from participants living in tough and rare circumstances. The rare and very poignant cases like Kennedy, HTDD, the Family of 8, CBYW and Woolfe establish principles which provide a flow-on effect for all other cases, making the principles so much clearer for others. The extraordinary bravery and tenacity of the applicants who have been living such challenging lives and have pursued these outcomes benefits so many others and needs to be acknowledged, along with the devoted and generous efforts of their supporters. In particular, Jenny Draddy, Solicitor and Youngcare for Anthony, Tony Rutherford, Solicitor, for The Family of 8 and Woolf, and Niti Prakash for CBYW
I’d also like to acknowledge the work of Jeramy Hope SDA Alliance, Charles Northcote Blue CHP, Amelia Salmon Apollo SDA and my other committees’ colleagues for the work we’re sharing on lobbying State and Territory and Federal Governments to establish proper pathways for the legacy cohort of participants to transition to new build SDA, as was always envisaged.
This is a collegiate and consolidating sector, and well-motivated operators are working together in collaborations that balance the intersections of self-interest and participant and sector outcomes. That’s an increasing trend in our view, and mergers are likely to flow from that. Let’s celebrate what’s been achieved and the confidence that that brings for next steps in these journeys.
