We supported 23,740 people across Australia with a community of over 13,119 staff and foster and kinship carers!
Image: A collage of three photos with the words 'collaborating for impact annual report 2022-23' in white on a green background.
Effective collaboration relies on trusted partnerships. This year, we celebrate the positive changes people have made in their lives with the support of our employees, carers and extended communities.
Life Without Barriers is proud to have partnered with 23,740 people. We delivered support services to 5043 people with disability, worked with over 5148 children, young people, and families, supported 1150 refugees and asylum seekers and aided over 8236 older Australians to have independence at home.
Along the way, we shared great stories, connected with communities across the country, increased our accessibility and inclusion practices, and celebrated some great milestones.
Image: Darren, Craig and Damien showing off their medals.
Claire Robbs, Chief Executive of Life Without Barriers, said the achievements the organisation has made in 2022-23 come down to effective collaboration, delivering excellent services and trusted partnerships.
“This year, we celebrate the positive changes people have made in their lives with the support of our employees, carers and extended communities,” Ms Robbs said.
The key three areas Life Without Barriers focused on align with Strategy 2025:
Delivering Great
Influencing Systemic Barriers
Impact for Future Generations
Delivering great service means truly knowing and appreciating each person we have a relationship with, acting with integrity and honouring our commitments. We enable person-centred support that provides meaningful choice and self-determination for people and communities.
The 2022 – 23 Annual Report outlines Life Without Barriers' work to strengthen its disability support workforce to uphold people’s human rights and extend its allyship through Alliance20 and the newly formed Allies for Children – a collaboration of several of Australia’s largest providers of services for children and families.
Life Without Barriers bolstered its policy commitments in disability housing services to enable more choice for people with disability over how they live, launched Learning Without Barriers – an education strategy dedicated to improving educational outcomes of children in care, and established advisory groups led by the people they support to offer invaluable insight and direction on services for older Australians.
Image: A person dressed up as Elsa from Frozen reads a book to a group of children.
“This year, we took action to remove barriers to employment for people with disabilities by releasing our employment policy commitment which places increasing participation in lived experience at the centre of our employment goals." Said Ms Robbs.
"This has led our organisation to realise the many benefits of having 12.4% of our employees with disability holding leadership roles at Life Without Barriers.”
We strived to influence the systemic barriers faced by many people and communities, we have advanced large-scale collaborations and bolstered our allyship.
“It has been a rewarding year because of the trust placed in us by people we support, and we sincerely thank the communities we have served for the opportunity to be a part of their lives."
To make an impact for future generations, we elevated our commitment to Reconciliation in our support for the Uluru Statement from the Heart and major areas of our Elevate Reconciliation Action Plan. Senior Leaders worked with government, commissioners, and peaks to advance our transformation project and the return of First Nations children to their communities.
Image: A man and woman are holding a toddler. They are all looking at the camera.
“In collaboration, Life Without Barriers delivered the largest suite of freely available accessible resources on the Voice to Parliament across the country and has continued to advance our transformation project to return Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children to Aboriginal Controlled Community Care." Said Ms Robbs.
We released our Transformation Policy commitment explaining how we partner in decision-making with ACCOs, and we started our journey towards a strong cultural governance approach within our organisation.
“We elevated our commitment to reconciliation in our support for the national referendum on a Voice to Parliament, the Uluru Statement from the Heart and major areas of our Reconciliation Action Plan." Said Ms Robbs.
The essence of Life Without Barriers has always been the importance we place on our values and relationships.
“Thank you to every person who has shared their stories with us in this year’s report. This is our most sustainable, accessible, and interactive Annual Report yet – it’s a living document celebrating our incredible community.”
Please read the Life Without Barriers 2022-23 Annual Report in a format that best suits you below:
Interactive website: Collaborating for Impact 2022-23 Annual Report
Summary website: Collaborating for Impact 2022-23 Annual Report
Image: Four staff members at the Life Without Barriers stall at Picnic in the Park.
Resources
- Life Without Barriers Annual Report 2022-23 | PDF
- Life Without Barriers AR 22-23 - Easy English
- Elevate Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) 2022-2025 | PDF
- Elevate Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) Summary | PDF
- Transformation Project - Policy Commitment | PDF
- Working Without Barriers | Policy Position
- Learning Without Barriers Education Strategy 2023-2025 | PDF
