Kate Dufty
2026 Gladstone Region Community Volunteer Award Recipient
Kate Dufty, a Queenslanders with Disability Network (QDN) 2021 Emerging Leader Graduate, was recognised for her substantial impact on the Gladstone community through her volunteer work. Her continued support of the local Gladstone community was recognised by Gladstone Mayor Matt Burnett where he wrote,
“Through her tireless volunteer work and advocacy, Kate Dufty has championed greater inclusion for people of all abilities. This award recognises her commitment to ensuring everyone can fully participate in community life.”
Kate shared “I have been a community volunteer for around thirty years. However, I truly believe that doing QDN’s Emerging Leaders Program in 2021 was the catalyst for my recent achievements.”
She reflected on her experience during the 2021 Emerging Leaders Program.
“It was an amazing year of growth and development and gave me the tools to step beyond advocacy and into community leadership.”
Kate says the program opened her eyes to how much can be achieved.
“Throughout 2022 I worked on building my network and putting my learnings into practice. I developed a good relationship with Gladstone Regional Council and became a voice for disability in my community.”
With a shared goal of creating a platform for conversations that drive better access, equity and inclusion for people with disability living in the Gladstone region. Kate was involved in the launch of community-led organisation Gladstone Disability Community Network (DCN).
“There has been a number of achievements over the last three years that I’m proud of. The DCN Leadership Team was a key stakeholder in the Gladstone Regional Council’s development of an Access and Inclusion Action Plan in 2024. We collaborated with other Gladstone organisations in both 2024 and 2025 to run a DCN forum for our community.”
Kate was also involved in the QDN Inclusion Matters forum, which she says, “was so impactful for the community and council, who have been supportive allies. It’s no doubt this led to the success we have achieved in Gladstone this past year.”
“I was extremely honoured to receive the award for Community Volunteer at the 2026 Gladstone Region Australia Day Awards. For me, it shows that inclusion doesn’t just make a difference to the individual, but to the whole community. And it’s being recognised as such,” Kate said.
QDN shares great excitement and gratitude for the work Kate has and continues to do for her local community. As well as for her contributions to our QDN community within her role as co-convener of the Gladstone Peer Support Group and the Statewide Online Peer Support Group.
Congratulations Kate!