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    Inclusion Matters

    Text Inclusion Matters, putting inclusion into action. Logo QDN, Queenslanders with Disability Network, Nothing About Us Without Us

    Inclusion Matters Forums – Putting inclusion into action

    About the forums:

    You can help to strengthen disability inclusion in your community across housing, employment, education, health and transport.

    Now, and into the future—by including everyone.

    Inclusion Matters forums, hosted by local QDN Peer Leaders showcase what real inclusion looks like across the seven outcome areas of Australia’s Disability Strategy. Join people with disability, families, allies and organisations as we share ideas, solutions and practical actions for building stronger, more inclusive communities – together.

    In 2025, we held Regional in-person community forums and online forums that brought together over 450 attendees. These attendees included people with disability, family members and careers, community and peak organisations, members of local and regional councils and community members and advocates. All who saw the need for community collaboration to tackle the inclusion barriers we are facing in our local communities.  

    • Hear from local leaders and changemakers about what works and what’s needed next.
    • Join conversations about how we can make inclusion stronger across housing, employment, education, health, transport, and community life.
    • Turning good ideas into real change – share your insights and shape inclusion in your community.

     These key community events continue into 2026 and are now live!  

     Join the conversation by registering for your local Inclusion Matters Forum or an Online Forum today. 

    Upcoming Forums:

    Online Inclusion Matters Forum #5 - Education and Learning

    Topic: Education and Learning
    Where: Online via Zoom
    When: Thursday 16 July
    Time: 10:00am – 12:00pm
    Click this link to register: https://events.humanitix.com/inclusion-matters-forum-5-online/

    Speakers:

    A woman in a black top with short red hair smiling at the camera
    Dr Talitha Kingsmill
    Executive Lead, Queensland Disability Research Network (QDRN)

    Talitha is a Non-Executive Director and Board Chairperson for Queenslanders with Disability Network (QDN), educator and solicitor. She has 30 years experience across the private, public and NFP sectors in education, leadership, research, law, digital citizenship, regulatory compliance, policy development and disability advocacy and inclusion. 

    Talitha is the Queensland Disability Research Network (QDRN) Executive Lead and a Senior Research Fellow at Griffith University. She sits on a selection of national and state-based panels including the National Disability Data Asset (NDDA) Disability-Informed Ethical Oversight Panel and the Queensland Disability Reform Implementation Stakeholder Committee (DRISC). Talitha is a passionate advocate for equitable, accessible opportunities for all.  

    In 2017, Talitha became the first Doctor in the field of digital citizenship in Australia and received an Australian Council for Educational Leaders Research in Educational Leadership and Management Award.  

    Talitha’s lived and professional experience provides rich insights to the confronting and very real challenges and obstacles for people living with impairment and disability. She believes that access in all its forms is fundamental to equitable opportunity so that individuals may live their best lives. Keynote speaking at international and national conferences equips Talitha to be a powerful and articulate advocate. 

    A man using a wheelchair wearing glasses, he also has an Indigenous flag behind him and a black shirt.
    Byron Albury
    Co-Chair Mob4Mob

    Byron Albury is the Co-Chair of Mob4Mob and a respected First Nations systems advocate with lived experience of disability. Living with Cerebral Palsy Spastic Quadriplegia, Byron has dedicated his life to advancing the rights of First Nations people with disability and other marginalised communities. His advocacy journey began at the grassroots more than two decades ago and has seen him work alongside individuals, families, community organisations and decision-makers to influence more inclusive systems.  

    Through his leadership with Mob4Mob, Byron champions culturally safe, community-led approaches to disability advocacy, ensuring the voices of First Nations people with disability are represented in policy, service design and systemic reform.

    His extensive governance experience, including long-standing leadership roles with Queensland Advocacy Inc. and the Cerebral Palsy League of Queensland, combined with his training in Social Role Valorisation, strengthens his commitment to driving meaningful change and supporting communities to navigate systems while advocating for equitable outcomes.

    Woman with short blonde hair smiling at the camera
    Matilda Alexander
    Chief Executive Officer, Queensland Advocacy for Inclusion

    Matilda is a sector leader and human rights lawyer with 25 years’ experience including at Queensland Advocacy for Inclusion, Prisoners’ Legal Service and LGBTI Legal Service.  She has received multiple awards for her work and holds an enduring passion for justice and human rights. She is CEO of Queensland Advocacy for Inclusion and Patron of the LGBTI Legal Service. 

    Matilda has worked with the Queensland Human Rights Commission and Legal Aid Queensland and has taught at Griffith University. She has been selected three times as an Australian delegate to the United Nations Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in New York.   

    Matilda has held appointments to the Independent Ministerial Advisory Council, Queensland Disability Advisory Council, LGBTIQ+     Roundtable,  the National Strategy Advisory Group and the board of Legal Aid Queensland. Matilda operates is a fortnightly A Right to Learn discrimination advice clinic and leads the A Right to Learn campaign, with the steadfast goal of keeping disabled kids in school.     

    A man in a blue suit with a dark blue tie sitting in a garden with a guide dog
    Professor Paul Harpur OAM
    Professor at the TC Beirne School of Law, the University of Queensland

    Professor Paul Harpur OAM is a Professor at the TC Beirne School of Law, the University of Queensland, and directs UQ’s Disability Collaboratory – a university-wide research platform that focuses upon transforming society through inclusive, interdisciplinary research. He also sits on multiple national and international higher education committees and is a senior associate at the Harvard Law School Project on Disability. Outside academia, Professor Harpur is a dual Paralympian, 2022 Blind Australian of the Year, Fulbrighter and company director.  He has been totally blind following a train accident at the age of 14 and now uses a guide dog called Fletcher. 

    A woman with blonde hair wearing a green shirt smiling at the camera
    Dr Sharon Boyce
    QDN Deputy Chairperson, Chair of the Queensland Disability Advisory Council (Queensland Government) and Advisor to the Queensland Minister for Seniors and Disability Services. 

    Dr Sharon Boyce is an educator, author, speaker and disability advocate, focused on disability awareness across Queensland and Australia. She is passionate and committed to social justice – empowering people with disability and supporting real living independence. In addition to her role as QDN Deputy Chairperson, Sharon is the Chair of the Queensland Disability Advisory Council (Queensland Government) and Advisor to the Queensland Minister for Seniors and Disability Services. 

    She is an appointed member of the National Disability Insurance Scheme Independent Advisory Council, a member of the Physical Disability Australia Board, and advisor to the Toowoomba Regional Council’s Access Committee. She is the Director of the Australian Institute of Inclusive Education and Research, CEO of the Disability Training Institute and Chief Executive Officer and Director of Aus Inclusion Pty Ltd. In 2020 she was awarded a Doctor of Letters for her research in education inclusion and dyslexia, and she is currently completing a Doctor of Philosophy. 

    Among the awards she has received are the Queensland Regional Achiever Award in 2012 for her work in awareness, raising and creating inclusive communities across Australia, a Human Rights Award in 2008 for her contribution to creating inclusion across the community, and a Disability Action Week Award in 2003 for her work writing an accessible children’s story book. 

    Education and Learning and supporting others on this journey are central to her life. 

    A woman with glasses smiling at the camera
    Lindie Brengman
    Facilitator, Community Resource Unit (CRU) 

    Lindie Brengman has been a facilitator on the ‘Families for Inclusive Education’ project,  at the Community Resource Unit Ltd (CRU), for 7 years. CRU is a 37-year-old organisation that works with people with intellectual and communication disabilities and their families across Queensland to gain inclusion in all areas of community life.  Though Lindie began her career as an Occupational Therapist, her personal interest in inclusive education, and now open employment for people with disabilities, began with having a daughter born with Down syndrome, now 22 years old.   

    Longreach Inclusion Matters Forum

    Where: Longreach Civic Centre, 96A Eagle St, Longreach, 4730
    When: Wednesday 16 September
    Time: 10:00am – 2:00pm
    Click this link to register: https://events.humanitix.com/inclusion-matters-longreach-2026/

    Online Inclusion Matters Forum #6 - Health and Wellbeing

    Topic: Health and Wellbeing
    Where: Online via Zoom
    When: Thursday 15 October
    Time: 10:00am – 12:00pm
    Click this link to register: 
    https://events.humanitix.com/inclusion-matters-forum-6-online/

     

    What is Australia’s Disability Strategy?

    Australia’s Disability Strategy 2021–2031 (ADS) is a national framework that all Australian governments have signed up to. It sets out a plan for continuing to improve the lives of people with disability in Australia over 10 years.

    The topics for the Forums are linked to the Australia’s Disability Strategy (ADS) 7 outcome areas:

    1. Employment and financial security
    2. Inclusive homes and communities
    3. Safety, rights and justice
    4. Personal and community support
    5. Education and learning
    6. Health and wellbeing
    7. Community attitudes

    Past Forums

    To see past forums, please follow this link: https://qdn.org.au/ourwork/inclusion-matters/inclusion-matters-past-forums/

    If you have any questions or need support, please contact Queenslanders with Disability Network (QDN) on 1300 363 783 or email qdn@qdn.org.au.