CPActive is excited to introduce the newly onboarded 2025 CPActive Champions Steering Committee, a dynamic group of young people with lived experience of cerebral palsy who are leading the CPActive communities charge for change. On Wednesday 15th January, this dedicated group of advocates met for a full-day intensive at our Allambie site to build relationships, discuss CPActive’s foundations, and strategise for the future. The Champions Steering Committee is central to the work of CPActive, our advocacy platform that empowers people with disability to have a direct voice in the decisions that affect their lives. The committee’s members — Riley Saban (Coffs Harbour), Aman Gopolani (Sydney), Sophie Geeves (Sydney), Laura Pettenuzzo (Melbourne), and Luther Hare (Canberra) — represent the diverse and passionate network of CPActive Champions and the wider community of people with cerebral palsy. Their role is pivotal. They are amplifying the voices of our community to ensure CPActive’s initiatives

NDIS Minister Bill Shorten visited the Cerebral Palsy Alliance office at Allambie last week, to hear from our CPActive Champions about their Blaze the Trail campaign.  Since the Blaze the Trail campaign launched two years ago, Champions have been making the rounds and meeting with policy makers, including NSW Minister for Disability Inclusion Kate Washington, NSW Deputy Premier and Minister for Education Prue Car, and NSW Public Service Commissioner Katharina Lowe – to name just a few. We know the best advocacy is the kind that is driven by, consults with and amplifies the voice of lived experience. CPActive proves that disability rights campaigns win when they are disability-led! CPActive Champions Riley Saban, Sophie Geeves, Nicholas Lapsley and Saranna Shultz had the opportunity to meet with Minister Shorten and talk about the Blaze the Trail campaign and gain insight into how we can take our NSW-focussed campaign to the national

On December 4, writer, actress, and advocate Hannah Diviney spoke at National Press Club, delivering a powerful address that resonated deeply with our CPActive community. It was a groundbreaking moment, as Hannah was the first woman with a visible disability to grace the iconic stage in Canberra. About time! For many of us in the CP community, Hannah’s address was a landmark moment—one where we felt truly seen. She was fearless and honest, and shared deeply personal stories about her mental health and what it was like growing up with a disability. “I didn’t just want to exist in the world—I wanted to change it,” Hannah declared, her voice unwavering. “I wanted to take up space, to be loud enough that people couldn’t ignore us anymore.” Hannah spoke candidly about the barriers she has faced—from the physical to the systemic—but her focus remained steadfast on the future we can build

Back in April, I spoke at the NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into young people with disability in education settings. After four months, the Inquiry responded to the voices of lived experience and experts on inclusive education and handed down its findings in a 222-page report. If you are interested in reading our submission, see it here. I was really pleased to see there were recommendations that directly align with the asks of our Blaze the Trail Campaign! Some of the recommendations from the report include: Recommendation 13 – That the NSW Government continue to improve the proportion of teachers and support staff with disability in the school sector and consider how more students with disability can be supported and encouraged to gain a teaching degree.  Recommendation 20 That the NSW Government create clear and direct guidelines for schools to enable compliance with statutory obligations to provide reasonable adjustments for students with disability.  Recommendation 21:

CPActive proudly presented the NSW Government Graduate Program Information Session on Tuesday 6th August, in collaboration with the NSW Public Service. Hosted by CPActive Steering Committee member, Aman Gopalani, the event included an address by Deputy Commissioner of the NSW Public Service Chris Lamb, a full presentation on the graduate program and a Q&A with members of the NSW Public Service team. Watch the full event recording here. For more information to assist you with your NSW Government Graduate Program application, the team at NSW Public Service have created a detailed information pack below. CPActive will continue to work with NSW Government to create more inclusive school to work pathways. Good luck with your application! Yours in Action CPActive One choice, endless opportunities. Thank you for attending the CPActive Information Session for the NSW Government Graduate Program. We look forward to receiving your application. Application process Applications close on Wednesday

CPActive, the Cerebral Palsy Alliance grassroots disability advocacy platform, together with our campaign community of champions and allies, is proud to mark a new era of advocacy with the launch of the CPActive Champion Steering Committee.  The Steering Committee’s establishment is driven by our passionate CPActive Champions ensuring that the voice of lived experience is heard at all levels of advocacy. This is a significant move forward to ensure that CPActive is led by people with disabilities, is a key player in the disability advocacy space and follows the central principal of disability activism and justice: “nothing about us, without us.” The inaugural Steering Committee members are: One further position on the Steering Committee includes the CPActive Operational team, shared by Teigan Butchers and Skye Brien. The Steering Committee will work collaboratively with CPA to provide direction and strategic oversight of CPActive’s campaigns and events, and work to progress the

Members of CPActive’s ‘Blaze the Trail’ working group have stepped up the campaign for inclusive education and employment policies in a meeting with the Hon Kate Washington MP, Minister for Disability Inclusion. CPActive Champions Marusha Rowe, Nicole Kozelj, Riley Saban and Saranna Schultz, joined by CPActive lead Teigan Butchers, met Minister Washington and key staff at the MP’s ministerial offices in the Sydney CBD this week to put the ‘Blaze the Trail’ campaign back on the political agenda. The meeting covered a broad range of topics in education and employment, centered on the lived experience of the CPActive Champions and their personal journeys as young people with CP. Minister Washington highlighted several areas of progress and updated the Champions on the work being done in the disability space – including the state’s response to the recently-completed NDIS Review, upcoming reforms to the scheme and the ongoing parliamentary inquiry into disability

It’s been a big few weeks for the disability sector – and CPActive was right at the centre of it! Just before Christmas, a dozen of our CPActive champions were invited to attend the NDIS Review town hall in Sydney to hear directly from the architects of the NDIS about the milestone review and what it means for our sector. Importantly, it was also an opportunity for the disability community to come together and speak up about their concerns and feedback. The event was led by a panel including Professor Bruce Bonyhady AM, Lisa Paul AO, Kirsten Dean, Douglas Herd and Stephen King, as they outlined the ins-and-outs of the NDIS Review. Some familiar faces joined in on the discussion, too – CPActive Champions! CPActive Champion Aaryan Shah joined NDIS Minister Bill Shorten and activist (and event host) Elly Desmarchelier on stage for a discussion about lived experience and the

Wow, what an incredible year we’ve had! Our CPActive community has achieved so much and we wanted to take the time to appreciate everything we’ve done over the last twelve months:   We launched the ‘Blaze the Trail’ campaign Led entirely by our CPActive champions, we kicked off a campaign to improve pathways from school to work for people with CP and similar disabilities in NSW. Since we launched the campaign, we’ve collected nearly 1,000 signatures for our petition and attracted the attention and support of policymakers in NSW.   Then, we WON the campaign! Joined by then-Shadow Minister for Disability Inclusion Kate Washington, then-NSW Labor leader Chris Minns and Dylan Alcott, our champions made headlines and celebrated a massive win – a commitment from NSW Labor to improve the pathways from education to employment and develop specific policies to make these pathways more accessible for people living with disability. The