At Habitability, our STA Respites are designed to take you to your desired destination, increase your capacity and help you reach your goals.
Our team of highly experienced professionals from the mental health and disability
sectors are deeply committed to providing a higher level of care and client experience. With backgrounds in NDIS service provision, social work, and disability care, Habitability’s caring team are ready to help clients achieve their goals, taking them places.
With more than 22 years’ experience in the mental health, and aged care/disability sectors in Australia, New Zealand and the UK, Steve deeply understands the needs and challenges of diverse individuals. Steve has held positions within the Australian Red Cross Migrant Support Programs, a cross- section of Substance Misuse agencies in addition to roles within the NDIS sector, working with clients from a broad cross section of societal and ethnic diversity.
After several years exploring options to provide a truly unique NDIS accommodation service that focused on the individual participant and their goals, in 2021, he established Habitability. His deep connections in the accommodation industry combined with his extensive background in the mental health and disability sectors, made NDIS STA / respite a natural fit. Steve and his team strive to help to improve the lives of NDIS participants, with tailored NDIS STA experiences that have earned glowing reviews from clients.
Why I enjoy working for Habitability – Habitability offers me an opportunity to make the vision that brought me into the industry a reality. Assisting participants to realise their goals and aspirations through the vehicle of STA – is a calling that I am extremely thankful for. By fostering a team that delivers NDIS STA/Respite services within an empowered and equitable, (service delivery framework) – my vision is realised, day to day. The joy our team collectively feels when a participant contacts us to tell us of the positive effects, their STA has had on their physical and mental health – is priceless.
A qualified Social Work professional, Jade has many years of experience working with diverse client groups in the UK and Australia. Jade uses her own life experiences to create a caring and empathetic practice that helps clients realise their goals and ambitions, finding a pathway to a fulfilled life. Jade has the unique ability to connect with clients ‘where they are at’ and create rapport which facilitates co-working partnerships that move clients towards positive outcomes. Jade does this in an inclusive and culturally sensitive manner that makes clients feel comfortable, cared for, and listened to.
Why I enjoy working for Habitability – Habitability is a family run business with real principles and morals, and I enjoy working here as every member of our team has passion and commitment to provide a service which delivers what it promises.
Janette brings more many years’ of experience in community and social services in Australia and New Zealand. This includes periods working in youth justice, addiction, domestic violence, sexual assault, the disability sector and Indigenous health.
Her own life’s experiences with drug and alcohol addiction started her quest to give back, resulting in a 25 year career helping others that ultimately led her to Habitability.
Janette was drawn by the Habitability model, which allows participants the opportunity of exercising their right to flexibility, choice and control. As an STA Coordinator, her primary role is to ensure the STA experience runs smoothly for the participant and is as stress free as is humanly possible.
Why I enjoy working for Habitability – I love our Habitability Team and the heart that everyone has for making a difference in people’s lives. I give thanks each day for the opportunity Habitability has given me to do this very rewarding and satisfying work, the positive feedback, and thanks we receive from participants reinforces the importance of doing this work and what a privilege it is to be a part of such a caring and devoted team. To coin a phrase from our awesome Director Steve, I love being a “Habitarian”.
STA Case Manager
Louise is a Registered Mental Health Nurse (RNMH) and has practised in the UK, Australia and New Zealand, with a primary speciality in dementia care.
She says that her heart lies in helping individuals, which lay behind her decision to choose a career in this specialist field of nursing. This is also why she feels right at home at Habitability, which offers a unique participant-centred model, where relationship-building is critical, resulting in many participants coming back for repeat STAs!
Louise’s role as intake and assessment coordinator usually places her as the first person a participant will speak to from Habitability. It’s her responsibility to undertake a comprehensive assessment of an individual’s needs and requirements for their STA.
Why I enjoy working for Habitability – Habitability places choice and control in the hands of participants and supports them to achieve their stated goals. We all gain tremendous satisfaction from this. The importance of STA for our participants cannot be underestimated and I’m privileged to play a role in this.
STA Case Manager
Krystan has a passion for helping people and feels that the skills she has gained with roles within disability and aged care, coupled with my lived experience give her informed insight and capability to respond to the needs of our participants.
Her role is to support and co-work with her assigned participant once their initial enquiry has been qualified by our Admin Team. This involves discussing all aspects of the desired STA and creating a unique and personalised experience, which is driven by the goals and aspirations of the participants NDIS Plan. She hopes that she can be the best she can be in providing memorable and capacity building experiences that empower and motivate!
Why I enjoy working for Habitability – I love working with professionals that are passionate and focused on providing high levels of service to ensure that our participants receive the best support and experience from their STA.
STA Case Manager
Sean’s role is to support the service user from the initial enquiry all the way to the start of the STA. This involves discussing all aspects of the desired STA and creating a unique and personalised experience.
Sean says that he has a passion for helping people, and feels that the skills he’s gained, coupled with his naturally warm personality, makes it easy to build rapport. This enables partnerships to be formed and the ability to work towards positive outcomes.
Why I enjoy working for Habitability – It is great to work with such a passionate team who work so hard to ensure that service users get the best possible support and experience from their STA.
Habitability works with participants ‘where they are at’ on an individualized level, to design tailored NDIS STA packages.
NDIS participants are able to use their funding for STA/Respite or ‘Getaways’, as we sometimes refer to them, under the core supports of their NDIS Plan.
When participants, support coordinators, and plan managers contact us , our team connects with them directly to determine the individual participant’s needs, goals, and aspirations. The team then conducts a comprehensive due diligence assessment which encompasses intake, eligibility, and risk assessments, in addition to accessibility assessment if required. From there, we work on designing your tailored package, whether it be a resort in a tropical location that helps build confidence in a new environment or a bustling city apartment that helps improve independent living skills.
To our dear and valued clients, we are all about helping you achieve your goals. Whether it’s increasing your social connections, enhancing your confidence in participating independently in the community, or maintaining healthy family relationships, we can help make it happen.
“ In a sector that thinks people with a disability should just accept the bare minimum, Habitability raised the bar high and have set a high standard for me to expect.” Khadija G
Speak with our STA Booking Manager to discuss your options based on your NDIS funding.
