Melbourne Speakers
SDA Conference Melbourne 17th Aug 22
Key Note Speakers
Greg Barry
Founder and Principal Consultant
SDA Services
Lalia Burnet
M3 Property
National Director Health Aged Care and Seniors Living
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Jacob Edwards
Fund Manager
Australian Unity
Angela Cook
Senior Engagement Advisor | People at Risk
Country Fire Authority
Geoff Kaandorp
Manager
At Risk Groups
Fire Rescue Victoria
Daniel Rorke
EKROS
Director
David Watson
Director | Architect | SDA Assessor
NDIS Registered Provider
ArchR Design
Justin MacDonald
Managing Director
Just Advisory Services
Greg has been devotedly involved in the SDA space since its inception in 2017 and is focused entirely upon assisting NDIS Participants on their SDA journeys, particularly on SDA approvals. Greg has a unique combination of industry expertise, having also previously developed over 200 dwellings designed for people with disabilities, and lived experience, being co-carer for his severely disabled adult daughter.
Laila is the National Director of the Health, Aged Care and Seniors Living team.
She specialises in providing valuation and property advice.
Over the course of her career, Laila has worked across a range of asset classes including residential, commercial and industrial properties. In her current role, Laila undertakes valuations and advises clients in relation to medical, retirement, aged care and disability assets including going concern and freehold valuations on existing and proposed projects. Laila specialises in the valuation of large portfolios for financial reporting purposes together with providing extensive market, demographic studies, acquisition and divestment advice.
Laila has been working in the property sector since 1997 providing a range of valuation services in both the residential and commercial sectors and also spent five years managing and operating her own real estate practice.
Jacob Edwards joined Australian Unity in 2021 as the Fund Manager for the Specialist Disability Accommodation Fund. As the Fund Manager, Jacob is responsible for the execution of equity and debt funding strategies, fund performance, managing risk, new acquisition and development opportunities to maximise returns for investors and achieve the intended sustained positive social outcomes.
Prior to joining Australian Unity, Jacob managed Bank Australia’s Impact Finance business. In this role he was responsible for establishing debt funding for a range of social infrastructure assets and was most notably involved with a majority of all SDA debt transactions in the country to date.
Jacob is a founding Director and Treasurer of the Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) Alliance Ltd. (the Alliance), the SDA sector peak body. The Alliance is a Not for Profit entity established to provide a unified voice to better support development of a diverse and sustainable SDA market.
Jacob’s sector experience has also led to his selection as a member of the Australian Property Institute (API) working group to establish a valuation standard for SDA.
Jacob’s leadership and networks across the SDA sector over many years provides unique insight into the industry.
Angela Cook is the Senior Engagement Advisor, People at Risk at the Country Fire Authority (CFA). Over the past three years she has managed the Preparing Vulnerable People (PVP) project at CFA which aims to improve fire preparedness and safety for people at higher risk. People who have a disability are at disproportionate risk in emergencies, including both house fire and bushfire.
She has worked in CFA’s Community Preparedness for over 15 years and has managed a number of large state-wide community engagement programs and projects. Angela has a strong focus on accessibility and inclusion for all the community and believes strongly in the capability approach.
Geoff Kaandorp is Manager, At Risk Groups at Fire Rescue Victoria (FRV) and was previously Research Manager at the Metropolitan Fire Brigade. He has worked in the emergency management sector since 2012. Geoff comes from a social science and public sector background and his interests centre on the application of research and evidence to inform emergency service policy and practice impacting people most at-risk from fire in their home. Geoff is the chair of the AFAC Residential Fire Fatalities Working Group, which has led the development of a national strategy to reduce the number of preventable residential fire fatalities towards zero.
Daniel started his career in the Royal Australian Navy, serving four years as an electronics technician specialising in combat systems.
Returning to civilian life, he enrolled in a degree in electrical engineering, graduating to take up design and engineering roles for companies such as Pillar, Goodman Group, and CBRE.
He now runs his own company in NSW, specialising in BCA reporting and fire safety orders, and has taken a particular interest in the safety of occupants of disability and care homes.
David Watson is the director of Archr Design and a Registered Architect, Access Consultant, SDA Assessor and Developer with a vested interest in developing residential designs that promote liveability and accessibility.
Throughout his life he’s witnessed his sister, born with Spina Bifida and a full-time wheelchair user, struggle due to simple ‘industry standard’ construction methods that limit her access and manoeuvrability. His passion for disability sensitive design originates from the frustration of realising the lack of housing that can cater for someone with a physical disability.
His unique life experience and skillsets has given him a broad knowledge with understanding industry best practice when it comes to SDA.
Justin ‘s international experience spans multiple sectors including property development, project management, construction, banking and finance, social enterprises and the not-for-profit sector.
His international commercial experience and business acumen are further supported academically with the completion of his Master's in Business Administration (MBA) with Distinction at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT). The focus of Justin's Master's Thesis was on creating pathways for people with disability to purchase and own their own home, a luxury that few are able to enjoy and a project he is passionate about implementing.
Justin is an active member of the community and sector best practice and prides himself on giving back. He has been volunteering and supporting people with disability since the age of 11 and continues to champion the cause for people with disability as an ambassador to EPIC Assist a disability employment service provider.
He currently serves on the board for Hotel House Keeping a social enterprise initiative focusing on community inclusion, runs Just Advisory Services a social impact consulting firm and is the Managing director of Just SDA Management an SDA provider.