Making the invisibility of disability seen

Australian Federation of Disability Organisations’ CEO Ross Joyce has had an extensive career dedicated to community service. He is this week’s Changemaker.

While Ross Joyce’s career has spanned multiple sectors and executive roles, one thing has remained constant – his connection and commitment to serving disadvantaged communities. He is currently the chief executive officer of Australian Federation of Disability Organisations (AFDO).

“I’ve learned a lot,” says Joyce.

“And I think I’ve imparted a lot to the organisations based on all the experiences I’ve had, particularly when I come into a new sector with other ideas.

“I bring fresh eyes because I’ve been looking at it from a different perspective from what would necessarily happen if you’re coming up through the one sector.”

In the health space, Joyce worked as an executive at Headspace Western and Northern Melbourne. He was also CEO of Macedon Ranges and North Western Melbourne Medicare Local and PivotWest, organisations that provide primary health care services. 

In community services, Joyce co-founded and was an executive director of UrCommunity, a not-for-profit organisation focused on improving social inclusion and empowerment for marginalised communities. He was appointed as an expert advisor on the NDIS Independent Advisory Council by the federal ministry and has been a member of the governance board of disability and aged care provider Annecto since 2004.

Prior to this, Joyce was CEO of the Hume and Moonee Valley Regional Library Corporation and worked in private consultancy with not-for-profit, community service and small-medium sized enterprises, using his human resources qualifications.

Tell us about your career trajectory and how you got into this position.

My career spans different sectors, but most of my positions have been in change management – looking at redesigning, restructuring, reformatting and developing an organisation. Before that I was in primary health care for quite a number of years, developing representational policy that addressed the needs of the community. That was one of many CEO jobs I’ve held, which led me to interim CEO of AFDO, which I ultimately secured permanently.

I’m on the governance board of service provider Annecto, which I’ve been on since 2004, and that gave me good background into the disability sector.

What does this job mean to you?

I go back to basics and for me that is about empowerment, making a difference for people in disadvantaged communities and promoting the issues that are a priority for those communities. That’s what I’m doing in this role. I’m doing what I can with my knowledge and past experience to serve the interests of not only AFDO, but its members and the wider community of people with disabilities and their families. 

I see that as really essential when you consider that 20 per cent of the population in Australia have a disability, and that’s not counting the impact on carers or loved ones, so it’s quite a wide net. We want to make sure that those that make decisions, be they politicians or public servants, are well aware of the size of the community that is being talked about.

What does a typical work day look like for you?

A lot of my day is spent in meetings on a whole range of things from health policy and the impacts of the pandemic, to just making sure people with a disability have representation and a voice. I work on the policy priorities that we have as an organisation and respond to what the government is doing as well as other submissions and enquiries.

And then of course I have meetings with our member organisations and other colleagues from across the sector on different issues. A big one for us over the last few years has been the Royal Commission, which is coming to a close. So we’re now looking at the key policy changes and recommendations we’d like to see, and the advocacy positions we can take, which will start another round of work.

What is your proudest achievement so far?

We’re taking a systemic advocacy approach, which means we’re not representing individuals, we’re representing total positions. It’s a slow grind in many ways, just trying to get some influence, but it’s really rewarding.

It pleases me to see us making policy changes, which some people with a disability or their families wouldn’t even know about. But I know about them and I know what the impact would have been if those things would have gone through without being challenged or changed.

What are some of the challenges facing the AFDO and the disability sector more generally?

There are significant big picture items we need to address, and there is a lot more the sector and government really need to be doing.

People with a disability need to have a voice in environmental policy and considerations. As we know, climate change is affecting everybody and some incidents are happening more often than not now, as we’ve evidenced in Australia lately. We need to make sure that people with a disability are front and centre and have a voice in planning for those scenarios. Because at the end of the day, 20 per cent of the population are people with disabilities, which means they should have a significant say. I see that it’s really important.

There’s also great focus on employment at the moment, and we need to ensure that people with disabilities are included in all policy decisions concerning open employment scenarios and government initiatives. Then there is the social side of things, which is about breaking down barriers and ensuring the inclusion of people with a disability, and importantly, the accessibility for people with a disability across the community. That’s everybody’s responsibility.

What drives you?

I grew up in western Melbourne. What drives me is really helping to assist and empower disadvantaged people in communities and ensure they obtain the same rights as anyone else is entitled to within society. That’s what motivates me every day.

And in my current role, that is about ensuring that the rights of people with a disability are enforced and governments are accountable. It’s really critical that people with disabilities actually have a voice and that lived experience is considered.

How do you wind down after a hard day at work?

Music is a big one for me, it keeps me centred. I like to listen to a pretty eclectic range of music and pick up the acoustic guitar and sing some songs. If I can get into that creative space and write, that would be good too, but I usually don’t have the capacity. Then there’s my family and grandkids, but that goes without saying.

What do you want your legacy to look like?

I think the main thing is delivering on the issues that are a priority for the communities and individuals that I’m working with at the time. It’s not all about me and that’s where I approach the work from. In this case with AFDO, it’s about what the organisation needs to be doing, and how we can best assist our membership and build capacity for the disability communities that they represent. 

I would really like to get rid of what I term the invisibility of disability in society. Inclusion of people with a disability across all communities would be a good thing to achieve. We’re still not there and we need to keep pushing. 

I don’t know that I get to change the world but I think it’s just about making a difference.