Curated News
By: NewsRamp Editorial Staff
December 11, 2025
Outsider CEO Transforms Disability Support with Fresh Perspective
TLDR
- Ability to Achieve's outsider perspective gives them an advantage in simplifying complex disability support systems, helping families navigate services more effectively than traditional providers.
- Ability to Achieve uses consistent, patient support work with forward-thinking planning to help participants achieve goals through incremental steps toward independence.
- Ability to Achieve transforms lives by helping people with disabilities gain independence, recover from addiction, and participate fully in their communities.
- An IT executive's lack of disability sector knowledge became his greatest asset in making support services more accessible and understandable for families.
Impact - Why it Matters
This news matters because it challenges conventional approaches to disability services and demonstrates how diverse professional backgrounds can drive meaningful innovation in social care. Jones's outsider perspective addresses a critical gap in communication between service providers and families, making complex systems more accessible to those who need them most. The tangible outcomes achieved by Ability to Achieve—from addiction recovery to independent living—show that well-executed disability support can dramatically improve quality of life and reduce long-term societal costs. As disability support systems worldwide face scrutiny and reform, this approach offers a model for combining operational efficiency with genuine compassion, potentially influencing policy and practice beyond Australia's NDIS framework.
Summary
Michael Jones, CEO of Ability to Achieve, is revolutionizing disability support in Sydney by leveraging his outsider perspective from two decades in telecommunications and IT. His lack of familiarity with clinical terminology, therapy protocols, and occupational therapy frameworks has become an unexpected asset, allowing him to simplify complex processes for families who struggle with the same system. Jones emphasizes that while clinical expertise remains crucial behind the scenes, his organization focuses on making support accessible, comprehensible, and effective in enhancing participants' daily lives through consistent, patient, and skilled work.
Ability to Achieve's community support workers engage in transformative efforts that go beyond mere supervision, helping participants achieve independence through what Jones calls "building blocks"—assisting with university applications, obtaining identification documents, practicing public transport use, and building social confidence. These workers think four to five steps ahead every shift, working toward long-term independence rather than just managing the present moment. The organization has facilitated remarkable transformations: participants moving from year-round hospitalization to independent living, overcoming severe addiction, transitioning from home isolation to community engagement, and even transitioning completely off the National Disability Insurance Scheme after years of progress.
Jones is actively reframing the NDIS narrative by highlighting success stories that counter negative perceptions of the system as merely a financial burden. He argues that when executed with dedication and compassion, the NDIS produces life-changing outcomes, preventing issues like homelessness crises seen in other countries. Under his leadership, Ability to Achieve maintains a participant-centered, non-corporate culture while serving over 200 participants across Sydney, Canberra, and Wollongong, demonstrating that scale and genuine care can coexist. Jones's transition from corporate leader to disability advocate illustrates how fresh perspectives can foster meaningful innovation in support delivery.
Source Statement
This curated news summary relied on content disributed by Press Services. Read the original source here, Outsider CEO Transforms Disability Support with Fresh Perspective
