The National Rugby League (NRL) is pleased to unite with leading National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) provider, What Ability, to put happiness first for people living with disabilities.
What Ability is an NDIS provider that utilises professional and semi-professional athletes as support workers to provide community based experiences for people living with a disability, including swimming, bush walks, beach days, indoor activities and overnight camps.
The NRL and What Ability will together empower communities on and off the field to support all abilities and athletes while also raising awareness for the disability sector. The partnership will focus on Athlete Pathway programs, disability education and celebrating the stories of support workers who play rugby league.
Our partnership with What Ability signifies an exciting milestone for us as we grow the number of people living with a disability to play, support and access the game across all formats," said Andrew Every, NRL Executive General Manager of Strategy, Transformation and Technology.
“We are so excited to partner with the NRL to showcase the power of sport in breaking down barriers regarding disability in our community," What Ability Founder Steve Dresler said.
"It truly is a game for everyone, and we couldn’t be prouder to have our participants watching their support workers play this great game!
"Across the board from NRL and NRLW professional athletes to under 20s, we have employed over 300 players as What Ability support workers in Australia. This is another reason we couldn’t be prouder to partner with the NRL and work together on building an inclusive community.”
Former player and What Ability Athlete Manager Keegan Hipgrave commented on the alignment and crossover between the organisations.
“To have so many NRL and NRLW players on board who share our vision, makes this partnership so special," Hipgrave said. "Players such as Tom, Jake and Ben Trbojevic, Junior Tatola, Jaime Chapman and Olivia Kernick, to name a few, have embraced What Ability and are helping us break down those barriers. We can’t wait to see what opportunities and awareness this partnership brings this year.”
What Ability provide extensive training to ensure support workers are capable, fit and confident in their role. Their training includes qualifications such as Epilepsy Essentials, First Aid/CPR certificates, NDIS Orientation Modules, NDIS Worker Checks, Police Checks, Water Rescues, Working with Children Checks, two professional references, and where applicable, safety interventions, medication administration training and emergency medication administration training.
To learn more about What Ability, visit whatability.com.au.