My career journey with MedHealth

Alison started working as an Occupational Therapist in 2006 and soon moved to the UK to broaden her experience and knowledge in community-based rehabilitation.

Returning home a few years later, she continued her rehab work, eventually becoming team leader then manager for a smaller provider in the ACT.

In 2014, Alison applied for an account management role with IPAR, using her acquired skills and experience to work closely with Government agencies and large organisations under the national worker’s compensation scheme (Comcare).

Looking to further her career and uncover new opportunities, Alison moved into the position of National Military Account Manager with IPAR in 2017. In this role, she supervised all services provided to serving and ex-serving Australian Defence Force (ADF) members.
“This role was incredibly insightful and rewarding. I learnt a lot about the experiences of military personnel, and importantly, how the impact of services like rehabilitation can support them and make a difference in their lives,” says Alison.

The next opportunity for Alison came in 2019, when she applied for the National Operations Manager role for the newly established Ability Action Australia. Since that time, Alison has been leading her team and the business through a substantial growth period as one of the largest providers in the NDIS market.

The challenges

There have been many challenges during my career, but I have enjoyed them all and have always had the support of colleagues and mentors to lean on. Perhaps some of the biggest for me were understanding the nuances and the intricacies of the ADF – it’s a steep learning curve. Familiarising myself with the NDIS – it’s large, complex and always changing and growing. Then there is leading our Ability Action Australia team in a hypergrowth environment that invariably brings its own challenges. We had 30 individuals employed at the start of 2021 and two years down the track, we have over 500. But along with that growth comes a great deal of learning and opportunity for everyone involved. I feel privileged to be a part of it.

My motivation

I feel a strong sense of our purpose, which is to help our participants to get more out of life today. I think we are doing that and continuously improving in that regard. The broader Ability Action Australia team are also an absolute pleasure to work with. They are hard-working, aligned with our values and really care about what we are trying to do. Inspired people can inspire others and I am up and about feeling enthusiastic and buoyant about our purpose every day.

Career highlights

Being here at Ability Action Australia is an absolute career highlight for me and I reflect on this quite often. We are one of the biggest allied health service providers in the NDIS, and still growing.

By virtue of that, we are able to make a significant contribution, not only at the participant level, but as we move forward and continue to establish our brand by working closely with government on what the NDIS could look like in future. So, I reflect on the uniqueness of this opportunity. It is something quite special. It can be a demanding business, but I love what I do. There is just so much more in front for Ability Action Australia, and you’d be hard pressed to find a better opportunity.