Summer Foundation

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Summer Foundation We invest in identifying, designing and scaling better housing and living solutions for Australians with disability who need access to 24/7 support.

In 2006, the Summer Foundation was established to stop young people with disability being forced to live in aged care. We are changing systems to ensure people with disability and complex support needs live where and with whom they choose, with access to high quality housing and support options that enhance health, wellbeing and participation. As systems entrepreneurs, we use 5 levers to bring about change. Generating evidence such as published research and lived experience is a critical tool for this change, along with innovation through the co-design of new solutions and services. We work with government and influence people on the inside. Our advocacy work sees us apply pressure from the outside by harnessing public support. Where necessary, we use a legal lever and support people to fight for their rights. We develop practice guides, training materials and new models for government and non-government organisations to work together to resolve this issue. Many young people with a disability have shared their stories of living in a nursing home. You can view their stories on our website: http://www.summerfoundation.org.au

07/10/2026

👋 Meet Matilda (Matildaonaroll), who we’ve partnered with to share what good support looks like from her perspective.

💬 “Good support isn't doing things for me. It's doing things with me.

Choice and control aren't extras. They're how I get to live my life.

I use an AAC device to communicate, which means time matters. Ask me a question, then give me the time to answer. Don't jump in. Don't answer for me. Just wait.

Allow me to make my own choices. And if I'm struggling, that's when you step in, offer guidance and help me out.

Support should give me more control, not take it away.”

🎥 This video was created by Matilda in partnership with the Summer Foundation.

🗳️ The NSW election is less than 6 months away.We’ll be reaching out to candidates in key electorates about why new home...
06/10/2026

🗳️ The NSW election is less than 6 months away.

We’ll be reaching out to candidates in key electorates about why new homes need to be accessible and support people to live well as they grow older or their needs change.

🏠 If you live in NSW, share your housing experience and help shape the message we take to candidates.

👉 Have your say: https://tally.so/r/lbpGgp

30/09/2026

Last night on ABC News 7.30 report, the conversation turned to one of the biggest opportunities and cost pressures facing the NDIS – how we support people with disability to have more choice in how they live, while making the scheme sustainable.

Group homes have been the default for too many people with disability. But there are other ways of living and being supported, including Individualised Living Arrangements and drop-in and on-call support.

Our Head of Policy, Communications and Systems Change, Jessica Walker highlighted why better housing and living options need to be part of the solution.

Growing these options could give more people genuine choice about where they live, who they live with and how they’re supported, while also making better use of NDIS funding.

As Jessica said, “What we need to see is a growing of alternative options so people have choice about how they live and where they live.”

It was great to see what different options can look like including hearing from Meghan and Isabel, Milparinka, Mobile Attendant Care Service - MACS and the Grattan Institute.

We’re particularly excited to see MACS’ drop-in and on-call model highlighted. The Summer Foundation is working with MACS as the service expands to the Gold Coast, evaluating how the model works in practice and what it could mean for participant outcomes, choice and value.

📺 Watch the full 7.30 report segment online: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09-29/could-a-ndis-review-transform-disability-housing-/107208742

33 younger people entered residential aged care in just three months.That matters.Australia has made real progress in re...
11/09/2026

33 younger people entered residential aged care in just three months.

That matters.

Australia has made real progress in reducing the number of younger people entering residential aged care.

But that progress has stalled.

Quarter after quarter, dozens of younger people are still entering aged care.

The new Aged Care Act was meant to bring this practice to an end for people under 65, except in limited circumstances.

Yet in the first full quarter of reported data since the Act commenced, 33 younger people, not including First Nations people, entered residential aged care.

The Act still allows people with disability who are experiencing homelessness, or are at risk of homelessness, to enter aged care. We have long been concerned this could become a backdoor pathway into aged care.

⚠️ 33 is not just a number.

It is 33 younger people now living in places that were never designed for them, and who may find it extraordinarily difficult to leave.

The law has changed. Now we need to see that change reflected in people’s lives.

That means transparent reporting, accountability for every admission, and urgent action to make sure a lack of suitable housing and support never becomes a pathway into aged care.

🌟 Could drop-in and on-call support work for you?We’re working with Mobile Attendant Care Service - MACS to expand drop-...
09/09/2026

🌟 Could drop-in and on-call support work for you?

We’re working with Mobile Attendant Care Service - MACS to expand drop-in and on-call support on the Gold Coast. We’re looking for NDIS participants who may be interested in taking part.

⏰ Drop-in support can provide short, planned visits when support is needed.
📞 On-call support can respond when unexpected needs come up.

The aim is to offer more flexibility, responsiveness and control than fixed support shifts.

💬 By taking part, you can also help us understand what works, what needs to change and what it would take to make this kind of support available to more people.

📍 You must be located on the Gold Coast.

👉 Learn more: https://www.summerfoundation.org.au/what-we-do/drop-in-and-on-call-support/registeryourinterest/

🏡 Our founder and CEO, Di Winkler will be speaking at the HousingHub, Disruptive Ideas in Disability Housing: Challengin...
08/09/2026

🏡 Our founder and CEO, Di Winkler will be speaking at the HousingHub, Disruptive Ideas in Disability Housing: Challenging the Status Quo event in Melbourne this October.

She will be contributing to the session: Disruptive Disability Housing - Insights into what might be, from those that harbour vision.

Learn more in the program 👉 https://publuu.com/flip-book/1152124/2609883/page/6

We’re excited to support this opportunity to challenge conventional thinking and help shape the future of accessible and inclusive housing.

📍 Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre

📅 6 October 2026

Find out more and get your ticket here: 🔗 housinghub.org.au/national-event-2026

💡 We relaunched Summer Foundation almost two years ago to focus on growing big ideas that transform housing and living o...
26/08/2026

💡 We relaunched Summer Foundation almost two years ago to focus on growing big ideas that transform housing and living options for people with disability with high support needs.

🎉 And now we’ve reached an exciting milestone – our first demonstration project under our bold new purpose.

🏡 Traditionally, people with high support needs have had two options: rostered minimum two hour support shifts or 24/7 support. But that’s not enough flexibility, responsiveness or control for the way many people with disability want to live.

🔄 Drop-in and on-call has always made sense from a participant perspective. The challenge has been scaling it in a market that wasn't designed for it. It requires the right provider, enough people living nearby and funding settings that support a responsive workforce. Those conditions haven't existed in enough places.

🤝 That’s why we’re working with Mobile Attendant Care Service - MACS to expand their drop-in and on-call services to the Gold Coast and evaluate how this model works in practice and how we might be able to make it available to more NDIS participants.

👉 Learn more on our website: https://www.summerfoundation.org.au/what-we-do/drop-in-and-on-call-support/

04/08/2026

The NDIS needs reform — but blanket funding cuts are not the answer.

We appeared before the Senate inquiry into the NDIS Amendment Bill 2026 to raise concerns about provisions that could allow blanket reductions to categories of NDIS supports and approved supports to be funded below their actual cost.

These changes could disproportionately affect people with significant disability, increasing the risk of isolation, crisis and pressure on families and other unpaid supporters.

Watch our short recap from the hearing and read more about the concerns we raised, the questions we were asked and what we are calling for on our website:

https://www.summerfoundation.org.au/news/ndis-bill-2026-senate-inquiry/

02/07/2026

"We all need to go somewhere where we belong, where everybody knows your name." – Leigh Creighton

Friendship, belonging and community were at the heart of this powerful conversation with Dr Angela Amado, Leigh Creighton, Jen Kush, Professor Sally Robinson and Anna Burke.

🎥 You can watch the full webinar to hear practical ideas and lived experience on how we can better support genuine relationships and community inclusion for people with disability:

👉 https://youtu.be/9cUxvTM2Jcg?si=b24pO94CoZ28DAlV

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Box Hill, VIC

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Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

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