Queensland Charity Shuts Down Program That Helped Young People With Disability Find Work

A charity in Brisbane, Australia, is closing a program that helped young people with disability prepare for work. The ORCA Project, run by Wesley Mission Queensland, will end on June 26. The program helped 90 young people last year and gave them more than 300 work experience placements. Families say the closure is devastating news.

Oli Evans is 18 years old and joined the ORCA Project about six months ago after finishing high school. He has autism and a rare chromosomal condition that affects his thinking, speech, movement, and overall health. Oli had a dream of working in data security one day. His mother, Natalie Evans, said the program had been 'life-changing' for her son.

Natalie said Oli has strong skills in information technology, but he also faces real challenges in daily life. The family hoped the ORCA Project could help him figure out how to use his talents in a real job. When she heard the program was closing, Natalie said she 'lost hope.' She said, 'My heart is broken not only for Oli, but for all the other families.'

Claire Rusterholz is 16 years old and has been attending the ORCA Project since earlier this year. She has Williams syndrome, which is an intellectual disability that affects about one in every 10,000 people around the world. Claire is still finishing grade 10 and was hoping the program would help her find a job one day. Her mother, Jenny Roberts, signed her up so she could build the skills she needed to work.

During one of her work placements, Claire learned how to catch a train on her own. Her mother said that was a big achievement and that Claire's confidence had grown a lot since joining. When Jenny heard the program was closing, she said she was shocked and devastated. She immediately wrote back to the charity asking, 'What are we supposed to do now?'

Jenny said Claire is not yet ready to compete in the open job market and needs extra support. She explained that the other programs on the list Wesley Mission Queensland provided were more expensive than the ORCA Project. Before, Claire could attend two days a week for two years. Now the family can only afford one day a week for less than six months.

Wesley Mission Queensland said the decision to close was a difficult one. The charity said the NDIS environment had become 'increasingly complex,' with rising costs and changing rules about funding. The organisation said it had tried to hand the program over to another provider so participants could keep going, but that plan did not work out. All participants were offered help to find other programs and training options.

The NDIS is Australia's national scheme that helps people with disability pay for support services. The government has been making changes to the scheme to reduce its $50 billion annual cost, including cuts announced in April. A spokesperson for the National Disability Insurance Agency said the number of people getting funding for employment support had gone up by 58 per cent since July 2024. But some families say that does not help if the programs they depend on keep closing.

Natalie Evans, who works as an occupational therapist, said she is worried about the future of disability support services across Australia. She said the NDIS funding cuts mean there is 'nothing much coming up' for families like hers. She is now thinking about cutting back her own work hours so she can spend more time supporting Oli. Natalie said she hopes the NDIS will invest properly in programs that truly help people with disability build real skills for the workplace.