Tennille Lamb, a proud Kanolu and Warrabul woman, is leading transformative change in the First Nations disability sector. As Director of Strategy at First Peoples Disability Network (FPDN), Tennille champions culturally informed leadership, strong partnerships, and inclusive policy to build a more responsive and empowered sector for mob with disabilities.
Her work is underpinned by the 2022 Disability Sector Strengthening Plan, a key part of the national Closing the Gap agenda. “The plan is ambitious and wide-reaching,” Tennille explains. “Our focus at FPDN is to lead on the most critical areas and work closely with stakeholders across the country to ensure our efforts are aligned and serve the best interests of mob with disabilities.”
One of FPDN’s major initiatives is the National Sectoral Needs Assessment, which seeks to understand what Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations (ACCOs) and Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHOs) need to provide culturally safe, disability-inclusive services. “This will enable FPDN to advocate for the sector using real evidence from community-driven data,” Tennille says.
She emphasises that strengthening the sector is a shared responsibility. “Everyone at FPDN plays a role – whether it’s delivering training, building partnerships, shaping policy, or advocating for rights. It’s about ensuring our people with disabilities are seen, heard, and supported every day.”
Collaboration across sectors is essential, Tennille adds, because disability touches every aspect of wellbeing—health, education, justice, and beyond. “We need to meet each other where we are and build cross-sector solutions that work for our communities.”
Tennille also points to the leadership of ACCOs and ACCHOs as critical to success. “The data shows they deliver the best outcomes because they provide holistic, culturally grounded services. We must ensure these services are also inclusive of disability.”
To drive real and lasting change, she identifies key priorities:
- More collaboration and partnerships between governments, sectors and communities
- Consistent and long-term funding for ACCOs and ACCHOs
- Adopting the Cultural Model of Inclusion, which recognises diverse cultures, languages and beliefs, and supports meaningful participation
“Using the Cultural Model of Inclusion as a guiding framework is the key,” she says. “It’s about valuing who we are and creating services that work for our people in ways that make sense to them.”
For Tennille, real change happens when we stand together. “By working together, we can dismantle the barriers our people with disabilities in our communities face. When we unite and work together, we are stronger, our voices can reach further and build influence.”
“Using the Cultural Model of Inclusion as a guiding framework is the key.”
