CDERP Presents
Deepening Fidelity, Relational Practice and Systems Integrity
Register Now →About the Conference
This one-day conference brings together leading practitioners, researchers, and organisations from across Australia to explore what it means to deliver Customised Employment with genuine fidelity — in an environment of increasing performance pressure and system complexity.
Across eight presentations, attendees will hear directly from service providers navigating real challenges: from Discovery in community enterprises and automotive workshops, to psychologically-informed counselling frameworks, values-driven team culture, and the role of families in employment planning.
Programme
Eight presentations from practitioners at the forefront of Customised Employment in Australia.
Helen Grey
How community-based enterprises — including mobile food trucks, sports canteens and youth programs — can serve as practical Discovery environments that reveal strengths, build confidence, and create meaningful employment pathways.
Empowering Abilities Together — WA
Jade Burgmann
Challenging assumptions that steer people with disability away from trades. Through task analysis, role carving and environmental adjustments inside a fully operational automotive garage, Jade demonstrates that trades are not unsuitable — poorly designed systems are.
Wheelnutz Garage / TyreNutz Social Enterprise — SE QLD
Jane Ludtke
How to sustain values-driven CE teams within performance-driven funding models. Practical strategies for embedding core values into supervision, performance conversations, and quality processes — without sacrificing fidelity.
Ability Works Australia
Dr Peter Smith
Introducing Minimum Viable Discovery (MVD) as a disciplined, evidence-informed approach to maintaining CE fidelity within constrained funding environments — not a shortcut, but a pragmatic framework for informed job design.
CDERP
Lauren Pavlidis
The Psychologically Informed Employment Counselling Framework integrates counselling psychology into CE practice, structured around presence, inquiry, and engagement — grounding employment planning in lived experience and psychological safety.
CDERP
Gabrielle Jones
The BMS CE Model translates CE into practical tools and coaching methods, enabling a broader workforce to deliver high-quality, individualised employment support without sacrificing fidelity.
Bluesky Mind Studio / eighty9 Ltd — SA
Gill Baldwin
As CE adapts to funding and market pressures, its core values risk being diluted. This session explores how to maintain fidelity to person-centred, individualised employment as a fundamental right — not a compliance outcome.
4gr — NDIA Registered Provider
Dr Peter Smith
Introducing the Family Discovery Model, grounded in ESME. Families are repositioned as active contributors through narrative building, network mapping, and collaborative reflection — enhancing outcomes while preserving participant autonomy.
CDERP
Our Presenters
Practitioners, researchers, and innovators from across the Australian disability employment sector.
Helen Grey
Empowering Abilities Together, WA
Founder and Director of Empowering Abilities Together, with more than two decades of experience in special education and disability services. Helen leads a multidisciplinary team delivering support coordination, psychosocial recovery coaching, and customised employment programs.
From Discovery to OpportunityJade Burgmann
Wheelnutz Garage / TyreNutz, QLD
Founder of Australia’s first disability service embedded within a fully operational automotive garage, and the nation’s first tyre-fitting social enterprise. Jade has created a globally unique model integrating structured capacity building with real-world industry productivity.
Redefining “Suitable”Jane Ludtke
Ability Works Australia
Manager of Customised Employment and Employment Counsellor with Ability Works Australia, bringing over 30 years of experience in disability and community health. Jane champions discovery-led, person-centred approaches that shift the focus from job-seeking to job-creation.
Building Values-Driven TeamsDr Peter Smith
CDERP
Director of CDERP and internationally recognised systems designer working at the intersection of labour market policy, disability employment, psychology, and public administration. Developer of ESME and the Customised Employment Quality Assurance Framework (CEQAF).
Two SessionsLauren Pavlidis
CDERP
Provisional Psychologist (AHPRA) and Master of Psychology (Clinical) candidate with over a decade of experience across disability services, community programs, and workplace mental health. Committed to evidence-based, neurodiversity-affirming, and trauma-informed practice.
The PIE-CF FrameworkGabrielle Jones
Bluesky Mind Studio / eighty9 Ltd, SA
Experienced executive leader and strategic innovator, and developer of the BMS CE Model — a systemised framework for scaling high-fidelity Customised Employment across a broader workforce while maintaining individualisation.
Systemising CEGill Baldwin
4gr, NDIA Registered Provider
Co-director of 4gr, holding a Master of Disability Policy and Practice from Flinders University and registered as a Developmental Educator. Gill brings a unique background in corporate HR and recruitment to her passion for equity in disability employment.
CE in a Changing SystemSecure your place at Australia’s leading Customised Employment practice conference.
Register at the CDERP Store →