Xtremecare Australia (XCA) was established in 2018 to improve service delivery to First Nations people living with a disability. When the National Disability Insurance Scheme began its rollout in 2018, there was a noticeable gap identified in the delivery of services to remote communities and First Nations people which sparked the conversation on ways to improve this.

Xtremecare Australia was inspired by our son Will Jnr (pictured) who is now 23 years old. He was diagnosed with cerebral palsy and spastic quadriplegia at birth and suffers with bronchiectasis, a severe respiratory condition which requires him to have extensive support and assistance in his daily life. Will Jnr is completely nil by mouth and uses a PEG tube for his dietary needs. Whilst raising Will we wanted him to maintain a close to normal lifestyle, which included keeping him in the school environment for as long as possible.  Once Will reached Grade 9, we decided to move him to an environment that suited his needs and capabilities for him to complete his senior schooling. In 2015, Will graduated Grade 12 at Southport Special School, which was a huge milestone for him and us as a family. Each milestone was a period of adjustment and re-evaluation of Wills future, we knew that it was time for us to adapt our working and living arrangements to accommodate for Will now being home fulltime. This is where the idea of “Xtremecare” started.

As parents of a loved one living with a disability and being First Nations people ourselves, we have developed a deep understanding of what is lacking in the provision of support and services in the disability sector. We wanted Xtremecare to be a contributor to Bridging the Gap by providing an integrated care model that focuses on supports and services which are high quality, consistent, value for money and culturally competent. 

Our passion is in remote service delivery, where the geographical constraints and limited choice of service providers have impacted the NDIS service delivery in remote communities. It is our aim to provide different pathways and options for our people to gain access to the same level of service someone in a metropolitan area would receive.

As First Nations people we understand the importance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural practices, traditions and protocols within the various communities. Xtremecare is committed to ensuring that our service is tailored to each individual and community’s needs. We aim to build up the capacity of participants and communities to empower them to deliver NDIS services in their community, which will create long term sustainability in the future.