Barb McNair came on board in 2024 and now as a Meliora Director she now leads our South Burnett team. She’s the hardest working staff member in our charity and, yep, the oldest. She can run rings around most twenty-year-olds! Most days she’s juggling rosters, onboarding, reports and the quiet fixes that keep people’s supports moving.
Barb’s roots are in care. “I started off as a paediatric nurse… 1969–1970,” she says. “It broke my heart to leave,” when she moved interstate. Life pulled her into management, but she drifted back toward care through volunteering at a school in Cherbourg and with Blue Care.
She coordinated volunteers, set up a small café at the aged care home, and ran craft and social sessions with her team. When COVID shut the door on volunteers, she built a five-day respite program in Murgon. “I’d start early, make morning tea—soup in winter with a hot bread roll, salads in summer—then we’d pick everyone up and get into it.”
Her simple rule: give people better than they’ve had before. Sometimes that’s practical support. Sometimes it’s cake. “For each of their birthdays I made an ice-cream cake… they felt very, very - look, I don’t want to use the word ‘special’ - but they did.” She’s matter-of-fact about why she stepped into aged care and then disability. “I had a personal fear… I wanted to face that fear… jump in head first… they’re people with a life, with a history.”
Meliora suits her straight talk. “It’s refreshing,” Barb says. “We question traditional ways… we’re transparent with staff and clients.” She’s realistic about bumps. “People are fickle… you only have to do one thing wrong,” but “if you’ve got a good foundation… it can be repaired.”
And yes, we’re going to dob her in—sometimes we wish Barb would take a bit more time and space for herself. We’re working on getting her to knock off early at least once a decade. Truth is, she’s the first to put her hand up and give even more of her time to others. Meliora needs to keep building support around Barb so she can sustainably do what she loves most.
Looking ahead, Barb’s plan is practical. First, “make the foundation solid,” so we actually do what we say. Then push for better housing - Supported Independent Living that isn’t four strangers wedged into thin-walled bedrooms. “There’s no space for time on your own.” She’s keen on small self-contained pods within a supportive hub - not just for NDIS participants but people who are aging and those facing homelessness. She envisions a large activities space for training and community, a proper commercial kitchen for cooking classes, and real pathways to paid work at fair wages—gardening, cleaning, hospitality - anything that fits someone’s desire for their future.
Barb’s impact on participants can’t be overstated. She listens, follows through, and sticks around when conversations are awkward. Her decades in aged care - and her “people are people” approach, will matter even more in 2026 and beyond as Meliora broadens the supports we offer across the region.
If you’re ready to think more about your supports, we can guarantee Barb is ready to have a good chinwag and meet you right where you’re at.