Clair laughs about how this all started. “I sort of just fell into it. I’ve always been a champion of the underdog. When you see something that’s not right, the social-justice cells in my body scream, ‘That’s not good. That’s not right.’”
That reflex—to step in when something’s off—still shapes how she leads and supports.
She didn’t think of it as “disability work” at first. “I just saw people as human. Later I realised I’d been helping folks who were blind, deaf, autistic, living with brain injury… there were layers on layers; disability, domestic violence, LGBTIQ+. People needed someone to stand up for them.” She talks about the layers plainly—disability, domestic violence, LGBTIQ+—and how they stack to shut people out.
In 2022 life forced a rethink. “I needed to secure my future. Everything I looked at didn’t feel right in my heart… and NDIS kept popping up.” She finished the Worker Orientation Module in March 2022. “It was a light-bulb moment: this is what I should be doing.” Cards, first aid, the lot. Then straight into a couple of SIL houses and community supports. “I wanted to do lots of different supports with as many people as possible. It filled my heart.” The training turned quickly into real work: fridge lists, routines and straight‑up chats in people’s homes and communities.
Meliora came into the picture through her other job in allied health. “Your emails kept popping up. It was always, ‘We’ve got an emergency, what can you do?’ I’d say, ‘Define emergency,’ juggle things, and pull a rabbit out of a hat.” After 14 months, Clair chose to step back from her allied health corporate role. “I wanted a hybrid: real support and the systems side. That unicorn job.” The interview with Meliora “went for two hours and fifteen minutes. I cried, you cried. By the next morning I had a contract!” Although nobody could disagree that Clair can TALK, there was absolutely a synchronicity of desire, passion and Meliora's core vision, as Clair quickly became an integral part of the team.
Today Clair is the Brisbane Team Leader, yet still on the tools whenever needed. “Rosters, invoicing, timesheets, client liaison - and policy development, risk assessment, contracts, research, systems. All the lanes, please. All the lanes.” The variety suits her. “My autism loves it.” She likes the mix: hands‑on care plus business development - making great use of Clair's broad range of skills.
What helps? “At Meliora, everybody is treated with care and compassion, top to bottom. The ability to be vulnerable, that’s the big thing.” A late autism diagnosis gave her language for self‑care. “Now I can say, ‘I’m overstimulated. I need a break,’ and not push to burnout.”
Almost a year on, Clair is blunt about why people stick with us. “New clients sometimes think, ‘Sounds great… I’ll wait till you fall down.’ And then we don’t. We keep delivering. We come with kindness for the human, not the disability, and not the money.” Organisational support to make responsible decisions without an axe hanging over her head, matters too. “I can back myself. If something goes sideways, we debrief."
Ask about a day in her life and she grins. “An hour of rosters and notes, then fishing at Redcliffe with a client—prawn flew off the hook and landed on my head—back to HQ for invoicing and calls, checked in on a tricky shift, then boxed-dyed someone’s hair. I’ve been here nearly a year and I haven’t repeated the same day once.”
Looking back, she’s clear about two things. “There are good companies. You can do this with kindness and still run a solid business. We’re systems‑driven, process‑driven, human‑driven.” What she’s learned from participants is just as direct: “People come to us at their wits’ end, wanting someone who actually cares. We deliver, and they’re blown away. I love our clients.”
If you want the short version, Clair’s cuts through: “Pick the right people, do what you said you’d do, fix it when it wobbles, and keep it human.”