Скачать или смотреть Niki Lea Williams from Participant to Staff member

When Niki Lea Williams became a below knee amputee from a motor vehicle accident at 19 years old, the NDIS didn't exist.

Since Niki made access to the scheme, it has changed her life. And now she is a Community Engagement Officer working for the Agency.

Niki's job takes her all over the country to various expos and events representing the NDIS. She resources people, answers questions from the community and helps participants navigate the scheme. Building relationships and giving foundational knowledge to improve the lives of participants nation-wide.

Niki believes she's found the best job at the agency - according to her.

If you would like to find out about future employment opportunities at the NDIA, please visit https://www.ndis.gov.au/about-us/care... for more information.

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Hi, my name is Niki Lea.

I'm from Newcastle, New South Wales. I'm a below knee amputee from a motor vehicle accident when I was 19 years old. As a female, you can imagine cosmetically, mentally, you know, it's a big change.

You know, when a girl is 19, you know, you just getting out there in the world. And fast forward a few more years, and here I am working for the NDIS.

My role in the agency is a community engagement officer. So part of our role is that we go out to expos. We, you know, do a lot of targeted engagement. I knew I would fit in because of having lived experience.

One of the main things I do is resource people and help participants navigate the scheme. We're there for participants, so the more awareness we can raise around fraud and the fraud fusion task force and the participants knowing their rights in that space, the better. One of the other big ticket items is questions around legislation.

Some of the work I'm very proud of is doing some collaborations with the remote and very remote team. Helping community and building community’s capacity while we were out there engaging is so rewarding.

My brother and I went to a few Lady Gaga concerts, and the thing was, you had to meet her. She picked people out of the audience. So we were like, how are we going to get picked out? My brother looked at me and he said, “You know, you've got to bling one of your legs.” And I was like, “Aw okay”, because I'm very creative. And I was like, this is easy. I got this. So yeah, I managed to get picked out of the audience and met Lady Gaga and she signed my leg, and I've got a couple of photos with her and a couple of autographs, and I know she knows Niki Lea from Australia definitely. My little fangirl moment, and my claim to fame.

I'm proud that I've made my family proud, of you know, getting through, such a traumatic time in my life. I've met fantastic people. I've been put into some spaces and events that I never thought I would be in, met people I never thought I would’ve met. I can mentor people. I can guide people. I can give them my first hand experience. I can just be that person to say, hey, I've been through that. You know? It's tough. I myself haven't met many people like me. But, you know, like, it's just you get on and you get on with things. And I suppose that's what I'm most proud of.

But, yeah, I've definitely landed the best role in the agency, according to me in community engagement. And it's so rewarding and always exciting and never a dull moment.

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