Geelong organisations announce merger they believe will ‘intensify advocacy and support for people with disabilities’

A Geelong organisation that was to soon celebrate its 50th anniversary will cease to exist as an independent entity due to rising costs and funding uncertainty.

Barwon Disability Resource Council’s David Petherick. Picture: Alan Barber.

A Geelong organisation that advocates on behalf of people with a disability will miss out on celebrating its 50th anniversary after merging with another provider due to rising costs and funding uncertainty.

The Barwon Disability Resource Council (BDRC) was to mark the major milestone next year but its name is no longer following its merger with the Rights Information and Advocacy Centre (RIAC).

No jobs will be lost other than for one BDRC administrative role.

BDRC’s executive officer David Petherick will join RIAC as director of advocacy – a role that was vacant pre-merger.

Mr Petherick said the issues faced by BDRC were common across the industry due to “terrible (government) underfunding”.

“Increasing compliance costs tied with no increases in funding for a long time … we could’ve survived, but it would’ve impacted on the amount of advocacy we could do,” he said.

“We decided that we really wanted to protect advocacy for people with disabilities and the best way to maximise the amount of ‘coal face’ work we could do was by reducing our administration costs.

“It’s sad because people were really committed to our organisation, but at the end of the day we took the view that there wasn’t enough funding … both at a state and federal level.

“There’s a bit of sadness about being around for 49 years and now the name not existing, but on the flip side, we’re thrilled with the work RIAC do and look forward to continuing our advocacy work.”

RIAC has a 40-year history and offices in Bendigo, Shepparton, Mildura, as well as Geelong.

It provides services across 22 local government areas in regional Victoria and southern New South Wales.

Board chair Carli Leishman said the two organisations had a shared commitment to enhancing the lives of people with disabilities in the Barwon and Geelong region.

“By uniting under the RIAC banner, we are not just merging organisations – we are merging our hopes, dreams, and plans for a more inclusive, supportive community,” she said in a statement.

“As we proceed with this merger, our priority is to ensure a seamless integration of advocacy services and support systems and continuity in service delivery for all of our clients.”

Like Mr Petherick, BDRC chair Dianne Thomson was disappointed the organisation would cease to exist as an independent entity.

But she said the merger would “ensure that our team can continue delivering the exceptional advocacy and support that has defined our work over many decades in the Barwon and Geelong region”.

The key benefits of the merger are expected to be expanded programs, increased accessibility and stronger advocacy.

Originally published as Geelong organisations announce merger they believe will ‘intensify advocacy and support for people with disabilities’