Audio Disclaimer:We apologise for some audio inconsistencies throughout this episode. We experienced some technical issues during recording and have done our best to enhance and clean up the audio in post-production. Thanks for your understanding, and we hope you enjoy the conversation regardless.In this episode of What Are We Drinking?, Rachel sits down with psychotherapist and psychosexual therapist Patrick Rory John for one of our most open and thought-provoking conversations yet.Patrick works across sexuality, relationships, disability, queer and trans identity, mental health and recovery. Their own lived experience sits at the heart of the work, having navigated addiction, disability, queerness, faith, discrimination and recovery before becoming a therapist.The conversation explores a topic that is still rarely discussed openly: sexuality and disability.Patrick challenges the idea that protecting people with disability should mean controlling their lives, and explains the difference between safeguarding someone and taking away their autonomy. They discuss privacy, dating, relationships, sex education, online safety, support workers, restrictive practices and the concept of dignity of risk.Rachel and Patrick also unpack queer relationships, pronouns, identity, heteronormativity, the impact of growing up without healthy queer relationship models, and why belonging and community matter so deeply.Patrick opens up about growing up in a Catholic Irish family in Sydney, coming out young, becoming heavily involved in the church, being excommunicated after their sexuality became known, and the addiction and recovery journey that ultimately led them towards therapy.They also talk about the future of sex education for people with disability, why support workers need better training, how providers can create safer environments without making people's worlds smaller, and the importance of actually listening to people with lived experience rather than speaking for them.And, because this is What Are We Drinking?, Patrick joins Rachel over a non-alcoholic margarita.This episode is funny, vulnerable, challenging and deeply human.

The NDIS is changing. But are these reforms creating a better future for participants, or putting the entire ecosystem under pressure?

In this special NDIS Reform Roundtable episode of What Are We Drinking? with Rachel Carey, industry leaders come together for an honest, unfiltered conversation about the biggest challenges facing the disability sector.

From registration changes and SIL Practice Standards, to pricing, participant choice, provider sustainability, AI decision-making and the future of the NDIS, this conversation explores the questions many people are asking but few are willing to debate openly.

Hosted by Rachel Carey, this roundtable brings together passionate voices from across the sector to discuss:

• Does the NDIS actually need reform?

• Will tighter regulation improve participant outcomes?

• Should every NDIS provider be registered?

• Are reforms prioritising savings over participant choice?

• Could changes unintentionally impact the people the scheme exists to support?

• What does the future of disability services look like in 5 years?

The conversation also explores the role of quality providers, lived experience, innovation and collaboration in creating a sustainable NDIS that delivers better outcomes for Australians living with disability.

This isn’t about being for or against reform.

It’s about asking the harder question:

How do we make sure the future of the NDIS works for the people who need it most?

Featuring:

Yasser Zaki - Global CEO of Tender Loving Care

Chris Hill - COO of Allara Support Services

Tim Roberts - General Manager of Ethical SDA

Amanda Winslade - Business Relationship Manager at Plan Partners

George Ayoub - Founder of Solution Ideas Ability Boutique

In this episode of What Are We Drinking?, Rachel sits down with Aden Perry — founder of OurChoice Disability — for a raw, funny and honest conversation about rugby league, disability support, community access, young leadership and building a business with purpose.

Aden shares his journey from growing up in the Sutherland Shire and chasing rugby league, to entering the disability sector at 18 and being confronted by the reality of personal care, group homes and the lives of people who need genuine support.

That experience became the foundation for OurChoice Disability — a business Aden started at just 21 years old with a simple mission: to give participants real experiences, real connection and real opportunities to build confidence, independence and capacity.

Rachel and Aden unpack why community access is so much more than “just going out for fun.” From learning how to order a coffee, go shopping, build friendships, cook meals, move your body, regulate emotions and come home with a story to tell — this conversation is a powerful reminder of how much growth happens in everyday moments.

They also discuss rugby league, resilience, knockbacks, mental health, tall poppy syndrome, the pressure of being a young founder, asking for help, building a young team, and the impact potential NDIS cuts to community participation could have on participants and families.

This episode is energetic, emotional, hilarious and deeply relevant to the disability sector right now.

Topics:

Aden Perry’s upbringing in the Sutherland Shire

Rugby league, resilience and knockbacks

Playing footy across Sydney, Wollongong and representative pathways

Rachel giving Aden his first job in disability

Entering personal care at 18

The confronting reality of disability support work

Working in group homes

Supporting participants with complex needs

Why Aden started OurChoice Disability at 21

What OurChoice is really about

Community access as capacity building

Helping participants build independence

Social skills, confidence and friendship

Giving participants “dinner table stories”

Why community participation is not just playtime

NDIS cuts and the risk to social/community participation

The pressure of being a young founder

Mental health, burnout and asking for help

Tall poppy syndrome

Building a young team and strong culture

Why sport, movement and fitness matter

Meal prep, life skills and future program ideas

Rachel and Aden’s full-circle relationship