Hidden Disabilities Sunflower - Australia & New Zealand

Welcome, Auckland Conventions, Venues & Events, to the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower initiative! 🌻 Your commitment to supporting people with non-visible disabilities makes a real difference. 💛

Friends and colleagues, we are starting to record the next podcast series and are seeking people with a lived experience and a story to tell. Please reach out if you would like to contribute to building awareness and understanding about your hidden disability. https://lnkd.in/gJUPhjSf

Qantas - you have outdone yourself! I'm travelling to Sydney to speak at the FW (Future Women) Leadership Summit. My flight got adjusted today - I'm flying earlier - but when I went to choose my seat, there was only a middle seat at the back of the plane. For those of us with #VestibularDisorder, this is a real issue. Being at the back means more motion, more sensory overload, and a higher risk of triggering vertigo—making travel not just painful, but potentially debilitating. I went to the counter (I had already flagged myself as living with a #HiddenDisability) and this incredibly beautiful Qantas woman not only found me a window seat, closed to the front but did so with incredible grace. She was warm, generous and no fuss. I could not have felt more cared for. I thanked her with tears in my eyes. Honestly - it felt like being loved with so much support. I know part of the reason for this is also Hidden Disabilities Sunflower - Australia & New Zealand incredible work in awareness raising and bringing corporations into the fold with recognising #InvisibleDisability. For those of you who live with #ChronicIllness - this is how I managing the incredible opportunity to speak about Chronic Illness at Work on Tuesday at the Summit. ✈️ Flying today (Sunday) for ease for my body 🛌 Resting tomorrow (Monday) so I can reset. 💊 Packing my usual meds + extra ones for flares Qantas, you made things easy today. Thank you, on behalf of all of us living with chronic conditions—you are embracing the change. Because #ChronicIllnessIsAtWork.

🌻 Check out the latest episode of That Was Unexpected podcast, where Lisa Cox OAM chats with Justin Bruce, Director of Hidden Disabilities Sunflower Aus/NZ, about non-apparent disabilities and the positive impact of the Sunflower initiative. Tune in for a thought-provoking conversation! 🎧  https://lnkd.in/gtrqAn93 #HiddenDisabilitiesSunflower #DisabilityAwareness #Inclusion

I kept my diagnosis PRIVATE except from a few family members and friends 😢 This post isn’t sponsored by the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower - Australia & New Zealand 🌻 I just love what they stand for. I just love their mission of making the invisible visible and choosing a Sunflower as it universally symbolises growth and confidence. Find out where you can grab their products for 🆓 at the end of the video. #Disability #HiddenDisabilitySunflower #ADHD #Neurodivergent

There’s a growing trend in policies, strategies, and job descriptions to use vague terms like “access” and “inclusion” while avoiding the word disability. While these terms are important, removing explicit references to disability weakens accountability and perpetuates systemic exclusion. When disability isn’t named in strategies and policies, it often isn’t prioritised. Organisations may feel they are addressing inclusion broadly, but without specific commitments to disability inclusion, the needs of people with disability get overlooked. Erasure is not inclusion. The same issue appears in job descriptions. Phrases like “we are an inclusive workplace” sound nice, but if there is no mention of disability, what message does that send? If we want to attract and retain employees, we need to name disability explicitly in diversity statements, reasonable adjustment commitments, leadership pathways, and workplace policies. Otherwise, we risk maintaining environments that are not designed with people with a disability in mind. Legally and socially, the word disability carries weight. It is central to protections under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth) and informs funding, support, and policy decisions. By watering it down, we fail to recognise and address the specific barriers people with a disability face. If we are serious about inclusion, we need to be serious about naming disability in policies, in strategies, in job descriptions, in leadership commitments. Language matters because what we name, we make visible. What we make visible, we make changeable. Let’s stop erasing disability under the guise of broad inclusion. #DisabilityInclusion #SayDisability #AbleismAwareness #PolicyMatters #InclusiveWorkplaces

We’re incredibly proud to announce that the Formula 1® Australian Grand Prix 2025 will be Sunflower-friendly! 🌻 A huge thank you to the Australian Grand Prix Corporation for making this iconic event more inclusive and accessible. 🏁💛

Thank you, Queensland Department of Education, for supporting the Sunflower initiative and raising awareness of non-apparent disabilities. Together, we’re building a more understanding and supportive community. 🌻

We’re thrilled to share this impactful story from George in Yarra Trams’ Customer Service team, showcasing the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower in action. George’s quick and thoughtful response demonstrates the power of the Sunflower lanyard in helping frontline staff identify and support passengers with hidden disabilities. 🌻 Thank you to Yarra Trams for ensuring all Customer Service Employees and Authorised Officers are trained to assist passengers with hidden disabilities! 💛

🌻 Exciting news! Our Director of Hidden Disabilities Sunflower Aus/NZ, Justin Bruce, will be joining a panel at Victoria Tourism Industry Council (VTIC)’s Breaking Barriers program — an initiative dedicated to fostering inclusivity in Victoria’s tourism and events industry. Find out more: https://lnkd.in/ghMdUMx9