Dad Gives Up Career to Campaign for Disability Issues

An Australian father who climbed the corporate ladder gave up his high flying job to help to campaign for disability rights on behalf of his daughter.

Phil Hayes-Brown was managing director for one of the world’s leading sports organisations and eventually moved on to become commercial chief of his wife’s fashion business.

But after issues at his daughter’s school he decided to change career and applied to work with Wallara, an Australian community organisation that provides disability support and services.

Wheelchair Accessible Toilets

Frankston Special Development School were told that they couldn’t have wheelchair accessible toilets in classrooms as it did not meet the standard of the federal school stimulus program.

It meant that daughter Phoebe, 13, and her classmates wouldn’t have a classroom with suitable wheelchair accessible facilities but Phil fought the local government and won.

Phil commented: “”Phoebe’s school was getting messed around in 2010 by the Federal Labor Government’s Building Education Revolution program because they wanted toilets in their classroom which didn’t fit with any of the approved templates they were trying to roll out.

“The reaction was immediate and the building delay problems got quickly resolved. It felt wonderful to get involved in a community justice issue and apply my commercial experience to achieving a solution.”

Sharing Experiences

Phil admits that his experience with Phoebe helped him to make such a big career change and he now wants to help other people in similar positions. In his role at Wallara he has helped to launch WallaraTV which aims to help people understand disabilities.

He said: “Our mission with WallaraTV is to reach, engage and convert because once you understand Phoebe and her cohort many people decide they want to engage and that all leads to more opportunities and better outcomes.

“I dream of the day when I see giant billboards on the freeway and ads on TV promoting a major bank’s support of the Paralympics or any disability cause instead of elite sporting teams.”