It was a family tragedy, says Friends for Life Disability Service managing director, Julian Azzopardi, that motivated him to start the business, and it’s what is behind their mantra to care for everyone as if they were your family.

Founded in July 2021, initially in Wagga Wagga, Friends for Life Disability Service (FFLDS) is an NDIS provider offering support services and disability accommodation.

They have since expanded into Orange and Geelong, and have plans in progress to build brand new Specialty Disability Accommodation (SDA) in all three regional centres.

“So we've now got six properties that are being built for Speciality Disability Accommodation and a number of Supported Independent Living homes as well around three locations,” said Julian, who was in Orange recently for the opening of the FFLDS activities centre in McNamara Street, known as McNamara House.

Julian has extensive experience in the healthcare and health science sectors. He has launched and operated private clinics as well as large healthcare projects in Australia and overseas.

But it was his disappointment in the level of care his own family received that made him decide to find a way to do it better.

“My mother-in-law and father-in-law passed away shortly before, eight weeks apart from each other and I saw that they didn't receive the care that I would have hoped,” he said

“So I wanted to do something about that myself and start a service that would treat people the way I'd want to be treated or have family members treated.

“So that is the mantra here; that our staff and our participants are treated like family, that we care for them and don't discount our services and take the easy road. We want to do the best for them, to give them the best life they possibly could have.”

From Melbourne himself, Julian said the service has expanded into regional areas as it is where he saw the greatest need for accommodation and support services,

“Yeah, it was about demand,” he said, “Looking at the number of participants that are in need, number of new participants coming in each year, number of providers… So really it was about the greatest impact that I could have on a community.”

Currently operating five  Supported Independent Living homes, Julian said they are very close to getting development approval and construction certificates for new purpose-built SDA homes — homes specially modified to meet the individual needs of people with disabilities — in Wagga Wagga and Orange.

“But it is a long haul,” he said of the lengthy development process. “We've just recently received the construction certificate [in Wagga Wagga] but that actual property I purchased with a development approval already,  so it was quite a way forward and it's taken this long to get the CC.

“So it's a lot of effort that's required… a lot of effort, but for the benefit of the community.”