End of Year Message to Our Participants, Families and Carers: Dec 2025
As we come to the end of 2025, I wanted to take a moment to write to you directly and say hello and thank you.
This year has been a special one for Distinctive Options (DO), as we marked our 40th anniversary. For 40 years, people with disability, families, carers and staff have helped shape who we are today. It feels important to recognise that history, while also looking ahead to the future together.
A challenging year, with important decisions.
This year has not always been easy. Like many disability organisations, we have faced ongoing challenges in the NDIS system. Because of this, we had to make some hard decisions, particularly around our social enterprises.
These decisions were not easy and were not taken lightly. They were needed to help keep DO stable and able to support participants now and into the future.
Like many people across Australia, we were also saddened and shaken by the tragic shooting in Sydney on Sunday evening. Events like this can be upsetting and unsettling, and they can affect people in different ways. At times like these, it reminds us how important it is to look out for one another and to be kind and supportive.
What we’re proud of in 2025.
Despite the challenges, there has been a lot to be proud of this year.
Across our services, we’ve seen participants try new things, build confidence, learn new skills, and work towards personal goals. Sometimes these goals are big, and sometimes they are small, but they all matter.
We’ve also seen many positive events across our services in Sunbury, Bairnsdale, Bendigo and Brimbank. These have included R U OK? Day activities, art shows, taking part in film competitions, and participants in our cooking program receiving their first catering order. These experiences help build skills, confidence and pride, and we look forward to creating more opportunities like this in the year ahead.
Looking ahead to 2026
As we move into 2026, we’ll also be welcoming some new senior leaders to DO in January and February. These new executives will help us stay focused on what matters most; delivering good services and supports, creating meaningful employment opportunities, improving how we communicate and connect with our community, and growing our services in a careful and sustainable way. I will share more information on them when they start.
From March 2026, we’ll also begin work on a new strategic plan for the future of Distinctive Options. When we do this, we want to hear from you; what’s working well, what could be better, and what you’d like to see more of.
We’re also planning some informal catch-up sessions to start in 2026. These will be relaxed opportunities for you to hear from me and our leadership team, ask questions, and share your ideas. Nothing formal; just a chance to talk, listen and learn together.
Christmas and New Year service closures.
Some of our services will close over the Christmas and New Year period. Please see the summary below:
All group-based services and social enterprises close on Friday, 19 December 2025, and reopen on Monday, 12 January 2026.
The following services will continue or reopen earlier:
- Independent Living Support will operate as normal.
- Residential Properties (SIL) will operate as normal.
- Head Office will remain open (except on public holidays) with limited staff.
- Brew Crew Café in Bairnsdale will reopen from Monday, 5 January 2026.
- Sunbury Extended Hours Program will run from 5–9 January 2026.
- Bairnsdale Extended Hours Program will run from 5–9 January 2026.
Thank you
Thank you to our participants for the effort you put in every day, and to parents and carers for your trust and support. We know how important it is to feel heard and understood, and we don’t take that for granted.
Thank you for being part of the Distinctive Options community. I hope you and your families have a safe and restful Christmas and New Year. I’m looking forward to connecting with many of you in 2026.
Andre Carvalho
Chief Executive Officer, Distinctive Options
Andre Carvalho
Chief Executive Officer, Distinctive Options.
Community Update: October 2025
Supporting a Sustainable Future for Distinctive Options
This Friday, 10 October 2025, we will farewell five of our much-loved social enterprises: DO Honey, The Goodwill Gardener, DO Good Wood, DO Food Project Café (Gisborne), and DO Experiences.
These enterprises have always been far more than businesses. Over the past three years, they have been safe, welcoming places where people with disability, families, staff and community members came together to create opportunities, build skills, and form lasting friendships. Each enterprise leaves a legacy that will remain part of Distinctive Options’ story.
The decision to close these enterprises has been one of the hardest in Distinctive Options’ recent history. As a for- purpose organisation, our mission has never been about profit but about creating meaningful pathways and opportunities for people with disability. Every decision we make is guided by this commitment, which is why this outcome has been so deeply painful for everyone across the Distinctive Options community, participants, families, staff and supporters alike.
However, despite their enormous social value, the enterprises have been operating at a financial loss of approximately $1 million in the past year, with further losses in previous years. After a careful and thorough review, it became clear that continuing them would place our broader services, and with them, the long-term sustainability of Distinctive Options, at risk. Our responsibility is to safeguard the organisation so we can continue delivering vital supports to more than 350 participants who rely on us every day.
Each of our social enterprises has been supported through NDIS participant funding, which helps provide the staffing and supports needed for people with disability to participate in employment. Alongside this, we have relied on commercial income from customers purchasing products and services. However, despite the dedication of our teams and the loyalty of our customers, commercial income has not grown to a level sufficient to offset the costs of running all these businesses combined.
We remain deeply committed to our mission of creating meaningful opportunities and inclusive communities, continuing to operate our four remaining social enterprises alongside our Employment Pathways program. While this is a difficult chapter, it also reaffirms the strength of our values: putting participants first, working with care and compassion, and ensuring we will be here for people with disability for decades to come.
We will be sad to farewell a small number of staff this Friday, and we thank them sincerely for their dedication, care and contribution to our community. At the same time, we are encouraged that a number of staff have been successfully redeployed into other services, ensuring their skills and commitment remain within Distinctive Options. We are also heartened that the majority of our supported employees will continue to access other DO services, while we work closely with them and their families to explore long-term employment pathways.
Importantly, these changes do not affect our core disability support services or our four remaining social enterprises: the DO Food Truck in Sunbury, and our three Bairnsdale-based enterprises, The Brew Crew Café, Banksia Fine Foods, and our Gardening service. Distinctive Options remains fully committed to empowering people with disability to live meaningful, self-directed lives. We will also continue to explore new ways of partnering with community, government and business to create sustainable, long-term models of inclusive employment, alongside our core support services and Supported Independent Living programs.
We know that this news has brought with it a range of emotions; sadness, disappointment and concern, and we acknowledge how difficult this change is for many people connected to our social enterprises. To everyone who has visited the café, purchased honey or wood products, engaged a gardening service, or taken part in one of our experiences, thank you. You have been part of something special, and together we have shown what inclusion in action truly looks like.
As we close this chapter, our commitment is clear: to support every person through this transition and to shape a future where sustainable, participant-centred opportunities continue to grow and thrive.
For those who would like to learn more about our work, our impact and our financials, we invite you to read our 2023 - 2024 Annual Report here.