Hong Knowling started her property career in 2002. She holds master degrees in Town Planning and Property, along with qualifications in Healthcare Design. She is also a qualified Allied Health practitioner.

Hong has written feature articles in the Planning Institute of Australia Journal and was invited to be a guest lecture at the Guangxi University in China. 
As an experienced town planner and astute property analyst, she has demonstrated leadership in various projects spanning both private and public sectors.

Her endeavours include land use planning, economic analysis, market feasibility, infrastructure plan and development contributions, Structure Planning, and property development.

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Hong has a deep understanding of property economics, evident in her meticulous preparation of market and feasibility assessments for diverse developments, ranging from residential to non-residential, including specialised areas such as healthcare and social infrastructure.

Panelist 

Paul began his working career in the Finance industry in 1987 with BankWest, working his way up to being a Business Banker before leaving in 1995 to go work for CBA.
In 1996 Paul joined WA Home Loans (Now Resimac) where he started as a Home Loan Officer, working his way up through various positions including State Manager QLD, State Manager WA and finishing as National Retail Sales Manager. 

Paul then moved to Australian First Mortgage in 2006 as a WA Business Development Manager and then onto WA State Manager and finally National Sales Manager.
Paul has currently been with Axis Lending since 2018 initially as a Business Development Manager, where he later began writing NDIS Home Loans in May 2021.
Paul has over 30 years experience in writing Home Loans and has to date written and settled over 100 NDIS home loans.
 

Tony Rutherford is a Partner in the Projects and Infrastructure Group at DLA Piper , a large commercial firm.

He has advised financiers, governments, developers, sponsors and contractors on large and complex infrastructure and housing projects in Australia, Asia, The US, the Middle East and Africa. His recent projects include the New Footscray Hospital PPP and the Victorian Public Housing Renewal Program PPP 
 

Jeremy Soden has been working within construction industry since 2014 and he is focused on removing access barriers within the built environment. Jeremy is passionate about making Australia inclusive for all.

Jeremy is an SDA Assessor and has been involved in over 500 SDA projects of varying size and complexity. He is a Livable Housing Assessor and carries out Approvals under the LHA Design Guidelines. A part of Jeremy’s role is also to undertake assessments and building audits to provide general access consultancy.

Jeremy founded Forward Access in 2021. Prior to starting Forward Access, Jeremy was a building certifier for Professional Certification Group in Queensland and has also been a building surveyor in England for London Borough of Camden.

Panellist 

Panelist 

As co-founder and CEO of Specialist Disability Accommodation provider Everhomes, Dan Acfield is passionate about helping people living with disability to live with as much independence and dignity as possible. 

He strongly believes in the capacity of Specialist Disability Accommodation to improve the lives of people needing accessible or special housing, and is passionate about its capacity to help deinstitutionalise accommodation for people living with disabilities in Australia.

Prior to Everhomes, Dan worked for many years advocating for the rights and wellbeing of children in care and adults with impaired capacity, and this background has been foundational in bringing a strong human rights focus to Everhomes’ approach.

Debbie is the General Manager of NDIS Property Australia, an advisory business consulting to investors, developers, builders and other stakeholders on the process of SDA investment.

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Debbie previously worked in business administration in finance and property and also spent two decades involved in the Tourism Industry, running her own Tour Company in Asia for 16 years.

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Having been involved in NDIS Property Australia from its inception in mid-2020, Debbie has expanded their inhouse team who has a focus on  marketing and selling NDIS investment properties and bringing together all necessary parties, from the builders and designers to lenders and providers required to ensure the successful development of SDA properties around Australia.
 

Anthony is a partner of Kennedy Associates Architects, an architectural and urban design practice based in Annandale, Sydney.

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Anthony has been designing specialist disability housing since before the NDIS and has worked on hundreds of SDA projects spread across a wide range of typologies and scales, and has a good overview of the diversity of SDA housing options.

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Anthony has been extensively involved in advocacy & has contributed to the preparation of the SDA Design Standard and has recently prepared the reference designs for the SDA Pricing Review
 

Tania Gomez is a dynamic entrepreneur with a passion for helping NDIS providers run thriving businesses that deliver exceptional care.

With over a decade of experience as a successful business owner, Tania has founded four successful businesses - Provider+, Strawberry Solutions, Tania Gomez Consulting and Jelli Beanz.

Her mission is to help providers overcome challenges and achieve real business outcomes.

At every turn, Tania brings her expertise, energy, and deep commitment to quality and compliance to help providers achieve their goals.

As an NDIS Auditor since 2019, Tania brings a wealth of experience to her consulting work. In addition to her audit expertise and entrepreneurial spirit, Tania holds several qualifications, including a Master of Education (Leadership), Graduate Certificate of Disability Practice Management, and Bachelor of Education and is currently completing a Doctorate of Philosophy (PHD).

Above all, Tania is passionate about helping purpose lead businesses move past compliance for compliance sake and see quality as the secret to a sustainable, profitable and successful business that delivers high quality outcomes to its clients. 

Jeremy entered the Insurance industry in 2002 after a successful career in broadcasting. During this time he was involved in not only on air and producing roles, but also management and promotion.

After other roles he & wife Nikki started their own Insurance Advising business in 2011 which now has 3 offices and a team of 7 based on The Mid North Coast and Hunter Region of NSW placing over $6.5Mill in client premiums into the Australian and Global Insurance market.

Jeremy holds a Diploma in Financial Services (Broking) and was a finalist in the 2019 Australian Insurance Industry Awards for Authorised Representative Business of the Year.

He also won the Insurance Advisernet Practice of the year in 2016 and has been a finalist on 4 other occasions. 
Over the years he has worked closely with care providers in both the Aged & Disability sectors providing solutions to meet the ever-evolving environment they operate under.