AssistU Care and Support Services

03/02/2026

Hello everyone, and welcome to 2026!

We know we’ve been a little quiet lately, but we’ve been busy behind the scenes planning some exciting things for the year ahead and of course enjoying the beautiful Ballarat weather while it lasts ☀️

We’re also excited to share that we have a brand new Support Coordinator who has recently joined our team! She’s currently settling in and getting to know how AssistU works. Keep an eye out for an upcoming post where we’ll introduce her properly!

Over summer, our directors have been recharging too:

☕ Abigail has been focusing on Pilates, family time, wedding prep, mini dachshund walks, and maybe one too many iced lattes around Ballarat’s cafés 💍🐾

🏕️ Sally has been off on some Tamworth camping adventures, catching up with friends, supporting the team, and staying committed to the gym and her steps 💪☀️

🌿 Bridie is also in wedding prep mode, enjoying big walks around the lake, family time, good food and coffee and getting organised for a busy year ahead ✨

📸 And of course, our Support Workers have been out and about making the most of summer with participants on school holidays creating great memories and enjoying some sunshine adventures!

🛍️ Visiting local markets
🍦 Trying out the newest gelato hot spots
🏊 Heading to the pools to cool off
🥪 Enjoying some very yummy sandwiches along the way

Have a scroll through the photos below 👇😄💙

Thank you for your ongoing support and we can’t wait for what 2026 has in store!

28/12/2025

As we take some time to recharge after a jam packed year and reflect on what has been a massive 2025, we just want to say thank you.

2025 has been a year of incredible growth for AssistU Care and Support Services. Welcoming lots of amazing new support workers, a few support coordinators, student placements, and growing so much that the office is getting a little squishy 😄

Along the way, we’ve said hello to many new faces, and also goodbye to some who have been part of our journey, each of you has played a role in shaping who we are today, and we are truly grateful.

This year we’ve celebrated many special days, attended countless networking events, shared many coffees, proudly sponsored fantastic awards across the Ballarat community, and even shared our message of trauma informed care with whoever we met along the way.

In the midst of it all, we also reached a huge milestone- 1,000 followers 🎉 Thank you for being part of our growing online community.

Be sure to check out our annual ugly Christmas sweater with Santa photo and also our Christmas Party 🎅🎄 better late than never!

We can’t wait to come back bigger and better next year as we head into a big 2026!

with gratitude,
Abigail, Sally and Bridie xx

16/12/2025

💙 AssistU Out in the Community 💙

This year, the City of Ballarat held the Ballarat International Day of People with Disability Awards Ceremony recognizing people living with disability, carers, leaders, advocates, and allies who champion disability access and inclusion in our community.

This incredible event was hosted by the City of Ballarat, the Ballarat Working Together Group, the Victorian Government, LaTrobe Community Health, VHCC and Sports Central, a true community effort celebrating inclusion, strength, and connection.

We were honoured to be given the opportunity to sponsor the Accessible Sports Award, and even more honoured to be able to present the award on the day with a speech and voucher to the lucky winner.

🏆 A huge congratulations to the winner which was the Ballarat Bulldogs Football and Netball Club! Your commitment to accessible and inclusive sport is truly inspiring.

The celebrations continued with the All Abilities Afternoon. This event welcomed everyone, this be people living with disability and/or access needs, carers, families, and anyone wanting to try inclusive and accessible programs such as dance, sports and activities sessions.

We then spent the beautiful sunny afternoon chatting with members of the community about our services, how we support people, and what makes AssistU different. Connecting with people face to face is always a highlight for us.

It was a wonderful celebration of inclusion, strength, and community!!

11/12/2025

💙 Big News & Big Updates at AssistU! 💙

We are SO excited to share that AssistU Care & Support Services is now officially a Registered NDIS Provider!

When the confirmation came through, it was a huge mix of relief, pride, and pure excitement. Achieving this in just our second year of business is something we’re incredibly proud of and it reflects the hard work of our team and the amazing support from our community and participants.

To think this all started around a kitchen table, an idea, and some coloured textas. So many early meetings were had all across Ballarat (please enjoy the photo of us in early 2023 having a quick catch-up deciding what bank to go with 😂). And now… here we are: a registered provider, an ever-growing team, and an office we are very quickly growing out of!

Alongside this milestone, we’ve also been refreshing our website to make everything easier to find and navigate. Here’s what’s new and what’s coming soon… 👀

🌿 Trauma-Informed Practice page — coming soon…
📘 Training Page — coming soon…
🧒❤️ Child Safe Declaration and Acknowledgement of Country
🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Expanded Support Worker Profiles — coming soon… still being finalised!
✨ Plus a few extra bits and bobs to help make your experience smoother and clearer when making a referral!

Our Directors also came together to review our mission and values to ensure they truly reflect our ever growing business, team, and commitment to high-quality, person-centered care.

Check out the updated site here and keep an eye out for what’s next: www.assistucss.com.au

And yes… we colour matched again in today’s photo without even trying. It’s becoming our signature move. 😆💁‍♀️✨

09/12/2025

🌟 Thank You, Ballarat! 🌟

What an incredible Ballarat Disability Expo! After months of planning (and many coffees later), we welcomed 40+ businesses and providers to the North Ballarat Sports Club for a day of networking, job seeking, and community connection.

Our goal was to involve locals and reach as many people as possible- carers, support workers, independent workers, therapists, participants, case managers, job seekers or even people trying to navigate the NDIS world and have burning questions!

We wanted a space where everyone could discover what Ballarat and surrounds has to offer and to connect them with high-quality, supportive services. We truly believe we achieved that, and we hope many connections were made!

Huge thank you to everyone that walked through the doors and were greeted by our AssistU staff and Volunteer, the providers and businesses that made it that day to set up, to our food and coffee vans for keeping everyone fuelled, and to Power FM for the fantastic live broadcast and interviews.

We’ve been asked many times about a 2026 expo…
Do we host another one? Let us know down below! 💙✨

24/11/2025

AssistU Care and Support Services has a new position for a Support Coordinator. If you have experience as a Support Coordinator, OoHC or Community Services check out the positions on seek.

Minimum 12 months experience as a Support Coordinator OR experience in Out-of-Home Care, case management, or similar community services

06/11/2025

🎉 WE ARE OFFICIALLY SOLD OUT FOR STALLHOLDERS! 🎉

All stallholder spots for the Ballarat Disability Expo have now been snapped up- thank you to all the amazing providers who’ve come on board!

It’s shaping up to be a big day, and we can’t thank everyone enough for supporting this incredible Ballarat community event!

But don’t worry! FREE general admission tickets are still open! 🎟️
👉 Click here to secure your free tickets now

Come join us for a day celebrating inclusion, connection, and community support at the Ballarat Disability Expo, hosted by AssistU Care and Support Services.

Don’t miss this opportunity to learn, connect, and be inspired -we can’t wait to see you there!

24/10/2025

✨ October Photo Dump ✨
It’s been a jam-packed month at AssistU, so let’s see what we’ve been up to!

💐 Abigail and Bridie attended the Ladies Day Lunch thanks to PowerFM - and yes, Abigail loves a pose (obviously 😉).
🚗 You might spot one of our newly branded AssistU cars zooming around Ballarat, thanks to SmartPix for an amazing job!!
🥞 We attended the Ballarat Farmers Market - complete with crepes (brown sugar and butter, of course!).
🎉 Our staff social night at Drag Bingo was full of laughs, three winners at our table, and they all got to shout out “BINGO!” loud and proud!
🍪 Sweet treats from Naomi and I - which disappeared very quickly!
💡 We attended Commerce Ballarat’s NextGen Collective: NextSteps – The Power of High Performing Teams, featuring the owner of The Turret Café as guest speaker.
🎓 Our support workers have been taking part in training sessions to expand their skills and knowledge.
🌆 Plus, a few Melbourne adventures to Grazeland and Imaginator to round out the month!

What a month it’s been - full of learning, connection, and plenty of fun along the way

Stay tuned - we’ve got some big news coming for AssistU in the next few weeks! 👀(We just need to actually catch the directors for a photo first! 📸😂)

08/10/2025

✨ Ready, Set, Connect! ✨

Today the AssistU Care & Support Services team had an absolute blast at the Ready Set Connect event, which can best be described as speed dating for providers!

Abigail and Sally were on the “outside” of the tables, meeting a whole lineup of amazing people- from local service providers and independent support coordinators, support workers to school reps and even some parents! Meanwhile, both Jordans were on the “inside,” listening to what the other businesses had to offer and learning about the incredible work happening across the sector.

We had just five minutes each round to share what AssistU is all about before the bell rang and everyone rotated and fun fact, Abigail even got selected to ring the bell! 🔔 She said it felt like a total blast from Sovereign Hill!

It was fast-paced, energising, and such a great opportunity to connect with others who are just as passionate about supporting our community.

(Also… we’re officially calling Abigail out for not posting enough on Facebook, so here’s a cute photo of some of our team from today to make up for it! 📸)

You might spot a new face in the photo- keep your eyes peeled because we’ll be introducing our newest team member next week!

www.assistucss.com.au

25/09/2025

🏉✨ AssistU Footy Colour's Day! ✨🏉

At AssistU, we love spending time together and having our team come together in the office to share some fun. Today was all about footy spirit- we rocked our colours, chatted about our favourite teams, and put our knowledge to the test with some trivia to see who the true supporters are!

Of course, no celebration is complete without food – pizzas, party food, and plenty of glazed donuts (Abigail & Jordan’s fave office snack 🍩).

And judging by the way we’re standing in our photo… you’d think we just won the grand final! 🏆😂

Such a great day filled with laughs, colours, and footy pride! 💙💛❤️

11/09/2025

At AssistU, we always try to create a positive space where our team can chat and connect.
Today we sat around our round table & therapeutic pod with cupcakes 🧁 and conversations - reflecting on how this day began back in 2009, and why it matters to keep asking “R U OK?” every day.

You don’t need to be an expert - just a good friend and a great listener. Here’s how we can all make a difference:
👉 Ask R U OK?
👉 Listen without rushing or judgment
👉 Encourage action - even small steps count
👉 Check in again - because care doesn’t end with one chat

A simple conversation can change a life.

ruok.org.au

08/09/2025

🌟 AssistU in the Community! 🌟

About 12 months ago, AssistU started to attend School Engagement Program after being approached at a BGT Expo. Since then, Abigail has been busy visiting local high schools across Ballarat, practicing her public speaking skills (watch out TED Talks), taking part in:

✅ Real Talk Career Panels - sharing her journey from high school, training and education paths to now co-owning AssistU and what her day looks like from meetings, to shifts to networking events.
✅ Mock Interviews – giving students the chance to experience a “real” interview setting, practice answering tough questions, learn what employers are looking for, and get personalized feedback to help them shine with confidence in the future.

Most recently, Abigail spoke at alongside a fantastic group of people with diverse knowledge and career backgrounds. Proving there's more then one way to build a career (and no, nobody's career path is ever a straight line).

We’re proud to be part of a program that helps young people build real-world skills and confidence for life after school. ✨