As a person living with a non-visible disability, I have had to navigate the workplace and business world, relying on employers, colleagues and clients for support to enable me to maintain employment. I left salaried and contract employment in 2021. I am now sharing the challenges I encountered to support persons with disabilities and work with busineses to help them understand that providing support to members of their workforce with disabilities is more likely to create an equitable workplace for all employees. I bring a unique perspective through my lived experience and empathetic approach.
The Name
On a road trip through the United States, my partner, Chris, and I stopped at Death Valley, California to view the vast salt flats of the Badwater Basin. I had secretly been planning to propose marriage at our next stop, the Grand Canyon. However, it occurred to me that Death Valley could be an unusual and memorable place to propose. Chris accepted, and we chose the name "Badwater" following our marriage in 2019. For information about the Badwater Basin, tap or click the button in the image above.
Location
After returning to Australia we lived in Ballarat before moving to Brisbane, Townsville, Melbourne, Brisbane (again) and Bathurst. Last year we moved to the Northern Rivers area of New South Wales and consider this to be our forever home. The relaxed lifestyle suits me and technology enables me to work from home and provide services online.
The Business
I started my freelance career in 2006, operating as John Hassett and Associates Ltd., delivering consultancy and project management services to the National Health Service (NHS) in the rural county of Dorset, England. After returning to Australia, I obtained an ABN and registered for GST. I established my business as a sole trader entity in my name, which changed to Badwater in 2019. In addition to providing freelance services, I have worked in both salaried and contract positions.
Transition from salaried to independent worker
After many years of salaried positions, contract work and consulting, I left the workforce to focus on providing disability employment services and delivering presentations of my journey with disability to a broad range of audiences. This came after roles that involved community engagement and time as a volunteer crisis counsellor. I continue this work through professional networking and public engagement events.
Education and Training
I qualified as an accountant in the UK and have since undertaken studies in the fields of psychology and sociology at Monash University. I hold a Certificate in Social Sciences from the UK Open University.
Additional learnings include Prince2 project management and CRISP-DM data mining. While working in Alice Springs I completed training for Closing The Gap, Cultural Awareness and Cultural Safety provided by the RACGP at the Centre for Remote Health. I am an alumni of the Social Impact Hub Fellowship program.
I am a certified NDIS worker. Certificates can be viewed on the NDIS Important Information page.
Industry Experience
Expertise
Locations Worked
Australia
United Kingdom and Continental Europe
Current Location
Visual Communication
Teams
Zoom
FaceTime
Halaxy
Client-preferred applications