Pinarc Disability Support 1800-746-272

20/10/2026

Our friends at Lifely are hosting a free event especially for new carers, featuring our own Parent Support Program Coordinator, Bec, along with a number of other professionals who can help you navigate this journey. Details below:

💛 When you’re busy finding support for your child, it’s easy to overlook the help available to you.

Rebecca Paton, Parent Support Program Coordinator at Pinarc Disability Support, will share information about services for new carers, parents and families of young children, including free government-funded support.

Young Families to New Carers: Juggling a diagnosis, early support and family life
📅 Wednesday 28 October, 5–7 pm
📍 The Goods Shed, 200 Lydiard Street North, Soldiers Hill

Families of children with disability, autism, developmental delay or other neurodivergence are welcome, including those still seeking a diagnosis.

You’ll also hear from:
💬 Siddhi Pathak - Behaviour Support Practitioner and Counsellor, Ararat Wellness
💬 Chris Lakey - Lifely Community Engagement Team Leader
💬 Stephanie Van Velzen - Owner and Occupational Therapist, Uplift Therapy

There’ll be time to ask questions, meet local services and connect with other families who understand.

👨‍👩‍👧 Bring your child or loved one along. We’ll have one paid Lifely support worker on site providing general supervision, so you can concentrate on the session. Please include any supervision needs when registering.

🍽️ The event is free, and so is the food!

👉 Register via this link: https://lifely.org.au/events/ballarat-young-families-to-new-carers/

Come along to find out what’s available, where to start and who to contact.

Know a parent or carer who might benefit? Share this with them or invite them along. 💛

20/10/2026

Pinarc Melton has opened their waitlist up for a small number of early intervention Speech Pathology services for children aged 0 to9 years.

We offer a coaching based model of therapy which supports family members involvement in all aspects of therapy to help them develop their own skills to be able to support their child to work on their communication skills outside of direct therapy services.

Please visit our website and complete our easy self-referral form or call us on 1800 746 272 to discuss your speech pathology needs.

Pinarc Disability Support is a registered NDIS provider that offers disability support. We offer therapy services across the Ballarat & Melton regions.

18/10/2026

This week is Invisible Disabilities Awareness Week, a valuable opportunity to remember that not every disability is obvious or visible. Thousands of diagnoses are considered invisible disabilities, including, but not limited to, ADHD, Autism, Acquired Brain Injury, Anxiety Disorders, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, COPD, Dementia, Diabetes, Epilepsy, Fibromyalgia, Hearing Impairment, Parkinsons, PoTS, PTSD, Ulcerative Colitis, and Vision Impairment.

Hidden or invisible disabilities are diverse, and each person’s access requirements are different. Although a disability may not be visible, it can still create barriers to taking part in everyday life. The more we understand, the better we can support accessibility for everyone. Taking the time to listen with care and to believe people when they share their experiences of invisible disability can make a meaningful difference.

Information and resources for people with ‘invisible’ or ‘hidden’ disabilities is available through many organisations including:
Invisible Disabilities Association https://invisibledisabilities.org/
Hidden Disabilities https://hdsunflower.com/au/
Invisible Disabilities Australia https://www.invisibledisabilities.com.au/




Image description: Graphic tile with a teal background and the heading “Can you spot the person with a disability”, followed by a photo of a group of people, with the words “Not all disabilities are visible!”.

16/10/2026

On Wednesday Rebecca, our Parent Support Program Coordinator, had the amazing opportunity to accompany representatives from some of our Pinarc Carer Groups to attend the National Carers Week afternoon tea hosted by Carers Victoria.

It was a great chance to meet with other carers and carer support providers, and to talk to decision makers about the challenges faced by parent-carers of children and young adults with disabilities, including Minister for Youth & Minister for Carers and Volunteers Luba Grigorovitch (pictured with Bec).

15/10/2026

It was great to be part of yesterday's Ballarat Community Disability Expo and see so many local businesses and service providers coming together!

A fantastic opportunity to reconnect with familiar faces, meet new people and learn more about the great work happening across our local community.

Thanks to everyone who stopped by for a chat!



Image description: Three photos featuring Pinarc staff at the Ballarat Community Disability Expo.

14/10/2026

At Pinarc we appreciate our fantastic team of allied health professionals every day, and we especially celebrate them today on 14 October – Allied Health Professions Day!

Our allied health team consists of Occupational Therapists, Speech Pathologists, and Physiotherapists, supported by Allied Health Therapy Assistants and an Educational Advisor. They work together in a transdisciplinary model, embracing the key worker ethos, supporting our customers to strive towards their goals and live their lives to the fullest.

Thank you to our allied health professionals for the difference you make every day!






Image description: A graphic tile with the heading ALLIED HEALTH: FOR EVERYONE, EVERYWHERE featuring a photo of some of Pinarc’s allied health professionals standing outside our Lucas clinic.

13/10/2026

Our parent carers are enjoying many different activities being hosted during Carers Week!

So far our carers have participated in:
🍿 Support for Carers movie event - Shaun the Sheep
🍝 Ballarat Down Syndrome Parent Connection Lunch at Lakeview Hotel
🧎‍♀️ Bacchus Marsh Disability Parent Connection Group Tai Chi & Tea
⚡️ Ballarat Parent Carer Connect Laserforce adventure

And there is still more fun activities to come over the next few days!

If you are an Ararat-based carer, we still have a few places left for our Friday Canvas and Cake session to be held at the Ararat Senior Citizens Community Centre at 1pm - please get in contact with us to reserve a spot on 1800 746 272 or [email protected]

We sincerely appreciate the support received from Carers Victoria and Support for Carers program to make these events possible.

Image description: Three photos of parent-carers enjoying a range of different activities during Carers Week 2026

11/10/2026

This week is National Carers Week and it is a good time to reflect on the important role that unpaid carers make in our community.

At Pinarc we support parent and guardian carers of people with disability by providing opportunities to share experiences, form friendships, hear about local services and gain information about a variety of topics related to caring.

Many of these services and groups are facilitated by our dedicated Parent Support Program Coordinator Rebecca Paton, who, with her lived experience, is a passionate advocate for parent-carers. Bec also publishes a monthly newsletter filled with the latest information and links to support initiatives that can help carers.

If you would like more information on our Parent Carer Support program please reach out to Bec on [email protected] or give her a call on 1800 746 272

08/10/2026

It was great to pop into our Golden Point campus yesterday and join in the fun of bingo and trivia! The crew all enjoy engaging in these fun games together, with just a little bit of friendly competition!

07/10/2026

We are delighted to invite all our clients, their families and carers, our friends and colleagues to join us at our 2026 AGM.

This will be held online at 4pm on Wednesday, 28 October 2026.

Registration is essential and can be done via this link:
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Image Description: A graphic tile with a photo of Pinarc Occupational Therapist Fakhir during a therapy session with a young client wearing a pink top.