Accessible Information Forum

Assunta Fogliaro is a skilled information and communications technology and administration professional. She is also an accessibility advocate, para-athlete and community contributor with lived experience of blindness. As a screen reader user, Assunta tests documents and websites for Information Access Group clients to make sure they are accessible for people who use assistive technology.

By combining lived experience with practical knowledge, Assunta aims to influence better design, policy, and decision-making that benefits all audiences – not just those who experience temporary, situational or permanent disability.

Costa Vasili is the founder and CEO of Ethnolink, one of Australia’s largest multicultural communications agencies. He launched Ethnolink in 2011 at the age of 20 as a translation company. Over the past 14 years he has grown it into a fully integrated multicultural communications agency working across research and strategy, creative, translations, and media and engagement.

Costa grew up in the City of Greater Dandenong — one of Australia’s most culturally and linguistically diverse local government areas. He is a second-generation Australian, with his father and grandparents all born in Cyprus. His family’s migration story shaped his lifelong commitment to breaking down language and cultural barriers and creating a more inclusive Australia.

Anthony Lam is the founder of Punchy Studio, an award-winning visual communications agency that creates content designed to drive behaviour change and empower communities.

Over the past 14+ years, the Punchy team has produced more than 1,500 videos for organisations across federal, state and local government, education and the not-for-profit sector.

Punchy specialises in animation, video and accessible content, turning complex topics into clear communication that connects with diverse audiences and drives action.

Michelle Chu works to drive equitable digital access across mobile, web and TV. Her work focuses on inclusive design research that centres the voices of underrepresented communities, making sure they are not overlooked.

Michelle acts as a bridge, translating diverse insights into research-backed design decisions. She believes that accessibility should be a foundational part of the process rather than a final checkbox.

By facilitating regular research with people with diverse access needs, Michelle makes sure that the ABC’s digital products are designed to be usable for everyone. In doing so, the products reflect the real diversity of the Australian community from the very beginning.

Thomas Sluiter has made a career out of listening to people. He helps organisations to become more accessible, by investigating what is important to their users.

To know what advice to give to organisations, Thomas does research to learn:

1. What people do
2. How people experience things
3. What people think and feel about products and services.

He then gives advice on things like:

• What problems need to be solved
• What barriers need to be removed
• And what needs to be improved.

Thomas works as a user researcher for his organisation called As We Are Research and for La Trobe University. Thomas often supports the Information Access Group with user research, to help make the world a more accessible place.

Vassie is an experienced document tester who uses her lived experience of disability and chronic illness to inform her feedback on Easy Read resources for Information Access Group clients.

She is passionate about educating others on hidden disabilities and has been asked to speak at multiple events about living with a chronic health condition. Vassie’s first experience of public speaking was at the age of 12 when she presented to a state-wide conference about Turners Syndrome.

Vassie has completed university studies in youth work and held volunteer board positions with the Genetic Support Network of Victoria and Youth Disability Advisory Service. She has also worked with a Chronic Illness Peer Support Reference Group.

Naomi Benites is the acting Director Implementation of Australia’s Disability Strategy, leading cross‑government engagement to deliver outcomes that matter to people with disability. With a background spanning education leadership and social policy, she specialises in stakeholder partnerships, evidence‑based evaluation, and strategic policy design.

Naomi has facilitated complex, multi‑sector workshops and established national governance forums, translating research into practical initiatives that drive continuous improvement. In response to the Disability Royal Commission she is currently responsible for developing an associated plan on Accessible Information and Communication. This will make sure reforms are accessible, actionable and aligned with disability community and whole‑of‑government priorities.

Her education career underpins her commitment to accessible information and communication, with deep experience designing learning environments that meet diverse cognitive, cultural and communication needs. This foundation strengthens her focus on disability inclusion and her ability to translate complex policy into clear, user‑centred content for diverse communities. She is fluent in Spanish and holds degrees in International Relations and Education.

Kathy McEwan has worked in roles across disability, health, youth and families and child protection. This has been in both the government and not-for-profit sectors. She has worked in senior management roles with a focus on policy, quality, and governance.

Kathy has worked in the National Disability Insurance Agency for almost 10 years. Her current role is managing the secretariat for the Independent Advisory Council.

It’s important to Kathy to:

• see and meet people where they are
• build people’s capacity
• always look for how things can be done differently and better.