Partner – Jody Barney

Deaf Indigenous Community Consultant
Business Partner to Rod Catterall & Associates

We are very proud to partner with Jody Barney as a lead trainer in delivering  Disability Cultural Awareness Training (Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander specific and non specific) Australia Wide.

Jody Barney a Birri/Gubba Urangan woman from Far North/ South East Queensland and a proud South Sea Islander woman. She is the one of the leading Aboriginal Disability Trainers in the country and works from the lived experience and 30 plus years of professional training. Currently doing her Post Graduate Degree Educational Leadership with Melbourne University.  Jody has developed her strong connections across the country. Her work as a private consultant, Aboriginal Disability Cultural Safety Trainer and Assessor, professional motivational speaker and recipient of the inaugural 2017 Atlantic Fellows in Social Equity Fellows, 2014 Brenda Gabe Leadership Award and the 2011 Emerging Leader Award for Indigenous Leadership holds her in great esteem.

She was the first Deaf Aboriginal woman to present at local, state, national and international levels on the empowerment of Aboriginal people with disabilities, and she was also actively involved in the various sectors on the improvement and cultural HOW too when working with people with disabilities, their families and kin across the country.

Jody Barney as the leading consultant has worked across Australia and entered over 200 communities, engaged with over 30,000 people in community during her 30 year career and community life. The work done by Jody Barney is done with the utmost cultural respect and protocols that ensure the cultural safety of all community members.

Jody comes with experience in many industries such as Hospitality, Education, Community Services, Justice, Advocacy, Business Management, GLBTI, Cancer Supports, Deaf Services, Interpreting services, Aboriginal Controlled Organisations and various Leadership sectors. Jody has worked to ensure that there is inclusiveness for the communities.

Education Training Qualifications 

  • Post Graduate Degree Educational Leadership, Melbourne University – Current 2018. 
  • Certificate IV Occupational Health and Safety, HBA Learning Centre Melbourne – Year completed: 2016
  • Certificate IV Workplace Training Assessing TAE, HBA Learning Centre Melbourne – Year completed: 2015
  • Bachelor of Applied Management Studies, University of Ballarat – Year completed: 2011
  • Advance Diploma of Applied Management, GOTAFE Shepparton – Year completed:2010
  • Diploma of Youth, Swinburne TAFE – Melbourne – Year completed: 2009
  • Diploma of Cmty Development, Swinburne TAFE – Melbourne – Year completed: 2009
  • Certificate II Indigenous Leadership, Australia Indigenous Leadership Centre- Canberra -Year completed: 2007
  • Diploma of Welfare, GOTAFE- Shepparton – Year completed: 2004
  • Certificate IV Auslan, GOTAFE- Shepparton – Year completed 2004

Professional Experience

  • Inaugural Atlantic Fellow -Atlantic Fellow Social Equity Melbourne University 2017-2018
  • London School of Economics on Deaf and poverty – 2018
  • Atlantic Fellows Gathering – Oxford University 2018
  • Social Inclusion forum – Deaf Indigenous people – NZ 2018
  • National Deaf Conference – 2017
  • Australia Sign Language Interpreters Conference – 2017
  • Deaf Leadership forum – South Africa – 2017
  • National LGBTI Disability Strategy Consultation Workshop – 2017
  • Improving Cancer Outcomes for Aboriginal Communities Working Group -2017
  • Breast Cancer National Summit – 2017
  • National presentation IAHA National Conference – 2017
  • Community Guardian and Independent Third Person training 2013 – 2017
  • National Deaf and Interpreters Conference – 2016
  • NSW Department of Justice Aboriginal Youth Forum – 2016
  • NSW Department of Justice Aboriginal Unit Forum – 2016
  • Royal Commission into Detention and Child Protection in the Northern Territory – 2016
  • Lesbian Women’s Health Conference – 2016
  • Parliamentary Inquiry into Indefinite Detention of People with Cognitive Impairments – 2016
  • Association of Child Welfare Australia – 2016
  • Women with Disability Australia National Forum 2016
  • Melbourne Social Equity Unit- Unfitness to Plead Supporters Training 2016
  • Working within Guardianship laws 2016
  • Auslan Stage Left – Theatre Interpreting 2016
  • Human Rights Family Violence Advocacy 2016
  • Aboriginal Child Safety Conference 2016
  • Equal Opportunity and the Charter for Disability Advocacy 2015
  • ASLIA VIC – Deaf Interpreting Theatre Skills 2015
  • Deaf Mental Health Advocacy 2015
  • Disability Justice Advocacy Award 2015
  • Brenda Gabe Women Leadership Award 2014
  • MURRA Indigenous Business Master Class Program 2014
  • Office of Public Advocates – Managing Difficult Clients – 2014
  • First Aid and CPR upgrade – CBD learning centre – 2014
  • National Summit – Cognitive Impairment of Aboriginal people and justice – 2014
  • FASD and Aboriginal Communities – Managing community response – 2014
  • National Police Check – Current
  • Working with Children Check – Current
  • Community Guardian and Independent Third Person training 2013
  • Emerging Leader- Indigenous Fellowship of Leadership 2010-2011
  • Disability and Law train the trainer-2011
  • Victoria Family Violence Framework training-2010
  • International Deaf Native gathering – study tour Texas USA-2010
  • Governance and lateral violence training-2010
  • Interpreting training – Indigenous sign languages and Indigenous Languages – Linguistics -2010
  • Healing Our World Conference – Violence Against Deaf Women – Hawaii 2009