COO mid-year update

We are fast approaching the middle of the year, and it has already been a big one at cape—with plenty of activity, growth, and opportunity still ahead. It has been wonderful to see so much happening across our teams, and there is a real sense of momentum as we head into the second half of 2026.

One of the biggest stories for 2026 is the exciting news that Monkami and the Nepean Centre will be joining cape in July. This is a significant milestone for our organisation and an exciting step forward as we continue to grow together.

I have been incredibly impressed by some of the initiatives already underway in centre-based supports at Monkami, and I am looking forward to seeing their team join forces with our day programs. Together, we have a wonderful opportunity to create even more innovative and transformational community-based supports for participants.

In the second half of the year, we will also begin building new supports in respite and children’s services at the Nepean Centre. This work will sit with our Community Living team, alongside three additional SIL houses that will also join cape through the Monkami merger.

cape continues to grow its café network, with our latest addition—the Mont Albert Station Heritage Building café—opening in March. It has been fantastic to see our café operations expand, with both the Hume Global Learning Centre café and Mont Albert Station café launching in quick succession. Alongside these new community-based cafés, we have also transitioned Rookies to supported employment and realigned the coordination of all café operations under cape solutions.

Over the coming months, the team will continue refining our café operating models to make sure every café environment—including Rookies and the Belfast Street canteen—offers meaningful supported employment opportunities and clear pathways to open employment for people building a career in hospitality.

In other cape solutions news, it has been fantastic to see supported employees stepping into admin and reception roles at both Belfast Street and Rooks Road during the first half of the year. These opportunities are a great example of what can be achieved when people are supported to grow their skills and confidence in new environments.

I was also delighted to see supported employee James secure open employment with our commercial customer GAP Distributors Pty Ltd. Congratulations to James on this wonderful achievement, and to Aimee Burton for her leadership in helping make this opportunity possible.

Over the coming months, we will also begin introducing labour hire opportunities within supported employment. This is an exciting development that will allow cape to broaden the sectors and roles we can offer, while creating more community-based employment opportunities and stronger pathways between supported and open employment.

My Life, My Future has officially commenced in the North, with three new participants joining cape in February. The program is now running three days per week providing structured support and skill-building opportunities as participants work toward their goals. We are thrilled to see the program taking shape and look forward to welcoming more participants as our vocational programs continue to grow in the north.

Our community team has made the difficult decision to pause My Social activities while a review of the program is undertaken. This follows a decline in participant numbers, largely driven by reduced core supports in people’s plans, which has affected access to social activities. We know how important social participation is and how much participants value opportunities to connect and build friendships. With that in mind, we are exploring new and creative ways to offer social and recreational opportunities within the current environment. As always, if you have ideas you would love to see brought to life, please share them—we would love to hear from you.

If I had to choose one highlight from 2026 so far, it would be the April board meeting attended by two cape participants and supported employees, Jake and Anthony. It was a fantastic opportunity for Jake and Anthony to share their achievements with the Board and talk about what they enjoy at cape, as well as what else we can do to support participants. They also joined our directors for dinner and some meaningful conversation, which was greatly valued by everyone involved. Ensuring participant voice is heard across cape is vitally important, and this was a wonderful example of our Board’s commitment to the people we support.

I would also like to acknowledge the recent volunteering efforts of staff who took part in working bees at our Outreach properties at Dunlavin and Tennyson Street. The generosity shown by staff, family and friends has made a real difference to these homes and gardens. Thank you to everyone who contributed their time and energy.

Bethany Newman
Chief Operations Officer