Michael Bleasdale

Executive Officer, R&IA,

Biography

Michael Bleasdale is the Executive Officer of RIA, after previously serving as one of its directors. Prior to taking on this role Michael has held leadership roles in disability advocacy organisations and peak bodies, including People with Disability Australia and Home Modifications Australia.

Starting out as a direct support worker, Michael co-founded and ran the Australian Disability Network from 1994 to 2001, focused on encouraging new thinking about disability rights and service system paradigms, including the introduction of individual funding. He has taught at the Australian Catholic and Charles Sturt universities, and was the Principal Researcher at the Disability Studies and Research Institute in 2004-2007, from which he conducted an AHURI research project “Supporting the Housing of People with Complex Needs”. Michael has published numerous articles throughout his career and delivered conference papers and workshops internationally, including in the USA, Canada, Sweden, Japan and South Korea.

See all speaker profiles