The RYLA effect

A week-long RYLA retreat in Sydney was the catalyst that sparked Jordan O’Reilly’s resolve to transform disability support across Australia.

Early in 2012, Jordan O’Reilly arrived at Narrabeen on Sydney’s Northern Beaches for the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA), an intensive week-long program.

At the time, he was working on an idea for a new charity to support young Australians with a disability. His inspiration was his brother, Shane, who is 18 months younger and has cerebral palsy.

“I lacked self-belief and confidence in my ability,” Jordan says.

A week later he emerged from RYLA with the belief he could make a difference.

“It was transformative. It gave me my first leadership training and a lifelong network.

“On the final night I received the Excellence in Communication Award, the first award I had ever won! I left determined to make a difference.”

Soon after he co-founded Fighting Chance, which now supports more than 1,200 young adults with disability across Australia.

He also created Hireup, Australia’s largest and most trusted NDIS registered online platform for disability support.

Hireup has employed more than 40,000 support workers, facilitated more than 20,000,000 hours of support and saved participants over $165 million in fees, which is directly reinvested into their support needs.

“While I am proud of what we have achieved, I believe Australia now faces a defining moment in disability policy,” Jordan says.

“The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) supports over 700,000 Australians with a disability and costs more than $50 billion annually.

“It is a landmark reform but faces urgent challenges. The next decade will decide its future.”

Jordan has been awarded a Churchill Scholarship to study digital transformation in government and is hoping to enrol in a Master’s in Public Administration at Harvard, US, later this year.

“This will give me the skills, networks and policy expertise to contribute,” he says. “I want to help ensure the NDIS delivers lasting benefits for generations to come.

RYLA taught me that passionate local people can have an extraordinary impact and that service to others is the highest calling.

“With Rotary’s support again, I hope to take the next most important step in my career – strengthening the NDIS and improving the lives of Australians with disability and their caregivers.”

Jordan was awarded a Queen Elizabeth II’s Young Leaders’ Award in 2017 and an OAM in 2023 for services to the disability community.