Late To The Party - a podcast on Autism, AuDHD and Neurodivergence

Implementing Life & Work: A Conversation with Jodie Herbert

Jodie Herbert · September 30, 2026

Leadership · Executive Coach · Life Coachin

Interview with Jodie Herbert

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Podcast: Late To The Party - a podcast on Autism, AuDHD and Neurodivergence

September 30, 2026 · 1 hr 6 min

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Implementing Life & Work: A Conversation with Jodie Herbert

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Key topicsAustralia's new disability reforms could reshape far more than the NDISThe proposed changes to Australia's National Disability Insurance Scheme are often discussed as a government funding issue, but their impact reaches families, employers, small businesses and the wider economy. After producing a 113-page Senate submission analysing the reforms, Jodie explains why reducing disability supports risks creating far greater economic and social costs than many policymakers recognise. This conversation offers Australian audiences a practical understanding of what's changing, who will be affected, and why the consequences extend well beyond the disability sector. What paid work can look like with significant autismInclusive employment audiences often talk about disability inclusion without getting specific about people with very high support needs. Jodie's 21-year-old son, who is ASD level 3 and part of a family context that includes non-verbal autism, epilepsy, and alexia, now works 16 hours a week and is paid award wages through an employment model she developed. That example opens a grounded conversation about what has to be designed differently when the goal is real paid work, not token participation. The future of HR belongs to employers who design work for real peopleTraditional HR practices were built around the idea that everyone works, learns and communicates in the same way, but today's workforce is more diverse than ever. Jodie introduces the concept of closing the "implementation gap"—the space between good intentions, workplace policies and the reality employees experience every day. She explains how applying practical systems, clear communication and implementation science allows organisations to unlock talent that is too often overlooked. View all topics →

About Jodie Herbert

Data-Driven Disability Advocacy & Inclusive Employment Consultant

113 pages Evidence-based NDIS submission to the Australian Senate21 years Executive-function barriers and advocacy experienceFounder Ability Pathways Australia20+ years Market analytics experience

Jodie Herbert is a disability and neurodiversity advocate, workplace inclusion strategist and founder of Ability Pathways Australia, helping organisations, carers and people with disability bridge the gap between policy, intention and real-life implementation. After more than two decades in market analytics, Jodie combines her professional expertise with a lifetime of lived experience as a carer, including supporting family members with complex disabilities, to develop practical solutions that help people thrive at work and in everyday life.

Known for combining compassion with rigorous analysis, Jodie does not rely on opinions alone. She has produced detailed evidence-based reports that have contributed to national disability funding discussions, including a 113-page submission to the Australian Senate examining the economic and human impact of proposed National Disability Insurance Scheme reforms. Her work focuses on turning complex challenges into practical systems that organisations, leaders, managers and support networks can realistically implement and sustain.

Central to Jodie’s work is The Implementation Gap: the often-overlooked space between what has been promised, planned or agreed and what is required to make it work in practice. Informed by Implementation Science, she examines the less visible conditions that determine whether workplace policies, inclusion strategies and reasonable adjustments succeed or fail during delivery.

Jodie is a public voice on autism, neurodiversity and support pathways for people with significant disabilities.

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About this episode

In this episode, I’m joined byJodie Herbert, a neurodiversity mentor, lifelong carer, disability advocate, and the founder of Ability Pathways. Jodie has one of those rare brains that can take chaos, complexity, and bureaucratic nonsense and turn it into actual support, actual progress, and actual hope. She’s spent decades navigating disability from every angle: as a parent, a partner, a carer, and now as someone helping adults and the invisible labour neurodivergent people carry every day.

And because I can’t help myself… I also dive into my own past. While digging through old family documents for Ancestry, I found my high‑school report cards, those 80's classics where teachers wrote things so blunt they could strip paint. I read out some of the worst ones on the show. If you’ve ever been called lazy, unfocused, or “destined for ruin,” this episode is for you.

If you enjoy the podcast and want to help me keep it going, please consider supporting me on Patreon. It’s literally the price of a cuppa a month, and it means the world, helping me cover hosting, equipment, and the time it takes to make these conversations happen.

Ability Pathways Australia (official site) https://abilitypathways.au

#Neurodiversity #ActuallyAutistic #LateDiagnosedAutistic #AutismAcceptance #Neurospicy #ADHDAwareness #InvisibleDisability #WorkplaceInclusion #ExecutiveFunction #NDInTheWorkplace #AccessibilityMatters #SupportThatWorks #NDIS #NDISAustralia #LateToThePartyPodcast #AutismPodcast #NDStories #RealTalkND #PodcastLife #AustralianPodcasts #80sSchoolSurvivor #ReportCardRoast #TheyWereWrong #NeurodivergentKidsGrowUp #MisunderstoodAndThriving #SupportIndependentPodcasts #PriceOfACuppa #PatreonCreator

Guest: Jodie Herbert

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