Hireup’s Laura O’Reilly: How Technology Plays A Role To Support Care Workers

Hireup, Australia’s largest NDIS-registered platform, with over 10,000 employed, trained and verified support workers, gives people with disability the power to hire and manage their own support workers. The platform stands out from other service-based sites because it directly employs its support workers. Here, we talk to Hireup’s co-founder Laura O’Reilly about how technology has been crucial in helping Hireup to scale access for both support workers and clients. 

“Growing up, my brother Jordan and I saw firsthand how difficult it was for Australians living with disability to find the right support workers who shared their interests and were a good match. Our brother, Shane, had cerebral palsy and relied on support in his day-to-day life, but getting access to that support was challenging and inconsistent for Shane, which was disempowering and frustrating for the whole family.

We realised that access to high-quality support workers is a critical ingredient in enabling people living with a disability to thrive and live a good life. So, my brother Jordan and I decided to create Hireup to take the middleman – the agency – out of the picture and enable people with disability to directly find and hire the support workers who were right for them. Our vision was to let the person living with a disability directly build a relationship with a person they choose, and allow them to be in control of that relationship. It was that simple. From its humble beginnings in 2015, Hireup is now a for-profit, for-purpose company, and its growth can be attributed to our use of technology to provide greater access and impact at scale. 

To those not in the sector, enabling people to choose their own support workers might sound insignificant, but to people who understand the way the disability sector has worked for decades and continues to work, it is a profound shift. In fact, it’s a game-changer.

Hireup is one organisation which is leading the charge in terms of genuinely moving power into people with disability’s hands, and the technology we use means we can do it at scale. It’s saying, ‘This is what services can look like if we think a bit differently and trust people with disability to make the best decisions for their own lives.’ It is a real opportunity to genuinely effect transformational change in terms of where power sits and how support is delivered. People living with a disability want access to meaningful opportunities and services of their choosing.

At Hireup, we are harnessing technology to provide people with disability with greater choice and control in how they find, hire and manage their own support workers. From help around the house to support with education and employment, people seeking support can choose the best support workers who fit their needs and share their interests. The platform uses a system that matches people not just on qualifications, but on shared interests – because connection is key when it comes to support.”

Hireup has more than 10,000 NDIS-registered users in Australia. Having access to vetted, qualified, and hired support staff helps those with disabilities to live more independently. The fact that the platform directly hires its support staff sets it apart from other service-based websites.

To those not in the sector, enabling people to choose their own support workers might sound insignificant, but to people who understand the way the disability sector has worked for decades and continues to work, it is a profound shift. In fact, it’s a game-changer.

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