Grants Advisor & Community Consultant · She/They · Melbourne

Hi. I'm here to help you make a stronger case for the work that matters.

I'm a health promotion professional working across grants, community engagement, social policy and disability inclusion. I've run council grants programs, coordinated projects in the disability sector, shaped policy at the local government level, and facilitated engagement that brings community voices into decisions that affect them. I bring all of that, along with lived experience of the systems you're working to improve.

Let's have a chat →

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"Nothing about us without us is not a request. It is a requirement."

James Charlton, disability rights activist and author

About me

Someone who knows the system. And knows what it's like to navigate it.

I'm Sarah. I'm a health promotion professional, a disability advocate, and someone who lives with disability myself.

I've spent years working inside the community sector: running grants programs at Melbourne councils, coordinating projects in the disability sector, co-designing inclusion initiatives, and helping shape the kind of policies and services that are actually supposed to make people's lives better. I know how these systems work, and I know where they fall short.

I also know what it's like on the other side. I was a young carer for my mum as a teenager, and I'm a carer for my partner now. Caring has taught me things no qualification could: how to advocate when you're running on empty, how to hold all the detail when everything keeps shifting, and what it actually feels like when a system shows up for you. Or doesn't.

I'm queer and neurodivergent, and both shape how I work. Inclusion isn't a checklist to me. It's whether people feel safe, seen and taken seriously.

Just over five years across local government and community sector work.

Sarah Humphrys, on-the-record experience

Health promotion professional across local government and the disability sector, including Brimbank and Moonee Valley City Councils and the Australian Federation of Disability Organisations (AFDO)

IAP2A Certificate of Engagement

NDIS Worker Screening Clearance

Lived experience as a disabled person, carer, and member of the LGBTQIA+ community

PWDA Bursary Recipient, Australia's Disability Strategy National Forum 2024

Grants and funding support

Helping community organisations find and make the case for the funding they need.

I've spent years managing grants programs at council level, which means I know what a strong application looks like from both sides of the table. I work with community organisations, disability services, and NFPs to develop compelling, well-structured grant applications and to build the internal capability to keep doing it well.

Grant opportunity research and eligibility assessment

Application writing and review

Outcome and impact framing

Budget narrative development

Post-grant acquittal and reporting support

Available to community organisations, small NFPs, disability services, and advocacy groups.

Broader consultancy

Systems-level work for organisations building more inclusive practice.

Alongside grants work, I take on a limited number of consultancy engagements with organisations working in the disability, health, and community sectors. This work draws on my background in co-design, social policy, and community engagement, and always starts from a rights-based, person-centred foundation.

Accessibility and Inclusion Audits

A practical review of your programs, services, or communications to identify where barriers exist and how to address them.

Policy and Strategy Advisory

Drawing on direct experience with community safety frameworks, gender impact assessments, and social policy at council level.

Co-design Facilitation

Designing and running genuine co-design processes with disabled people and carers as true partners, not token participants.

Training and Capacity Building

Workshops to help teams move beyond compliance checklists toward embedded inclusive practice.

Enquire directly to discuss scope and availability.

Why this work matters

The professional experience and the personal experience aren't separate things.

As a disabled person

Since my neurodivergent diagnosis, I've understood from the inside what it means to navigate systems that weren't designed with you in mind. That shapes everything about how I work: what I notice, what I push back on, and what I know genuinely helps.

As a carer

Caring for someone with disability gives you a view of the system that no training can replicate. I understand the invisible labour, the advocacy fatigue, and what it means when the support doesn't show up the way it should.

In the policy conversation

In 2024 I was awarded a bursary by People with Disability Australia to attend Australia's Disability Strategy National Forum in Adelaide, engaging with national conversations about how disabled Australians are supported across all levels of government. That context informs everything I do at the local level.

In community spaces

From Rainbow Tick implementation to LGBTQIA+ community reference groups to disability co-design forums, I've helped create spaces where people feel genuinely safe and seen. I bring that same intention to every engagement, big or small.

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How I work

I start by listening. Everything else follows from there.

Whether you're working on a grant application, rethinking a program, or building more inclusive practice, I don't arrive with a fixed approach. I start with a genuine conversation about what you actually need.

A real conversation first

No forms, no jargon. We talk about what you're working towards, what's not landing, and where you'd like things to be stronger.

Build something that fits

Based on what you need, I put together an approach that makes sense: a one-off grant application, a scoped audit or review, or an ongoing advisory relationship.

Stay consistent and communicate clearly

I check in regularly, keep things moving, and let you know if something needs your attention. The goal is that you feel supported, not managed.

Adjust as things change

Priorities change. Funding rounds change. I'm not a fixed service. I'm a working relationship, and what I do should always match where you are.

Licences and certifications

Formally trained, professionally cleared.

La Trobe University

Bachelor of Health Sciences, Health Promotion & Rehabilitation Counselling

2019 – 2023 · Member, Excellence Academy

Engagement Institute

IAP2A Certificate of Engagement

Issued September 2025

Mental Health First Aid International

Mental Health First Aid for Community Settings

Issued January 2025

Service Victoria

NDIS Worker Screening Clearance

Issued October 2023

Background and involvement

Part of the sector conversation, at every level.

NDIS Cleared Worker

PWDA Bursary Recipient 2024

Australia's Disability Strategy Forum

IAP2A Certified Practitioner

YDAS Co-design Contributor

AFDO Project Coordination

Rainbow Tick Implementation

Gender Impact Assessment

Community Safety Policy

Extensive Local Government Experience

Health Promotion

Northern Polyphonic Grants & Community Liaison

Get in touch

No forms. Just a conversation.

Whether you're chasing a grant deadline, planning an audit, or just want to talk through an idea, the first step is the same. Reach out and we'll have a chat.

hello@yourdomain.com.au

Based in Melbourne · Online anywhere in Australia