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Policy call, Think Autism Sydney 2025
Three autistic leaders set different terms for staying at the strategy’s table
In short
Asked at Think Autism Sydney in 2025 for one non negotiable they would put to government, three panellists, among them Sharon Zivkovic and Christina Chun, gave different answers about who should hold power.
Read it instead, 5 minutesThe transcript
The story
“Lived experience must lead.” A panellist gave that answer in four words when Kyriakos Gold, who hosted the session, asked the opening panel of Think Autism Sydney in May 2025 for one non negotiable. Gold had framed the question as a relationship. If the government were a person sitting in front of them, he asked, what would be the one thing they would say, unless you do it, we are breaking up?
The panellist said they did not think systems would change any other way. People with lived experience had to sit within the strategy’s governance frameworks and hold the power to make decisions. Consultation was not enough. Autistic people had to be the ones deciding what would be best for them.
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Sources the story draws on
- National Autism Strategy 2025-2031 (opens in a new tab), Australian Government (health.gov.au)
- National Autism Strategy 2025-2031 Reference Group: Terms of Reference (opens in a new tab), Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing
- National Autism Strategy 2025-31: First year Implementation update (opens in a new tab), Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing
- Support Neurodiverse Researchers: Peer Review Pilot (opens in a new tab), Emerald Publishing (Lucy Threadgold, Peer Review Lead)
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