I grew up in remote NSW and thoroughly enjoy living, working and raising a family in Gunnedah.

Since 2005 I have worked in rural NSW in a variety of roles including mental health, community health and inpatient acute wards. Prior to becoming an OT I worked in a variety of roles with adults with disabilities and have worked as an OT in the Gunnedah area for 10 years.

I have been working privately as an OT and Case manager with iCare, CTP and NDIS since 2011.

I am a approved Case Manager with iCare (lifetime care and workers care), a member of Occupational Therapy Australia and registered with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency.

Rachael grew up on a family farm near Ashford in northern NSW. Rachael lives in Gunnedah, with a background as a Dietitian and small business experience, in rural and remote areas of NSW and QLD.

I currently live in Gunnedah with my amazing fiancé and our beautiful daughter.

My administrative background has come from my time as Office Manager to a local Manufacturing and Irrigation business.

I look forward to assisting the team at Focus on Function to support our remarkable participants across the wider community.

I grew up in Gunnedah and love the rural lifestyle. Gunnedah is now home for my husband and our 2 children.

With a background in hairdressing, a few years ago I made the switch to an administration role and now loving the opportunity to bring those skills to be Customer Support Officer.

I grew up in Sydney and in 2003 left for a life in rural NSW. I currently live in Tamworth and prior to that lived in a lovely little place called Warialda, the place of wild honey.

I have been lucky enough to work in many of our rural communities since 2003 including in Moree, Inverell, Bingara and Warialda and all the smaller towns in between. I am also an Associate Lecturer for the University of Newcastle, Department of Rural Health supporting the clinical training our next generations of Occupational Therapists for rural practice.

I’m originally a Queenslander (don’t hold it against me) who grew up in rural Queensland and studied in Brisbane.

I am lucky to have been able to work rurally for the majority of my career, from Mount Isa and the wild west of Queensland to Sunny Gunny (and many places in between). I love living on my small slice of paradise just outside of Gunnedah.

I am an approved iCare Case Manager and enjoy the variety of OT and Case Management work.

Originally from a property east of Guyra, I recently relocated to the Gunnedah region. I completed a Bachelor of Occupational Therapy (Honours) at the University of Newcastle in 2019.

Since this time, I gained experience in the hospital setting, particularly in rehabilitation, working alongside patients to achieve their daily living goals where I developed an interest in neurological upper limb retraining undertaking Stroke Ed workshops.

Originally from South Africa, I moved to Australia with my family in 1997. After finishing high school, I completed a Bachelor of Occupational Therapy at the University of Newcastle. My final university placement took me out to regional NSW, and I ended up spending my new graduate year servicing a 5-hour radius of Dubbo. After a year in Dubbo, I moved to Wollongong and enjoyed a wonderful 8 years working for a home modification service. This is where I developed a keen interest in and love for home modifications. I love working with clients to achieve their goals and the tangible impact a well designed home modification can have. After meeting my partner in 2016 I decided to embrace rural living and move to the chilly New England town of Armidale! I have been living and working in and around Armidale ever since. I now have two young children and am looking forward to working with the fabulous team at Focus on Function.

I grew up on a family farm near Coonabarabran and now live in Gunnedahwith my family. I have always worked rurally, graduating from Wagga Wagga,enjoying experiences in Narrabri and Wee Waa, Moree, Tamworth, Coonabarabran,and over the past 10 years working in Gunnedah. I also enjoyed a stint flyinginto the remote communities of the Gulf of Carpentaria.

My Dietitian experience includes inpatient, outpatient, disability andaged care.

I am an Accredited Practicing Dietitian through Dietitians Australia,and an approved iCare Case Manager.

I grew up in Tamworth and studied Nutrition and Dietetics at the University of Newcastle and I have completed all my placements rurally in Tamworth and Armidale during my 4th year.

I have now relocated to the Gunnedah region and fortunate enough to be working with the lovely team at Focus on Function. I look forward to working within the community and providing individualised care to best support peoples goals. 

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As an Accredited Practicing Dietitian originally from South Australia, I've made the decision to relocate to Tamworth. I was drawn to Focus on Function because of our shared values in providing genuine and respectful care. Although I'm still relatively new in my career as a dietitian, I've invested hours beyond my degree to learn how food can contribute to overall well-being. Through internships I have been lucky enough to work in Adelaide, Tasmania, and even did a short stint overseas in Vanuatu. In addition to my excitement for nutrition, I have a passion for listening to and learning from the diverse stories and backgrounds of others.

Outside of work, I love to cook (no surprises here!), I am always excited to find new coffee spots, and I have recently began teaching myself to play piano!

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I live with my family on a property between Gunnedah and Narrabri, and have worked in various OT roles in Tamworth and Gunnedah since moving here in 2011 from Queensland. I have an interest in assisting clients to engage in meaningful work-related goals and have held a number of roles related to workplace health and injury rehabilitation.

I also have experience as an OT working in the areas of case management, ergonomics and pain management, mental health, community health and hospital-based care settings.

*Ellen will be taking maternity leave in 2022 as her young family grows but looks forward to continuing to assist Focus on Function clients on her return.