S3E8 - Nothing About Us Without Us: Alastair McEwin on Disability, Leadership and the Boardroom

Alastair McEwin has spent his career pushing for a more inclusive Australia — as a lawyer, board director, Disability Discrimination Commissioner and a commissioner on the Disability Royal Commission. In this conversation, he reflects on what drew him to disability advocacy, what he learned starting out on boards in his twenties, and why great governance is a team sport.

Alastair unpacks why representation at the top still lags, how boards can move beyond tokenism, and the practical changes that make boardrooms genuinely accessible. He also shares the Royal Commission's central message: Australia is failing people with disability in mainstream settings — and why lasting reform requires leaders to change systems, culture and expectations, not just policies.

Key Takeaways:

•    Early board experience: purpose, patience, and learning the room

•    What makes a good chair: relationships, trust, and drawing out every voice

•    "Nothing about us without us": representation, accessibility, and culture

•    Practical steps for boards: ask, don't assume; provide supports; build capability

•    The Royal Commission's core finding: mainstream systems are failing people with disability