History

Civic Disability Services Limited, trading as Civic Residential Services and Civic Industries, has been providing services to people with a disability, their families and carers for over 50 years.

From small beginnings Civic Disability Services has grown to become a service provider of excellence in the disability field. As an organisation we have evolved and grown to meet the increasing needs of the people we support, in accordance with changes in Government and policy, often in a difficult economic climate. Today we support adults with a disability in employment, accommodation services, day activities and respite.

The original employment training facility operated by Civic was the first of its kind in Australia, providing a year-long workshop course that prepared participants from St George and Sutherland Shire for factory employment and to improve their chances of successful integration into society.

The evolution of the disability sector during the 1990’s enabled Civic Industries to change from being purely a training facility to be an employer of people with a disability in the latter part of the 1990’s. Despite considerable financial constraints and a difficult business environment Civic Industries has maintained full Quality Assurance Accreditation since April 1998.

Civic Residential Services was one of the first organisations to introduce Independent and Group Home accommodation models. These were initially developed for a small number of Civic Industries service users who were considered suitable for intensive training leading to more independent living. During the 1980’s, Civic purchased a number of properties to provide 24/7support for 20 people. Following on from these first steps, Civic Disability Services now supports 86 people in 19 residences throughout New South Wales.

Accommodation support is provided in the Southern Suburbs of Sydney, South West Sydney, the Blue Mountains and the Hunter.

In addition to accommodation services, Civic Disability Services provides support to hundreds more people, their families and carers through diverse and varied programs such as Overnight and Community Based Respite, Life Skills Day Programs, Drop in support, Aged Care Respite and Attendant Care Programs.

With Civic Disability Services’ commitment to providing quality services to people with a disability and their families, we are well positioned to meet future challenges in service provision.