After 10 wonderful years of work in inclusive design and assistive technology, we will be closing TOM: Melbourne at the end of this financial year (30 June 2026).
While this marks the end of this chapter, it is also an opportunity to reflect with pride on what we have built together. Since 2016, we have demonstrated that when people with a disability lead and are meaningfully involved in the innovation process, extraordinary things happen. Together, we have cultivated a community where lived experience and technical capability meet in practical, generous and deeply human ways.
To all our need-knowers, makers, volunteers, partners, mentors, advocates, sponsors and supporters: Thank you! We simply could not have done this without you.
Through makeathons, university collaborations, school programs, product development and community partnerships, ideas have transformed into tangible solutions that meaningfully improve participation and daily life. Just as importantly, we have helped shape how emerging designers, engineers and organisations think about co-design, access and inclusion.
The need for inclusive, lived-experience-led innovation remains strong, and we are proud that many of the principles TOM championed are now more visible across education, industry and community settings.
Warmly,
Debbie Dadon AM, Founding Director
Narelle Hinkley, General Manager
