Paralympic gold medallist and Australian Rollers head coach — on adversity, inclusion and workplace safety.
Brad Ness OAM OLY lost his right leg below the knee at 18. On 19 December 1992, while working as a deckhand on the Rottnest Island ferry, a mooring rope caught him as the vessel departed; he was back working on the water within six months. He took up wheelchair basketball in 1996 after watching it on television, made the Australian team in 1999, and went on to compete at five Paralympic Games from Sydney 2000 to Rio 2016 — winning gold in Beijing in 2008 and silver in Athens in 2004 and London in 2012. He captained the Australian Rollers at the 2008 and 2012 Games and carried the Australian flag at the Rio opening ceremony. He was awarded the OAM in 2009 for service to sport as a gold medallist at the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games.
Ness joined the Rollers coaching staff as assistant coach in 2017 and was appointed Head Coach in December 2023, a role he holds now. His other recognition includes the Sandy Blythe Medal in 2007, the WAIS Personal Excellence Award in 2015, induction into the Basketball WA Hall of Fame in 2021 and WAIS Coach of the Year in 2022. His perspective on inclusion is not theoretical. It comes from three decades of competing, working and coaching as an amputee, and from a single moment on a worksite that redirected everything after it.
That accident is also the basis of his safety work — a toolbox talk built around what happened to him and what it cost. Ness speaks to corporate audiences, safety conferences and diversity and inclusion programs on overcoming adversity, building resilience, cultural safety in the workplace and making inclusion happen, and runs wheelchair basketball team-building clinics. Organisations leave with a more grounded understanding of what inclusion asks of them in practice, and a clearer sense of why safety culture depends on the voices that are easiest to overlook.
Brad Ness OAM OLY is a keynote speaker based in Western Australia who speaks on diversity & inclusion, mental health & wellbeing and motivation. Book through Executive Speakers Australia.
Motivational presentation
Keynote
Tool Box safety talk workshop
Inclusion and diversity
Using wheelchair basketball
Brad's story has a powerful message that strongly relates to the safety outcomes we are looking to achieve across our business. The attendees were engaged from beginning to end. This will really help the cultural journey we are on.Aroona Alliance
Excellent, what an inspiration and down to earth conversation that holds the attention!Water Corporation
The positives I got out of Brad’s presentation were that he was genuine and made the story very real. He took us on the journey with him and his raw emotions made the presentation very inspirational.National Sales & Marketing Manager,, Toll Global Forwarding
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