The Michael J. Hines Award
Michael J Hines Award
The Michael J Hines award is presented to one participant from each service area every year.
The certificate and cash prize are awarded in honour of Michael, who was a Director at Distinctive Options between 2004 and 2012 and a Sunbury local. The Board established the Michael J Hines Award to honour the contribution that Michael made to Distinctive Options and recognise the achievements of the participants we support.
Congratulation to the Michael J Hines Award winners for 2023.
Winner from Independent Living Supports: Neville Thickens.
Winner from DO Sunbury: Darren Martin.
Winner from DO Bendigo: Cailee Mitchell.
Winner from DO Brimbank: Sarah Garro.
Kaye Thurbon Award
Kaye Thurbon Award
The Kay Thurbon Award is presented each year to a participant from DO Noweyung who has transformed their own life and enriched their local community by exercising choice and control via their DO Noweyung supports.
Kay is a life member and past chairperson of Noweyung Board and has played an enormous role in the Bairnsdale community.
Congratulations to the Kay Thurbon Award Winners for 2023.
Winner from DO Noweyung: Vanessa Smith.
Winner from DO Noweyung: Jessica Chatfield.
Congratulations to the Award Winners
Michael J Hines Award Winner 2023:
Brimbank
Sarah Garro
Kaye Thurbon Award Winner 2023:
Presented by Jenny Horton
Vanessa Smith (on left)
Kaye Thurbon Award Winner 2023:
Presented by Kaye Thurbon
Jessica Chatfield (on right)
Michael J Hines Award Winner 2023:
Independent Living Supports
Neville Thickens
Michael J Hines Award Winner 2023:
Sunbury
Darren Martin
Michael J Hines Award Winner 2023:
Bendigo
Cailee Mitchell
Organisational Achievements
Distinctive Options is registered with the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission to deliver a range of disability support services.
As a registered provider, Distinctive Options is externally audited against the Commission’s quality and safeguard disability standards. This independent audit body is currently Community Audits Australia.
For transparency in governance and reporting, Distinctive Options won a Gold Australasian Reporting Award (ARA) in 2021.
As ARA advised, “…to receive Gold a report must demonstrate overall excellence in annual reporting. It should provide high quality coverage of most aspects of the ARA criteria and full disclosure of key aspects of the organisation’s core business. A Gold Award report is a model report for similar organisations to follow…” This is an exceptional achievement.
To the best of our knowledge, no other disability organisation in Australia has ever achieved better than silver.
Distinctive Options were awarded another Gold Award at the Australasian Reporting Awards for transparency in governance and reporting for the 2022 financial year.