As told to Dr Matt Loads 

From her earliest days in the profession, Cate Sherlock has been guided by a simple belief: advocacy changes lives. Today, as a member of the NDIS AASW Advisory Committee, she channels her voice and experience into shaping policy and raising awareness of the value of social work within the disability sector.  

”Advocacy isn’t just part of my work; it’s the thread that connects it all,” Cate says. “It’s about making sure people are seen, heard, and supported, not just today, but in the systems, they’ll need to navigate for years to come.” 

Cate’s journey into social work began with lived experience of feeling lost and unsupported during her teenage years. The encouragement of a few key adults, teachers and a youth worker, set her on a path of volunteering, youth work, and eventually a scholarship to Victoria University. This early exposure to community work ignited her commitment to walking alongside people through change and challenge. 

Her early career spanned residential care, youth justice, and school-based social work. Placements at a large middle school and the Royal Darwin Hospital gave her a deep appreciation of both preventative and acute interventions. From Darwin to Adelaide, her roles have ranged across hospital social work, mental health, palliative care, aged care, and student counselling, always keeping advocacy at the centre. 

Cate’s advocacy has taken many forms, from supporting individuals with brain injury through complex health and funding systems, to pushing for systemic reforms in disability policy. Her private practice, Wellbeing Support Space, is a hub for counselling, supervision, consultation, and community education. 

Her work is also informed by lived experience as a parent of a child with additional needs. “Experiencing the NDIS as both a professional and a parent has deepened my determination,” she reflects. “I’ve seen both the potential and the challenges, and I want to help create the version of the system that truly works for families.” 

Cate describes her current brain injury rehabilitation role as both demanding and rewarding. No two days are the same, each requiring creative problem-solving, compassion, and persistence. She recalls one client who reached out years later to share how her support had helped them turn their life around. “It reminded me that the impact of our work isn’t always immediate; sometimes it shows up years later, in ways you could never predict.” 

For Cate, social work is about more than individual intervention, it is about strengthening communities through connection, inclusion, and resilience. She is passionate about challenging misconceptions of the profession, reminding others that social work is not just crisis response, but also prevention, capacity building, and systemic change. Building on this, she is planning to partner with a university to develop a national survey exploring the role and impact of social workers in the NDIS. Once complete, the findings will inform a coauthored paper, a tool she hopes will drive tangible policy reform. 

Cate envisions a future where social workers are better supported, mentored, and recognised for their breadth of expertise. She advocates for mandatory registration to ensure professional credibility and organisational accountability. 
“If you want skilled, passionate social workers,” Cate says, “you need to invest in them. When social workers are supported to grow, the entire community benefits.”