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About
Kudos Services is a bold, brave and ambitious organisation for children, young people and adults living with a disability and their families.
As a community of the most highly skilled and experienced therapists and support staff, together we exist to support and celebrate all people living with a disability, from early intervention to ongoing therapy.
The name Kudos was chosen because these achievements small and large need to be recognised, admired and celebrated.
Established in 2018, Kudos is a not-for-profit, employee-controlled mutual, owned and driven by its members-employees, including a wide range of highly skilled allied health professionals. This enables us to have an unmatched focus on the achievements of all people within our community of care.
We are the NDIS EC Partner in South Australia, offering the NDIS Early Childhood Approach for children younger than 9 years of age. Also, as an NDIS registered provider of supports, we offer hands-on therapy, behaviour support and specialist support coordination services for people aged 9+ tailored to their needs and goals.
Our friendly and passionate team is made up of occupational therapists, speech therapists, physiotherapists, psychologists, social workers, positive behaviour support practitioners, developmental educators and support coordinators.
We show up every day with positivity, flexibility and plenty of heart. We’re deeply invested in helping our clients live their best life; whatever that looks like. We go to a client’s home or school, a playground, the beach; where ever they are – we’ll be there.
Purpose
We help children, young people, adults and their families feel empowered, enabling them to achieve positive outcomes and be able to live their best lives.
VALUES
Knowledge
We are a highly skilled and experienced multidisciplinary team of child and youth therapists, sharing best practice techniques with our community of children and young people and their families or caregivers to achieve results together.
Camaraderie
We are a group of like-minded and purposeful people with a shared passion for improving the lives of children and young people.
Enterprising
We are bold, innovative and brave, driven to do things differently through our Australian first mutual model of integrated service delivery.
Heart
We will inspire and care for each other, take pride in our achievements through mutual celebration and ensure everyone in our community – therapists, children and families – are valued and appreciated.
Our Structure
Kudos is an employee-controlled mutual, formed when our team of public service professionals joined together to create a new organisation to deliver National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) Early Childhood (EC) and Therapy Services (9+) in South Australia.
The owners and drivers of our organisation are the employee-Members of our mutual enterprise, the highly skilled therapists and staff who work within it. This enables us to have an unmatched focus on the achievements of all people within our community of care.
As a cooperative community, Kudos exists to support and celebrate every child, young person and adult with a disability, from early intervention to ongoing therapy.
Executive Team
Liz O’Connell (GAICD, MBA), Chief Executive Officer
Liz O’Connell is the Chief Executive Officer of Child and Youth Services Mutual Ltd (Kudos), an employee-controlled mutual. With over 20 years of experience in the Human Services sector, Liz has worked across frontline service delivery, executive leadership, and governance roles. Her background spans not-for-profit, government, and social enterprise settings, underpinned by qualifications in social sciences and business administration.
Liz has a strong track record in service innovation, corporate strategy, and leading high-performing, consumer-focused organisations. She brings deep expertise and passion for social impact investment, outcomes measurement, research, and evaluation. Liz also serves as a Non-Executive Director on the boards of Helping Hand Aged Care Inc. and The Reily Foundation.
Ellie Chronis, Chief Operating Officer
Ellie leads operational services, quality and compliance, and drives excellence in service delivery. With a professional background in Speech Pathology and extensive experience in the disability and non-profit sectors, Ellie brings a deep understanding of community needs and a strong commitment to improving outcomes for the people Kudos supports.
Ellie is an experienced and trusted people leader who thrives on building strong, values-driven teams. She’s known for setting clear goals and following through — consistently delivering results across service quality, operational performance, and team engagement.
Her leadership style is collaborative and empowering, underpinned by a focus on continuous improvement and innovation. Ellie is passionate about creating sustainable impact through operational excellence and by fostering a culture of accountability, growth, and purpose across the organisation.
James Meldrum (GAICD), Chief Development Officer
James oversees key corporate functions including M&A, stakeholder engagement, marketing, IT, analytics, and strategic project delivery. He brings broad executive experience across the health and disability sectors, having worked in both large publicly listed organisations and grassroots community start-ups.
James is committed to building purpose-driven organisations that invest in their people and prioritise the communities they serve. He also serves as a Non-Executive Director at SHINE SA, an organisation focused on sexual health and wellbeing for all South Australians, and as a Director to an Adelaide-based health-tech start-up focused on bridging traditional care with innovative technology solutions.
James is passionate about Kudos’ potential to expand its reach and ensure more families have access to the services they need.
Our Board
Kudos Board of Directors is independently elected by our Members to govern our employee-controlled mutual. Our skills-based Board engages with our CEO and Members on Kudos’ strategic direction and business development and ensures financial stability and compliance.
Currently, the Kudos Board is composed by:
- Rebecca Wilson (Chair and Non-Executive Director)
- Scott Bryant (Non-Executive Director)
- Paul Edginton (Non-Executive Director)
- Elaine Nash (Non-Executive Director)
- David Papa (Non-Executive Director)
- Liana Reinhardt (Non-Executive Director)
- Guy Turnbull (Non-Executive Director)
What is a Mutual?
A mutual is a group of people who come together to meet a common economic, cultural or social need.
Mutuals grew rapidly in the United Kingdom following the industrial revolution in the early nineteenth century. Known as ‘friendly societies’ they were committed to self-help in the welfare of working people. Cooperatives and mutuals now exist all around the world.
In Australia, the turnover of the top 100 Cooperative and Mutual Enterprises (CMEs) in 2018 was $31.9b and employment in CMEs accounted for around 1% of all employment in the country*. Mutuals and cooperatives provide meaningful jobs and social and economic empowerment for their members and their communities.
Kudos is a proud member of the Business Council for Cooperatives and Mutuals. Find out more about CMEs and the value of mutuals to their members, the community and the economy by visiting the BCCM website.
*National Mutual Economy Report 2019 – BCCM
Strategic Plan
Kudos Services’ 2021-24 Strategic Plan: On Our Own Terms is built on four strategic directions that will guide our strategy, growth and development for the next three years.
The strategy focuses on co-designing outcomes with our clients, continuing our excellence in the early childhood approach, growing our quality Therapy services and supports, and living the mutual culture.
Strategic Plan 2021-2024: On Our Own Terms
Previous Strategic Plan
Reconciliation Action Plan
Our collective vision for reconciliation is to acknowledge, embrace and celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and cultures. We aspire to build strong and enriching reciprocal relationships with First Nations people and communities that foster unity, truth-telling, equality, opportunities, and respect. Kudos will create an inclusive and diverse workplace that will offer person-centred and culturally safe disability supports.
Reflect Reconciliation Action Plan: March 2024 to September 2025
Annual Reports
Find out more about our employee-led mutual’s achievements and operations in our Annual Reports. You can read about Kudos’ services, membership and governance, financial reports, Board and Members Advisory Council reports, and much more.
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