Wesley Mission Queensland Shuts ORCA Project for 90 Young People as NDIS Pressures Mount
Updated
Updated · ABC News · Jun 21
Wesley Mission Queensland Shuts ORCA Project for 90 Young People as NDIS Pressures Mount
1 articles · Updated · ABC News · Jun 21
Summary
June 26 will mark the end of Wesley Mission Queensland’s ORCA Project, an NDIS-funded employment program that helped 90 young people with disability last year.
Rising costs and increasingly complex NDIS funding, compliance and regulatory changes drove the closure, with the charity saying it could not make the service sustainable or transfer it to another provider.
More than 300 work placements were delivered through ORCA in 2025, and families say the loss removes a rare pathway into work for participants who are not ready for the open job market.
Alternative programs offered to families are more expensive and shorter in duration, according to parents, raising fears some may cut work hours or lose support for their children’s transition from school to employment.
The closure lands as the $50 billion-a-year NDIS undergoes an overhaul; the NDIA says employment-support funding recipients have risen 58% since July 2024, even as families warn services are thinning out.