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Lived experience, Think Social 2 2025
Why grants and tenders are hard for an autistic founder to use
In short
At Think Social 2, Rebecca McCash, the founder of Future Tech, described the cost of supporting autistic staff and participants at once, and a panellist asked for procurement policy tied to the National Autism Strategy.
Read it instead, 4 minutesThe transcript
The story
Rebecca McCash, the founder of Future Tech, came to Think Social 2 in Sydney in May 2025 with an account of what it costs an autistic founder to run a neurodivergent led social enterprise, and of how hard the usual sources of support are to reach.
Future Tech is a neurodivergent led social enterprise. McCash described it as existing to inspire the neurodivergent minds of the future to build a better world for everyone. It runs programs for neurodivergent young people, does community capacity building so that others can better support neurodivergent people, and hires neurodivergent staff to design and deliver its programs.
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Sources the story draws on
- Autism in Australia, 2022 (opens in a new tab), Australian Bureau of Statistics
- About Australians with disability (opens in a new tab), Australian Federation of Disability Organisations
- National Autism Strategy 2025 to 2031: First Action Plan 2025 to 2026 (opens in a new tab), Department of Social Services