Our 163rd AGM was one to remember, as our staff, Board, donors and supporters came together at our brand new centre for innovation to reflect on the past year’s activities and achievements.

NextSense President David Dinte detailed how 2023 was a pivotal year for our organisation. During the year, our preparations for a new future came to fruition as we laid the groundwork for the 2024 opening of our state-of-the-art new space on the Macquarie University campus.

Mr Dinte thanked our many supporters, including the Federal Government, which committed $12.5 million towards our new space, and our generous donors, partners, clients and staff, who have been with us all the way. He also acknowledged the contributions of our Board members and Senior Leadership Team.

He spoke about the excitement of opening the doors of our new centre on the hill in Alstonville, which replaced our Lismore site that was unfortunately destroyed in the 2022 floods.

And he shared a vision for what comes next for our pioneering organisation. Many exciting opportunities are ahead to build new partnerships, share our knowledge, learn from others, improve access to care, and connect more people with our best-in-class services.

2023 annual report launched

NextSense Chief Executive Chris Rehn presented our 163rd annual report, which features the voices of our amazing clients and students and the impact we have made by working together.

From 75-year-old Denise, who has her life back after receiving a cochlear implant through our leading program, to seven-year-old Charlie, who is thriving at school thanks to a breakthrough moment in his speech therapy that helped everything fall into place, our clients are the reason our work is so meaningful.

High achievers

We also celebrated James and Zara, two standout students who received awards for their outstanding results in the International Baccalaureate and were supported by us during their school years. James won the Garfield and Norma Barwick and Clearasound prizes, and Zara took away the Dr Frederick Gregory-Roberts Prize for academic excellence.

In their words

James and Zara joined Faiza—whose daughter Emaan has hearing loss—and cochlear implant recipient Alan, who has hearing and vision loss, on stage as part of a panel discussion. Each spoke about their experience, and how NextSense has supported them and their families.

But the real star of the show was Freddie (aka Mercury), Alan’s guide dog, who stole the limelight—and the hearts of the audience..

You can find an image gallery of the evening below.