Welcome to the North West Disability Service scandal

​The NWDS board in question:

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JOHN COLEBATCH. Chairman of the board. Works at Impact Executive Appointments and is a member of Toastmasters. The board is weak, dysfunctional and lacks governance skills. An external review in 2017 found "We recommend that Directors and senior staff members are encouraged to update their knowledge and understanding of governance requirements". Colebatch prevents any criticism of Deborah Gersbach CEO by dismissing bullying and assault complaints against her without investigation, by ignoring the NWDS constitution and policies when it suits him and by ignoring the findings and recommendations of an external review. Past NWDS directors have found his style intimidating.

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​LAWRENCE KENNY. Lawrence Kenny abused and exploited an intellectually disabled member of NWDS by removing him from a social event and pressuring him, at a board meeting, to vote the way Kenny and the CEO wished and not as he wished. The intellectually disabled, but trusting, member did not realise he had been tricked to vote opposite to his intentions. Surprisingly Kenny works for NDIS as a support planner.

​JUSTIN DOWD. Justin Dowd is a family law specialist lawyer who works at Watts McCray Lawyers. He is vice president of LAWASIA and was president of the Law Society of NSW in 2012. He is an OA recipient.
On the NWDS board he has turned a blind eye to complaints of bullying and assault of staff and parents by Deborah Gersbach CEO and has refused to acknowledge that Deborah Gersbach lies including her claim that she was assaulted by a NWDS director. Dowd has also ignored the NWDS constitution and policies when it suited him.
He has a niece at NWDS who can be violent. That is a conflict of interest if it means not speaking up when the NWDS constitution and policies are ignored by Deborah Gersbach and the board, or ignoring the recommendations of the external review or ignoring a staff and parent's allegations of being assaulted by Deborah Gersbach.

JEAN PAUL LEGRAND. Jean Paul LeGrand has been on the board for years and supports the CEO. He too ignores the NWDS constitution and policies when it suits him, turns a blind eye to complaints of bullying and assault by the CEO, Deborah Gersbach, and ignores the findings and recommendations of an external review. He is a member of Lions Australia.

​KALPANA RAO. Works for St George Bank. She supports Deborah Gersbach CEO in everything and turns a blind eye to the board's mis-goverance. She was present at board meetings where the complaints that Deborah Gersbach CEO was bullying staff were ignored. As Company Secretary she has either not kept proper minutes of General Meetings and refuses to provide minutes to members. 

​ANNE LEACH. Anne Leach lacks governance skills and simply supports Deborah Gersbach CEO.  ​She has turned a blind eye to complaints of bullying and assault by Deborah Gersbach CEO and has steadfastly refused to acknowledge that Deborah Gersbach lies, including her claim that she was assaulted by a NWDS director. She has also ignored the NWDS constitution and policies when it suited her and has ignored a parent's complaint of being allegedly assaulted by Deborah Gersbach.

​PAM SLATTERY. Pam Slattery claims that in all her years on the NWDS board she had never heard of a single staff member complaining about being bullied by Deborah Gersbach CEO.  But between 2009 and 2019, she is documented refusing to help staff members who complained of being bullied by Deborah Gersbach. And she was present at board meetings where the staff complaints policy was ignored and access to the board was denied to the bullied staff. ​She has a son who can be violent who attends NWDS. That is a conflict of interest, especially if it means not speaking up when the NWDS constitution and policies are ignored by Deborah Gersbach and the board.

​VICTORIA BORG. Last but not least. Victoria Borg went along with Deborah Gersbach, the CEO, and the rest of the board. She has a disabled sister who attends NWDS. That is a conflict of interest if it means not speaking up when the NWDS constitution and policies are ignored, the CEO bullies staff or parents, or the CEO gets rid of directors who try to hold her accountable.

​JIM TAGGART. Patron. Jim Taggart chaired elections in which friends and family members of the board and Deborah Gersbach CEO were allowed to vote although they did not have voting rights. And he chaired meetings at which the Constitution and policies of NWDS were ignored, preventing NWDS members from exercising their rights. Taggart is a University of Western Sydney adjunct professor, Chairman and Chancellor of the Asia Pacific International College, founder of Taggart Consulting and Taggart Group, member of Hills Shire Council, member of Rotary and OAM recipient.

​DEBORAH GERSBACH, CEO. Deborah Gersbach prevented staff, who complained of being bullied by her, from gaining access to the board as required by the NWDS bullying and complaints policies. The board is so weak that she controls the board and has a major, if not complete, say in who is on the board (regulatory capture). She is the de facto shadow chairman and director of NWDS. She ignored an external investigation which found that she exerted undue power on the board, lied and that she should be reminded of her responsibilities and key accountabilities.

​​Publicity is the very soul of justice.
   —Jeremy Bentham, Philosopher​

In our opinion we:
Expose the scandal at North West Disability Service
The Bullying
How the Board elections are run
Where the money goes
Fantastic, much needed and costly new buildings in Richmond but 90% of users (over 500) live in the Hills Shire
Plans for group homes in Richmond but No plan to provide group homes in the Hills Shire
​Lack of disclosure and transparency 

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​Home 
A disturbing story from the disability not-for-profit sector
NWDS CEO sues for defamation
A Letter from the CEO
The NWDS Board 
Become a member of North West Disability Service
Contact us. Tell us what you know
Resources and Help (for bullying and reprisals)
Alert the ABC if you have concerns about NWDS​
Protecting Charities from Fraud
About Us
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