The Truth About Leadership in the NDIS

If you've ever wondered what actually separates a good boss from a bad one — or wondered whether the people running the systems meant to protect vulnerable Australians actually care — you need to hit play. Today, Yosmerys sits down with Ben Revill, co-director of Safe Harbour, a SIL and STA provider built after years spent inside the NDIS and youth services sector — first in the Navy, then as a pastor, then leading NDIS and youth programs before deciding the only way to build something right was to build it himself. If you've ever worked for someone who only cared about what you could do for them, watched an industry cut corners on people who couldn't speak up for themselves, or wondered what actually makes people choose to follow a leader instead of just tolerating one — you need to hear this. Ben will challenge the way you think about leadership, loyalty, quality, and what it actually costs to build something with integrity in an industry where cutting corners is easy to hide. Think of it like this: a happy customer tells five people. An unhappy one tells ten. In an industry built on caring for people who often can't advocate for themselves, that math should terrify every provider — but it doesn't always. Ben shares stories from his time fostering children who'd been found searching for food in the bin, from NDIS participants fed through metal bars, and from the quiet, consistent moments — like sitting down for a shared meal — that rebuild trust trauma has broken. His message is simple: you can't fake care, and the people you're meant to be serving always know the difference. You'll also learn: • Why leadership is "what happens when no one's watching," not when they are • The real difference between authority and true leadership • Why remote work quietly erodes the relationships that leadership depends on • How food and shared meals become a tool for building trust and belonging • Why "people matter" has to be more than a slogan • How trauma sharpens a young person's radar for who's genuinely present • Why Ben believes disability support should be measured by warmth, not just paperwork • The real reason negative experiences spread faster than good ones • Why "you've got to listen more" is the career advice most people ignore • How growing up with undiag This conversation will push you to rethink what leadership actually requires, question what "quality" really means in an industry meant to protect vulnerable people, and consider whether the people around you can tell — even without a word — whether you actually care. By the time it's over, you'll understand why the most important metric in this work might be the one nobody's measuring. Chapters: 00:00 Cold open: leadership is not what happens when people are watching 00:01:04 Welcome to Team with the Queen 00:01:55 Meet Ben: from Navy to pastor to NDIS leader 00:04:11 Safe Harbor Care: building a home with heart 00:05:32 The weird quirks: counting wheels on trucks and living with dyslexia 00:09:26 The headbands game: guessing leadership 00:09:39 Brought to you by Wholii 00:13:00 What people misunderstand about leadership 00:16:41 The qualities of good bosses: confidence, knowledge, and genuine care 00:20:30 Relationship is the secret sauce: building trust through consistency 00:22:13 Food brings people together: cooking as connection 00:26:13 The foster care story: malnourished kids and the power of dinner time 00:28:14 Why Ben walked away and started his own thing 00:31:07 Is the NDIS actually improving, or just better at hiding problems? 00:34:45 How to regulate heart: the thing the NDIS can't measure 00:38:39 Kids pick up on everything: hypervigilance and trauma 00:41:25 Celebrity question from Sarah Heria: listen more, speak less 00:47:05 The ripple question: what Ben hopes his legacy will be 💎 PLATINUM SPONSOR: Wholii Team with the Queen is proudly powered by Wholii, our Platinum Sponsor. Wholii is the compliance and workflow platform built for Australian NDIS providers by people who have lived your problems firsthand. Wholii cuts admin time, automates the manual stuff, and keeps your whole team compliant and audit ready without even trying. Book a free demo: https://wholii.com.au Follow Wholii: • Instagram: Instagram: wholii_au • TikTok: TikTok: wholii_au • YouTube: @wholii_au • LinkedIn: LinkedIn: wholii • Facebook: Facebook: wholii Ben Revill — Safe Harbour Care LinkedIn: LinkedIn: ben-revill-3a01b3163 Website: https://www.safeharbourecare.com.au Yosmerys Aparicio Cuencas is the founder of Supporting Communities Australia and the Creator of Elevate Youth Lab. LinkedIn: LinkedIn: yosmerys Website: https://linktr.ee/Yosmerys/ @teamwiththequeen on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. New episodes fortnightly. Team with the Queen is a Supporting Communities Australia production. #NDIS #Leadership