Meet one of our
Sunshine Coast Lifestyle Planners

Rebecca Jeffress has been with Open Minds for 18 months, and in that time has worked in various roles and locations as a Support Coordinator, Care Leader, and Lifestyle Planner.

With the NDIS transition now live on the Sunshine Coast, Open Minds began to expand its service offering in this region as an extension of our current services.

Open Minds has provided Chime services in Nambour for four years now, and has built a strong reputation for supporting people through their mental health recovery journey in a community setting.

Since November 2018, Rebecca has been hard at work establishing positive relationships in the community, responding to enquiries, and on-boarding new clients.

Rebecca has already welcomed new clients across the Sunshine Coast, who will be accessing Daily Living Support, Supported Independent Living, and Support Coordination through Open Minds.

She has also been involved in the hiring process to recruit high quality employees to support the new clients who are choosing Open Minds as their service provider.

Rebecca said: “It’s really rewarding to see our services working. It’s a privilege to walk alongside someone on their journey and see the results.

“It’s good to see providers working together for the benefit of the person.

“Seeing more and more successful NDIS plans that are life changing is just so exciting to see. Some people are now being provided with much needed support that they’ve never had before.”

Rebecca has experience in local government, business, corporate services, aged care, complex care, dementia care, support for Indigenous Australians, marketing, and has worked in various locations across Australia and internationally.

Rebecca has a Certificates in Business, Diploma in Community Services, and has completed a Dementia Course from the University of Tasmania.

Having worked in aged care during the reform from 2012 onwards, Rebecca is experienced in adapting an organisation through similar changes to the NDIS, to ensure it sustainably continues to provide high quality services to clients.

When Rebecca first joined Open Minds as a Support Coordinator in Bundaberg, she was delighted to have an opportunity to stay with Open Minds when she relocated with her family to the Sunshine Coast.

Rebecca said: “It’s a really supportive environment at Open Minds, and the flexibility really helps when you’re juggling family and work life. There are also great opportunities for career progression.”

With over 100 years of history, over 400 employees and 35 locations across Queensland and Northern New South Wales, Open Minds is well placed to support people living with disabilities and mental illness on the Sunshine Coast.

What does a Lifestyle Planner do?

When a person would like to begin receiving support from Open Minds, a Lifestyle Planner is what we call our employee who will immediately follow up. 

They arrange a meeting with the individual who requires support to understand everything about what they need. 

They listen to the person’s unique story and background, and from there they work out how Open Minds can provide that support.

They collaborate by involving others who are important in the person’s life; this might be family members, mental health professionals who have referred the patient to us, and sometimes the Office of the Public Guardian.

If the person then chooses Open Minds, the Lifestyle Planner then produces a service agreement, and starts getting plans in place to begin support.

This might mean getting the person set up in a new Supported Independent Living home, introducing them to some of our Support Workers, or arranging a meeting with our Complex Care Support team if required.

In short, Lifestyle Planners help to plan how you can get the best support from Open Minds.