About Us

The Type 1 Diabetes Network is an Australian organisation of people with Type 1 Diabetes, founded in 1997, which provides support, information and a voice for the Type 1 community.

The mission of the Type 1 Diabetes Network is to create opportunities for Australians affected by Type 1 Diabetes to share knowledge and experiences in order to attain an optimum quality of life through:

• building an empowered and active Type 1 diabetes community;

• offering support and encouragement;

• facilitating access to resources and information; and

• advocating and raising awareness on issues of concern to people affected by Type 1 Diabetes.

The organisation is run by a dedicated team of volunteers: all people with Type 1 diabetes ourselves.

Our current activities include:

• This website is full of facts to Learn and Live with Type 1 Diabetes.

• On the Reality Check or Munted Pancreas discussion forums, you can write queries, respond to issues, have a moan, bitch or rejoice!

• Yada Yada , our email newsletter, will keep you up-to-date with the latest research info, news from around the country, ideas and stories from people living with Type 1 diabetes. Contributions and news are always welcomed.

• Seminars & Events - Sometimes it's good to get together with people who understand what you mean without having to go into any of that tedious detail, and enjoy a beer at the same time. We run informal get-togethers as well as more structured seminars.

• Information: We work to fill gaps in information for people with Type 1 diabetes. Our current publications include: Can I Have a Healthy Baby ? - a guide to pregnancy with diabetes, A Starter Kit for Adults with Type 1 Diabetes , and a Directory of Endocrinologists and other Health Professionals that have experience working with young adults with Type 1 diabetes.

Governance 

Members of our Management Committee are as follows.

Natasha Reddrop (President, Sydney) Natasha's career since 2000 has been in learning and development.  She is currently working for a Federal Government Department, but also runs her own business specialising in grammar and writing skills training.  Another job she has recently taken on is being a mum!  She has a Bachelor of Arts (Psychology) as well as qualifications in workplace training and management psychology.  Natasha was diagnosed with type 1 at the age of 28, at the beginning of a five-month backpacking trip through Southern Africa.  She has been volunteering with the T1DN since 2009 and was vice president during 2011.

Vashti Biffanti (Vice President, Canberra) Vashti’s working career has largely been in finance and administration and she currently works in project management.  She doesn’t remember life without  type 1 diabetes and will this year celebrate 30 years of successfully living with it. She believes life is there to be lived and does her best to minimise the inconvenience of T1D. She loves to travel and the thrill of adventure. Vashti has volunteered for T1DN since 2009, including a stint on the management committee, and she rejoins committee as vice president for 2012. Vashti is passionate about raising the profile of Type 1 in the general community and helping others live with its complexities. This passion has led her to embark on a new challenge: returning to full time study to become a qualified counsellor.

Susan Greenbank (General Manager, Brisbane) Susan has worked in health care - including health promotion, advocacy, communications, public relations, behavioural research and adminstration - for over 15 years and holds a Bachelor of Applied Science (Health Promotion/Psychology). She is currently the General Manager of T1DN (part-time) and the manager of the Queensland Diabetes Centre at the Mater Hospital in Brisbane (part-time). Susan enjoys organising events and in 2009 introduced a seminar series for people with Type 1 diabetes in South East Queensland. Susan was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in 1992 at the age of 17 and became a mum in 2011.

Jessica Brown (Treasurer, Wollongong) Jessica is practice manager for a busy psychology practice and has qualifications in Business Administration, Accounts, Hairdressing and Beauty Services. Jessica was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 2003 just before her 13th birthday. She joined the management committee as treasurer in 2011.

Colleen Clarke (Public Officer and Secretary, Melbourne) Colleen has a strong background in administration, with experience in the oil industry, financial planning, project management and local government. She was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at 33. Colleen's experience of living with diabetes has included also managing long-term infertility, going through many IVF cycles before falling pregnant naturally at age 40. Colleen has volunteered with Reality Check and the Type 1 Diabetes Network for many years and currently works as the organsiation's administration officer and became Secretary in 2009.

Kerry Vinall (Brisbane) Kerry has a long-term interest in science. She works as a lab manager and senior technical officer in plant science research, having recently completed her Masters by Research in this area. Diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes in 1985, just before turning seven, she tries to see diabetes as just another of her interests.  Kerry has been an active member of the Reality Check online community for several years. She became a Reality Check moderator and joined the Management Committee in 2010.

Tony Bernauer (Sydney) Tony works in telecommunications and has an Advanced Diploma in Electronic Engineering and a Certificate IV in Business (Frontline Management). He has played an active role in community organisations for over 30 years, from an early involvement as a commitee member of his local surf lifesaving club through to positions such as Vice President - Education of his Local Toastmasters Club in recent times. Tony believes that he can only improve life for people with T1D by being involved in that change. He has been a moderator of the Reality Check online community since 2007 and joined the Management Committee in 2009.

Megan Dicker (Melbourne) - Megan is the owner of a small antique & collectables shop and also helps her husband with the running of his small business.  She is the mother of a 13 yr old boy who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age 10. Megan joined the T1DN committee and the Munted Pancreas moderating team in late 2011. She lives in Tasmania with her husband, 2 boys, 2 dogs, 3 cats & a myriad of other creatures. 

Niall Perry (Kiama, NSW) - Niall is originally from Ireland and moved to Australia in 2002. Eight months after arriving in Australia he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of 30. Niall is married with two daughters who provide amazing support. He currently works as a business analyst within the project management office of a superannuation company based in Wollongong.  He also has a background in banking, treasury management and IT. Niall joined the T1DN committee in late 2011 and sees this as a great opportunity to get more involved in supporting the type 1 community.

Jenny Cox (Melbourne) Jenny was diagnosed with Type 1 in 1989, a week after her 20th birthday and a week before the last Christmas of the 1980s.  After surviving her first Christmas with diabetes and the next decade not really knowing what was going on, she is now delighted to be heading into her 40s with very few complications, a wonderful family and a beautiful daughter.  Professionally, Jenny has degrees in Psychology, Communications and Education.  For the past two decades she has worked in the private and public sector in managerial and senior roles.  Jenny currently teaches social science subjects at Bachelor and Graduate Diploma level, and is enjoying getting more involved in tertiary education and research.  Jenny joined the committee in 2011 after being appointed a moderator for Reality Check in 2010.

Bill Murray (Bendigo, Victoria) Bill has been a technical expert with a domestic satellite service for over 20 years, and has also worked as an electorate officer for a state Member of Parliament. Bill is active in state and federal politics and has been a member of various campaign committees since 1988. He is currently a delegate to the state conference of a political party and campaign manager for a federal politician. Among Bill’s other involvements in community organisations have been executive positions on kindergarten and school committees. Bill Murray is the father of a 19 year-old who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes just after her third birthday. He has co-managed the Munted Pancreas online community for parents of children with type 1 diabetes since 2007 and joined the Management Committee in 2009.

Jane Reid (Cooranbong, NSW) Jane has had Type 1 diabetes for 45 years, and over the past ten years has come to realise the importance of a strong lobby for people with Type 1. She has experienced various complications and setbacks with Type 1, but is determined not to let it rule her life. Her working life was mostly as a medical secretary, until she returned to university as a mature age student. She now has a BA (Hons) in Ancient History and Classics, and will soon return to university to pursue a research degree in Greco-Romano Art and mythology. Jane is a trained singer and sang semi-professionally as a soloist and chorister in various choirs, notably the Central Coast Chorale. She is the secretary of the local Chamber of Commerce. Jane is married to John, who gives great and unconditional support as only an experienced Type 3 can.

Susannah Trigg (Sydney) Susannah is a practising solicitor working in a national law firm in the areas of commercial and property law. She has a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Social Science majoring in psychology. Susannah was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in 2000, while completing her final year of high school. Susannah has found the support of the Reality Check online community to be invaluable in dealing with the daily task of living with diabetes. She joined the Management Committee in 2009.

Kate is our Founding President 

Kate Gilbert (Melbourne) Kate trained in political science and public policy development at the University of Melbourne and in 2010 completed a Masters in Public Health majoring in Health Program Evaluation. Kate works as a Senior Project Officer in the Victorian government’s Department of Health and has a range of professional interests including health program evaluation, management and research

Kate was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes during her first year at school, at the age of five. In 1998, finding the support available for adults with Type 1 Diabetes to be lacking, Kate formed a network of young adults in Melbourne with the assistance of her then endocrinologist Dr Alison Nankervis, which grew into The Type 1 Diabetes Network. Kate was President since the organisation was incorporated in the year 2000.  In early 2011, Kate formally stepped down to pursue other interests, but remains actively involved in diabetes and other health consumer groups, including being a Board member of the Chronic Illness Alliance and a founding committee member of the Victorian Peer Support Network.

The Type 1 Diabetes Network is an incorporated association registered in Victoria, Australia. We are also registered by the Australian Tax Office as a Deductible Gift Recipient on 1 July 2007. Gifts of $2 and over are tax-deductible.

Key Governance documents:

• Reality Check Constitution (PDF, 75 KB)

• T1DN Charitable Status (PDF, 19 KB)

President's Annual reports:

• Presidents Report 2010 (PDF, 259 KB)

• Presidents Report 2009 (PDF, 958 KB)

• Presidents Report 2008 (PDF, 288 KB)

• Presidents Report 2007 (PDF, 258 KB)

• Presidents Report 2006 (PDF, 60 KB)

Authorship

The authors of all information on this website, unless otherwise stated, are not medical professionals but people who live with diabetes themselves and draw on their extensive personal experience, as well as a variety of professional experiences. Where specific medical advice is given, referencing is given wherever possible.

The information provided by Reality Check is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between a patient/site visitor and his/her doctors, nurses or other medical professionals.

Supporters and Funding

This website is maintained by unpaid volunteers. This site receives no ongoing commercial or external funding, with the exception of occasional advertising which is clearly identiied as such, and is therefore independent.

In 2000-01, support was received from Diabetes Australia-Victoria, who paid the web hosting costs and the services of a web designer to help with content publishing.

Our resource published in October 2004, A Starter Kit for Adults Diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes was developed through a major project funded by the Australian government Department of Health & Ageing. The Starter Kit's online publication on this site was also funded by the federal government through this grant. Since 2006, Abbott Diabetes Care have provided in-kind support by reprinting and distributing the Starter Kit throughout Australia.

The Type 1 Diabetes Network has been registered by the Australian Tax Office as a Deductible Gift Recipient since 1 July 2007. Gifts of $2 and over are tax-deductible.

Brief History of the Type 1 Diabetes Network

• Dr Alison Nankervis and Diabetes Australia-Victoria's then head of Diabetes Education, Trish Streitberger, identified a gap in services for young adults with diabetes in 1997, and supported a gathering to be led by young adults themselves.

• The first dinner was attended by 15 young adults in January 1998

• A printed newsletter, Yada Yada began production in 1998 and continued for 15 issues

• A website and an online community was created in 1999.

• The Inaugural Summit of Young Adults with Diabetes was held in 1998, and similar conferences were held in 1999, 2000 and 2003.

• A partnership with the Royal Melbourne Hospital provided office and meeting facilities in 2001 - 2004, and led to a collaborative project to review Transition Services .

• In 2003, Kate Gilbert was a Victorian finalist in the Young Australian of the Year Awards for her work to establish the network.

• A grant from the Australian government in 2003-04 culminated in the production of a major educational resource the Starter Kit for Adults Newly-Diagnosed with Diabetes , which continues to be distributed throughout Australia free of charge thanks to corporate sponsorship

• Researching the experience of living with Type 1 diabetes and health service utilisation became a focus from 2005 with papers accepted by major conferences including the World Diabetes Congress 2006 and the Australasian Health Services & Policy Research Conference 2007 and being an invited speaker at the World Diabetes Congress 2009 in Montreal.