Natalie Wade is a pioneer in advancing disability rights committed to driving systemic change and ensuring equality for people with disabilities.As the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission’s Associate Commissioner, Natalie is leading efforts with others to ensure the Commission is a formidable regulator which upholds the human rights of NDIS participants to receive safe and quality supports.

Previously the Founder and Principal Lawyer of Equality Lawyers, Natalie provided expert legal representation to people with disabilities and their families.

In 2023, Natalie delivered Australia’s inaugural Disability Leadership Oration with a brief to “set the national agenda”. Her oration focused on ending the segregation of disabled people in all settings, but especially housing, through disabled leadership.Regarded as one of Australia’s foremost disability human rights lawyers, Natalie was appointed to lead the first reform to the National Disability Insurance Scheme in response to the NDIS Review, through the NDIS Provider and Worker Registration Taskforce. The taskforce provided 11 recommendations and 10 implementation actions to the Government on a proposed system of regulation for NDIS providers and workers.

Natalie authored Disability Rights in Real Life, a disability rights law handbook for people with disabilities and represented Australia at the United Nations Conference of State Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (16th session).Natalie’s contributions span across law reform and human rights campaigns advancing the rights of women and girls with disabilities, migrants with disabilities and leading advocacy for a Human Rights Act in South Australia.

In recognition of her contributions, she was named Australian Young Lawyer of the Year in 2016 and was awarded the 2024 Dennis Mutton Leadership Award.