Central Coast provider transforms outcomes for high-needs participants through culture, training, housing innovation, and technology, with sights set on international growth.
-- In a sector where many providers turn away the hardest cases, Novella Support is setting a new benchmark. The NSW-based disability organisation has built a track record of delivering breakthrough outcomes for participants with complex behavioural and mental health needs, and now, it’s preparing to take its model global.
Over the past decade, Novella Support team has never ceased service for a single participant, regardless of the level of need. The organisation’s ability to stabilise, re-engage, and empower individuals often deemed “too complex” for mainstream systems is challenging the status quo in disability support and community care.
“When things get hard, too many people get abandoned,” said Scott Archer, Director of Novella Support. “At Novella, the answer is never ‘no’, “ we don't manage behaviours, we understand people” We’re proving that compassion, skill, and accountability can achieve outcomes once thought impossible.”
FOUR PILLARS OF IMPACT
1. Legacy Culture, Not Corporate Speak
At the heart of Novella’s success is its culture. Drawing inspiration from Legacy, the bestselling book on the New Zealand All Blacks’ values-driven leadership, Novella has built a team that operates on purpose, not hierarchy. Staff are encouraged to “leave the jersey better than they found it,” fostering ownership, loyalty, and excellence at every level.
This mindset has created exceptional staff retention and engagement rates, translating directly into continuity and quality of care for participants.
2. Mandatory Excellence Through Accreditation
Novella’s workforce operates under a strict professional standard: every support worker holds nationally recognised qualifications. Continuous training in behavioural support, trauma-informed care, and person-centred practice ensures every team member is equipped to respond to complexity with skill and empathy.
There are no shortcuts, only consistent development, reflective practice, and external accreditation to maintain the highest standards of service delivery.
3. Housing Solutions, Not Band-Aids
Recognising that effective support depends on stable, suitable housing, Novella partners directly with SDA (Specialist Disability Accommodation) providers to design and deliver purpose-built environments.
These aren’t repurposed properties or temporary placements, they are homes engineered for accessibility, safety, and emotional wellbeing. By aligning accommodation with behavioural and environmental needs, Novella dramatically reduces placement breakdowns and hospital admissions.
4. Purpose-Built Technology That Doesn’t Forget the Human
Frustrated by software designed by software engineers and not users, Novella developed its own proprietary Client Relationship Management (CRM) system. Built in-house for the disability sector, the platform integrates participant progress tracking, incident management, training, and staff scheduling, but always with a human lens & allows staff to spend greater time with the participants and not writing documents.
Rather than replacing relationships with data, the technology enhances connection, accountability, and storytelling, ensuring every participant’s journey is visible, measurable, and meaningful.
REAL RESULTS, HUMAN STORIES
Novella’s approach has delivered measurable change: improved behavioural stability, reduced crisis incidents, and greater independence for participants once at risk of institutionalisation. Families report renewed confidence in the system; staff describe a workplace built on shared values and trust.
“We’ve shown that the most complex needs don’t require locked doors or clinical detachment,” Archer said. “They require skilled teams, thoughtful environments, and a refusal to give up.”
BEYOND AUSTRALIA: A MODEL READY FOR THE WORLD
With its decade-long record of outcomes in New South Wales, Novella Support is now exploring opportunities to share its model internationally, beginning with early-stage partnerships and research collaborations in the United States.
As U.S. policymakers seek alternatives to institutional care, Novella’s evidence-based, community-focused approach offers a scalable blueprint for systemic reform.
“Institutionalisation isn’t inevitable,” Archer added. “We’ve built a model that proves dignity and complexity can coexist, and we’re ready to show the world what’s possible.”
About Novella Support
Novella Support is redefining disability services for individuals with complex behavioral needs across New South Wales. Through person-centered support that prioritizes compassion, transparency, and accountability, Novella empowers participants to live a life they may not have experienced yet.
Scott Archer -Director
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Scott Archer
Director, Novella Support
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Name: Scott Archer
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Organization: Novella Support
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