Dallas Dunn

Disability Adviser
University of South Australia
Phone: 08 8302 4736
Dallas.Dunn@unisa.edu.au

Dallas studied Psychology and Anthropology at the University of Adelaide. He then completed a Graduate Diploma in Group Work, at what was then the South Australian Institute of Technology, which is now University of South Australia.

Dallas “fell” into the disability field when he took a job working with adults with intellectual disabilities living in a community setting, run by a large established institution in Adelaide. Dallas has worked in aged care, in nursing homes, youth shelters, and community care for aged and disabled people. He then found himself working back with the large institution (Minda Inc.) as an outreach worker, again with people with intellectual disabilities living at home with their parents/carers. This work involved working with the individuals and their parents in many areas, such as toilet training, behaviour support, personal hygiene, transport training, personal safety, and other areas of the individual’s lives assessed as needing support/training.

Dallas then moved into a training role with Minda, developing, delivering and assessing Certificate III and IV VET courses to Minda staff, and staff from other Non-Government Organisations. From there he assumed a similar role at Tauondi Adult Aboriginal College at Port Adelaide, teaching Certificate III & IV in Disability Work.

And now for 8 years Dallas has been a Disability Adviser at University of South Australia. He says that it is great to be involved in a collaborative process with academic staff and students to reduce the barriers to students education and see them progress through to graduation, and acknowledges that he is learning constantly.