Nine years ago, what started as a simple kitchen-table chat between three passionate professionals has since grown into one of Australia’s most respected voices in disability housing.
The year was 2016, and Goro Gupta, Nicole Doherty, and Joseph Sulfaro were all seeing the same heartbreaking pattern – Australians with disabilities being offered ‘a bed’, not a home.
The trio decided enough was enough. If the NDIS was going to change lives, then housing needed to do the same.
Each founder brought a unique piece to the puzzle. Goro had a head for systems, sustainability, finance, and strategy – he could see the long game. Nicole had the heart, and extensive community sector knowledge and experience, working closely with participants and families, always making sure the person came before the paperwork.
Joseph, with his builder’s background, had the hands and the know-how to turn dreams into bricks and mortar.
Together they formed Empowered Liveability with a shared mission to design homes that didn’t just tick boxes but truly transformed lives.
The inspiration was deeply personal. One of the first sparks came from a young man named Eddy, who after an acquired brain injury, was placed in an aged care facility because there simply wasn’t an appropriate housing option available.
For his family – and for Nicole – it was a devastating reality check. Around the same time, Nicole’s sister Kelly faced spinal surgery from Cauda Equina, a rare spinal cord injury. As Nicole watched her being wheeled into theatre, she realised that Kelly’s charming little cottage, which had brought her so much joy, would no longer be suitable for her new mobility needs.
The problem was no longer theoretical – it was urgent, real, and sitting at their own family table.
So, the trio rolled up their sleeves. There was very little housing at the time, ‘SDA’ within the NDIS was very new, there was no blueprint for what they wanted to build – just a shared belief that people with disabilities deserve homes that feel like home.
They began partnering with families, providers, and communities, creating housing that offered choice, independence and dignity.
Fast forward nearly a decade and Empowered Liveability stands as a testament to what passion, purpose, and a few bold ideas can do. What began as three people with a plan has grown into hundreds of front doors opened, lights switched on, and lives changed.
Because at Empowered Liveability, it’s never just about where you live – it’s about living life on your terms.
