ConnectUp — Co-Designed Social-Connection App for People with Disability and Carers

Research shows nearly one in five Australians with disability experience social isolation, more than double the rate of those without, which motivated a University of Melbourne team led by Assoc. Prof. Dominika Kwasnicka to co-design a digital response with the community it was meant to serve.
Starting from ethics approval in October 2021, the team ran six structured co-design workshops at Carers WA's Perth premises. Seventeen participants took part — 6 people with disability, 6 carers, and 5 identifying as both, aged 20 to 73 — each paid AU$37.50 per hour plus travel reimbursement, across up to 12 sessions over 18 months. The methodology and findings were published in a peer-reviewed MDPI journal in 2025.
The resulting app, ConnectUp, secured more than AU$2 million in state and national government funding to be offered free to users and to organisations running inclusive activities, backed by a coalition including Carers Australia, Alike WA, the WA Disabled Sports Association, Ramsay Health Care and several universities. National public launch is set for 7 June 2026.
Because national rollout was only just beginning at the time of these sources, demonstrated reach is still limited to the pilot's 17 co-design participants; population-level adoption data is not yet available.

Read the full analysis: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/15/10/1299