Australian of the Year

Rosie Putland is driving significant disability reform by using her voice, expertise and lived experience to create pathways for people with disability to lead the conversation.  

Based in Tasmania, Rosie co‑founded Modality Co, a social enterprise that is embedding accessibility into her clients’ communications, events and digital platforms from the ground up.    

Rosie also led national campaigns and created short‑form content that translates complex policy into accessible, engaging messages in her work for Children and Young People with Disability Australia. 

As the founder of the Tasmanian Accessibility Community, Rosie helps financially support accessibility initiatives for disabled rights events. Rosie co-produced and hosted two podcasts with Print Radio Tasmania. Literacy Legends tells the stories of people working to improve literacy rates in Tasmania and Crip Culture shares the careers of disabled creatives from around Australia.  

In 2026, Rosie gave evidence at Australian Senate Committee hearings into the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment Bill.