Australian CEO Excellence Awards 2026 | 13 Founded in 1986, Deaf Australia is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, a major milestone for a small non-profit organisation working on a national level. Representing Deaf and hard of hearingindividuals, as well as those fluent in and knowledgeable about Auslan, the organisation works with communities and decision makers to ensure Australia is compliant with the UN’s Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Award-winning CEO Shirley Liu told us more about what this entails following her recognition in our Australian CEO Excellence Awards 2026. Driving change for Deaf and hard of hearing communities across Australia, Deaf Australia’s advocacy work, which is informed by community voices, sees it attempt to influence the decisions, systems, and services impacting Deaf (a term capitalised to show its cultural identity) and hard of hearing people across the country. As the peak national representative and advocacy organisation for the Deaf Community, Deaf Australia’s vision is a world where Deaf and hard of hearing people are fully engaged citizens, and where Auslan and other sign language are formally recognised and respected as a language of choice. Shirley Liu has been helping to spearhead these initiatives since she joined Deaf Australia in 2021, first as a community and development officer and then as a community and youth advocate. Around two and a half years into her journey with the organisation, Shirley was offered the role as interim CEO, becoming its official CEO in August last year. Bringing more than 15 years of experience in youth and community advocacy to the role, Shirley offers every project her unique blend of leadership, creativity, and impact. Every day is different for this CEO, who enjoys the sense of variety this role brings. All of her staff work from home due to Deaf Australia not having a physical office, and so Shirley harnesses the power of our technologydriven world to deploy her leadership skills across the organisation. By the end of each day, Shirley is reminded why she and her team do the work that they do – to solve the needs and realise the goals of the Deaf and hard of hearing community. Recognising that strong leadership comes from a combination of listening to lived experiences, valuing diverse perspectives, and creating inclusive environments where people feel heard, supported, and empowered, Shirley’s personal values are respect, accessibility, teamwork, transparency, resilience, honesty, and communication. These align with Deaf Australia’s strategic planning and help build trust with those it serves. This alignment is just one of the reasons why Shirley is right at home in her position as CEO. “I understood the importance of Deaf Australia even before joining the organisation,” Shirley told us, “as I was part of the Deaf community myself and knew how important it is for Deaf Australia to remain connected to and representative of the community.” Besides this synergy between herself and the organisation, Shirley also credits its former CEO Jen Blyth with believing in her and trusting both her work and her abilities as a leader. She gave Shirley the opportunity to step into higher-level responsibilities in the months before leaving. The core focus of Shirley’s role is strengthening the two-way relationship between Deaf Australia and the wider community, with both parties needing to engage with one another if deeper trust, communication, and impact are to be achieved. More, however, is needed if Deaf Australia is to achieve its goals, and that is why the organisation is currently looking to increase its profile through community incentives, digital engagement, and accessible online content. The latter two in particular are vital for change. For Deaf people, the issue is not solely about impairment or functional limitation, but about how society creates barriers, especially through limited recognition of and access to language. Sign languages are central to Deaf culture and identity, yet their importance is often overlooked or treated only as an accessibility support rather than a fundamental human right. Highlighting the critical role of language access would help reframe the discussion from focusing on disability barriers alone to recognising the cultural and linguistic dimensions of the Deaf Community. This shift would better reflect the lived experience of Deaf people and support more inclusive, equitable policy outcomes. As Shirley explained: “We understand that minority disability communities are often overlooked in mainstream society because accessibility is not always considered when designing platforms, systems, or content. This is why ongoing advocacy, accessibility, and co-design are so important.” Shirley’s collaborative and empowering approach to leadership helps to nurture this, and is something she is continuing to hone as she works in a space where people’s voices have long been underrepresented or misunderstood. Importantly, there is also a need to shift from a medical model of disability to a social model, particularly in relation to the Deaf community. For Deaf people, challenges are not only about impairment but about societal barriers, especially those related to language access. Without Deaf Australia, the Deaf and hard of hearing community may face greater difficulty having its issues heard and represented, and this alone makes Shirley Liu fitting of recognition. Contact: Shirley Liu Company: Deaf Australia Web Address: ww.deafaustralia.org.au Deaf Advocacy CEO of the Year 2026: Shirley Liu & APAC Insider Accessible Communication Excellence Award 2026 Deaf Australia
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