Andrew Alexander, an accomplished lawyer, says he is committed to the community, as part of his core value, and heritage. With degrees in law, public policy, education and business administration, a former teacher, and pro bono lawyer for refugees, Alexander runs his own legal practice in Geelong, where he serves as president of the Greek Community of Geelong.

He is also a loving son.

His mother lived with Multiple Sclerosis for decades—an experience that shaped Andrew’s upbringing and inspired him to develop the foundation of SDAAus, a not-for-profit delivering specialist disability housing across Australia.

A childhood shaped by silent struggles

“I remember constantly worrying about her at school,” he tells Neos Kosmos.

“We didn’t have mobile phones or security cameras back then. My sister or I would come home and find her on the floor. We’d lift her up. That was our daily reality.”

His mother’s home was not designed for someone with mobility challenges—which increased her isolation and vulnerability. Her struggle planted the seeds in Andrew, and his sister, Katherine, who works with the United Nations in humanitarian missions.

The spark that became SDAAus

When Alexander’s mother died in 2012, he was left with the weight of responsibility.

“I couldn’t let it end there” he said, “I needed to do something—to help others going through what we did.”

In 2018, he shared an idea with childhood friends, Luke and Robert—who have been mates since St Fidelis Primary School in 1985.

“I told them about my mum and what it was like growing up with someone with a severe disability. They got it . That’s how the vision came to fruition.”

They founded SDAAus, a disability housing organisation that designs homes under the Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) framework of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). These homes go beyond compliance—they are built with dignity, empathy and inclusivity at their core.

Beyond survival—toward belonging

For Alexander accessibility is not a checkbox, it’s a promise.

“Our homes are built near shops, medical centres, and parks—not for marketing, but because we want people to be part of life. We don’t want them to just survive—we want them to live.”

One SDAAus participant came to the program isolated, unable to leave his home. “Now he walks with a frame, he goes outside—he lives again. That’s what this is about.”

Challenges, honesty, and accountability

Alexander is candid about the challenges in the system.

“There are shortages, delays, and vacant spots in homes—which is unthinkable given the need.

“That tells me something’s broken. We need better regulation of SDA providers. If the good providers can’t survive, it’s the people who need them most who’ll suffer.”

A family legacy of care

The story of SDAAus is not one of friendship and coherent mission abd a legacy of family unity.

“Our upbringing shaped who we became,” Alexander says of his sister and himself. “Care begins in the home, but it shouldn’t stop there. It must become a way of life.”

His work he says is “an extension of who I am”.

“Filotimo, is inherent in us, the care for others, community responsibility—these were not things I learned at university. I learned them at home.”

His late-mother would “be deeply moved” he says.

“She’d be Proud-she wouldn’t believe what we’ve built—Luke, Robert, and I. She’d feel that everything she went through meant something.”

Leaving a legacy of love

For Alexander, every action, every home, every life improved is part of a bigger message: “Everything we say and do matters. It either helps or it harms. If we choose to act with kindness, generosity and love—consciously—we build a better society.”

Though he can no longer see his mother, he sees her in every person who walks into a home designed with love and care—homes he would have been proud to offer her.

SDAAus is Alexander’s way of saying that his mother’s life had a value beyond the family—because of her, others can now live with dignity and hope.

Every home is also a story. These homes offer dignity and give hope.

Somewhere, from a balcony with no stairs, no barriers, no fear—his late mother smiles on her son.