Danielle Ballantine

Danielle Ballantine is the chief executive of Your Side, a Sydney-based not-for-profit organisation that’s been providing support services to older Australians, people with a disability or mental health issue, and their carers for the past 30 years.

Your Side works closely with its customers to create total care solutions with a focus on maintaining customers’ independence – and that’s the type of support and care Danielle believes should be available to all Australians, via simple, accessible entry points, not realms of paperwork.

Danielle has worked in a variety of senior roles in the human services and health sectors, including in the aged care, disability care, employment, vocational training, indigenous support and mental health areas. She was recently nominated for a Pro Bono Australia Impact 25 award that recognises the Aussies who work to solve today’s biggest social challenges. Past winners of an Impact 25 accolade include domestic violence campaigner Rosie Batty and former prime ministers Julia Gillard and Malcolm Turnbull.

Danielle says her biggest passions are customer service and quality, which she feels older Australians aren’t currently receiving from the aged care sector. “At Your Side, we think older Australians deserve and will demand change in key areas,” she says. “We’ve represented the interests of older Australians in the media, while ensuring a positive and uplifting personal experience at every stage of the process, as our clients enter what is often the most vulnerable and frustrating phase of their lives.”

When she’s not fighting for older Australians’ rights at Your Side, Danielle, who grew up in an airforce family, spends time at home with her husband Brett and their beloved cat Sir Winston. She admits to a shameless devotion to ’90s pop music, with New Kids on the Block and Kylie Minogue being her top of the pops!

You can vote for Danielle to be recognised with an Impact 25 award here.