Board & leadership team

Meet the highly experienced and dedicated individuals behind Early Start Australia's board and leadership team.

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Board members

Julie Carr

Executive Chair – Therapy

Julie is an experienced board director, senior executive and advisor with a successful career in health, disability and community services. In addition to her health qualifications and clinical expertise (Julie trained and practiced as an Occupational Therapist) she has strong commercial experience including the establishment of new businesses, managing growth and sector reform.

Julie has led diverse health and disability organisations across Australia including early intervention and therapy services since the inception of NDIS.

In her Board roles Julie has been instrumental in leading organisational change, managing risks, driving growth in competitive markets and establishing robust clinical and corporate governance risk management frameworks.

She has formal qualifications in health, finance and governance (AICD) and has served on private, not for profit and government boards with a detailed knowledge of strategic, financial, people, risk and compliance responsibilities.

Julie is a values driven leader with a passion for supporting individuals to achieve their aspirations.

Stephen Farrell

Group Finance Director – APM

Stephen has over 13 years of experience leading finance teams, starting his career with accounting practices in Dublin and Perth. In 2008, he joined APM, where he has held finance leadership roles, most recently Group Finance Director and Joint Company Secretary.

Stephen is a Chartered Accountant and holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University College of Dublin.

Matthew Flood

Chief Group Counsel – APM

Joining APM Group in the UK with Ingeus in 2015, Matthew relocated to APM’s Australian headquarters in 2019. He brings experience as a senior lawyer, having worked for some of the UK’s largest companies including BP, SABMiller and Balfour Beatty.

At APM, Matthew ensures that the global business manages legal risk effectively, while acting as a trusted adviser to the senior leadership team and the wider business.

Matthew holds a Master of Laws degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science and Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws (Honours) degrees from the University of Melbourne.