Our Vision
A world where all neurotypes can work and play together, where difference is not just accepted but celebrated, and where everyone has the opportunity to reach their full potential.
We imagine organisations and communities that unlock the brilliance in every mind, sparking ideas, solutions, and possibilities beyond what we can yet imagine.
Our Story
Wondiverse was born from a simple belief: when people are free to be themselves, magic happens.
When our founder Madeleine Jaine Lobsey was eight years old, while other kids played mums and dads, she played businesses. She would answer an imaginary phone and say, “Hello, Wondiverse.” Even then, it was about wonder and the universe—a place where all kinds of people could come together and be really, really happy.
Decades later, after discovering she was Autistic and ADHD (AuDHD), that childhood vision made perfect sense. Wondiverse became not just a dream, but a social enterprise built from lived experience—a movement to create spaces where difference isn’t something to manage, but something that makes the world richer, kinder, and more creative.
What began as small community gatherings has grown into national partnerships with workplaces, schools, and cultural institutions. Everywhere we go, the purpose remains the same: to build a world where all neurotypes can work and play together—and where inclusion and innovation go hand in hand.
Why it matters in Australia.
Because too many brilliant minds are still left out of the room.
1 in 10Â Australians are neurodivergent, yet most environments aren’t designed for different neurotypes.
54% of autistic adults have never held a paid job — even when fully qualified.
32% will never have a friend outside their family.
Only 8% finish the degree they start.
Mental distress among young people is at the highest levels ever recorded.
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By age 7, neurodivergent people will have had 40,000 more negative things said to them.
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These aren't just numbers; they're reminders of how much potential we lose when difference isn't understood and the cost on a human beings life.
When we design for the average, we overlook the ideas, creativity and innovation that come from diverse ways of thinking. At Wondiverse, we know inclusion isn’t just about fairness, it’s about building a world that works. When every kind of mind is valued and empowered to contribute, communities thrive, organisations evolve, and entirely new possibilities emerge.
That’s the world we’re here to create, one playful, human connection at a time.
Our values
Play
Play is at the heart of who we are. It’s what we did as kids, sitting on the floor with strangers, problem-solving, negotiating and learning to communicate in different ways. Through play, we rediscover how to collaborate, imagine, and connect.
Be
We allow people to be, and magic happens. We create authentic spaces where everyone can show up as their true selves.
Connect
We cause connection and belonging. Through empathy and shared experience, we build bridges between different minds and create communities where everyone feels seen, safe and valued.
Include
We educate and empower people to embrace neurodiversity and include all neurotypes, because radical inclusion unlocks the innovation and ideas that we cannot see alone.
Our Team
Madeleine Jaine Lobsey
Founder
Madeleine Jaine Lobsey is an AuDHD Creative Strategist and sought after leader in transformational leadership, with over 20 years of experience empowering individuals and organisations to make a bold difference. She has delivered coaching, mentoring and facilitation programs across Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, and now globally, supporting people from all walks of life, including Members of Federal Parliament, senior educators, Olympians, not for profit founders and leaders in science, business, and the arts. She is a certified LEGO Play Agent.
Lucia Lobsey
Project and Events Lead
Lucia is an award-winning advocate, screenwriter, and speaker. They began being an activist in primary school, creating events and fundraisers, and have been leading the way ever since. They have been a volunteer for Wondiverse since it began. Lucia is a disarming leader and youth content creator and is currently attending the School of Humanity.
Bali Padda
WonderPlay Studio Co-Founder
Bali Padda is Co-Founder of WonderPlay Studio, a neuroinclusive creative coworking space in Darlinghurst. A director, producer, actor and consultant, Bali works across stage and screen, from his acclaimed directorial debut Guards at the Taj to producing landmark works with Griffin Theatre Company and Sydney WorldPride. His years at Screen Australia and on MEAA’s Equity Diversity Committee built a track record of reducing barriers for historically excluded communities in the creative industries. At WonderPlay, Bali brings that same conviction, that creative spaces work best when everyone can belong in them.
Sarah Hayes
Project Manager
Sarah Hayes is Project Manager at Wondiverse, and has been Madeleine’s right hand for fifteen years. Her specialty is making complex things simple, taking big ambitious ideas and building the clear structures that bring them to life and keep every moving part in motion. Sarah draws on nearly twenty years in risk, compliance and program management across financial services and superannuation, where she learnt to spot problems before they happen and communicate with care under pressure. A trained facilitator and lifelong student of leadership, she is committed to backing leaders who make a genuine difference.
We are a social enterprise
Our Social Goal: To build a new world of social connection. One where neurodivergent people aren’t just included, they are leading, creating and shaping the spaces we all share.
We reinvest profits where inclusion is needed most, especially among autistic and ADHD youth, intersectional communities and people who rarely see themselves reflected in mainstream spaces. Our efforts include:
Transforming public spaces and events through universal design and play
Training organisations, schools and government in practical neuroinclusion
Running large-scale play-based experiences where communities co-create
Building neurodivergent-led pathways into leadership, creativity and employment
Shifting public perception through joy, creativity and connection
Creating digital tools so inclusion is available everywhere
When we allow people to be, magic happens.
Advisory Board
Dr Caroline Mills
Caroline is an occupational therapist with over 13 years’ experience supporting children and families in Australia, the UK, and China. She holds a Master of Applied Linguistics and a PhD on sensory processing in autism. A former Practice Specialist at Autism Spectrum Australia (Aspect), she has presented at leading conferences and published internationally. Caroline was awarded the Aspect Elizabeth Hoyles Fellowship for her contributions to sensory processing research and practice.
Sarah Hayden
Sarah, a social worker and equine-assisted psychotherapist, specialises in autism, neurodivergence, adoption, and complex family dynamics. She is The Mayor of Golden Plains Shire, a public speaker and author of bestseller book, Parenting Different, she volunteers by counselling refugees and providing emotional support during bushfire seasons. Neurodivergent herself, Sarah was diagnosed with ADHD at 48. She’s the mother of five, including actress and advocate Chloé Hayden.
Sarah Young
Sarah, based in Melbourne, is a Clinical Director and speech pathologist with 28 years of experience. In her late 20s and early 30s, she lived in London, where she managed the Children’s Fund Youth Crime Prevention Initiative, designing and delivering community enrichment projects. Sarah cares deeply about contribution, volunteering and is passionate about advocating for neurodiverse affirming practices in all areas of life.
Simon Phinith
Simon is a strong advocate for Learning through Play and leads the community engagement initiatives for LEGO Australia and New Zealand. He is also deeply committed to volunteering, dedicating more than 15 years to supporting Camp Quality and many charities across Australia and NZ.
Susan Wolfe
Susan Wolfe is an experienced leader in experience strategy and design thinking, working with corporate, government, and NGO clients to develop practical, actionable solutions to complex challenges. She is known for bridging the gap between strategy and execution, helping organizations implement ideas that deliver real-world impact.
