Helping the Down syndrome community access clear, reliable information, advice and support
The Information for Life Program helps people with Down syndrome, their families and the wider community find the information, advice and support they need. It brings together national resources on topics that matter, with local delivery through State and Territory organisations. Key topic areas include health, education, social connections, employment, rights, behaviour, NDIS and more.
The program makes sure resources are reliable, up-to-date and practical. It also helps Down syndrome organisations across Australia provide consistent information .
Who creates and uses the resources
The National Resources Group guides the program. It includes people with Down syndrome, families and experts from Down Syndrome associations in all states and territories. The group develops, reviews and creates new resources to make sure they are useful, relevant and informed by the latest research.
Program goals
- Provide clear, practical information and advice for people with Down syndrome, families, professionals and the wider community.
- Build capacity and collaboration across the Down syndrome community.
- Support informed choices that improve daily life and quality of life.
How it works
Project Officers from across the states and territories share information via:
- Phone, email and face-to-face support.
- Workshops and community events.
- Online platforms, social media groups and newsletters.
- Webinars, videos, apps and printed resources.
A National Information Register tracks all resources, updates and feedback. This makes it easy for people to find reliable information across Australia.
2024–25 Highlights
- Delivered 1,198 phone support sessions and responded to 5,556 emails.
- Held 242 face-to-face support sessions.
- Recorded 632,937 website page views across six platforms.
- Developed or updated 65 new resources, including PDFs, videos, and web pages.
- Ran 55 webinars and podcasts, with 814 attendees.
- Conducted surveys to understand the needs of families and people with Down syndrome in areas such as social connections, health, employment, communication and decision-making.
- The 2025 Survey was distributed nationally to families and carers (over 18 years) of people with Down syndrome and received 339 responses, providing insight into their relationship with DSA’s information and advice services.
- The July issue of Voice focused on housing, with 2,830 print copies distributed.
- A digital PDF was also shared with 3,471 subscribers, improving access and reducing distribution costs.
- The Digital Voice link was included in DSA’s monthly newsletter, reaching 6,751 subscribers.
- Hosted 10 National Resources Group meetings to guide projects and include input from people with Down syndrome.
Visit our Resource Hub
You can find a wide range of information resources in our Resource Hub.
This program is funded by the Federal Government under the Information, Linkages and Capacity Building (ILC) program.