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Sydney • Adults 18+ • NDIS & Self-funded
It started because a support worker couldn't stay
Mates That Matter began in 2021 with one observation: when your mate is also being paid to be there, the friendship ends when the shift does.
We built the alternative: a Sydney-wide community where adults with hidden disability make friends with each other, not with staff.
Who We Are
A Community, Not A Service
MTM isn’t a day program and it isn’t support work. It’s a social community of more than a hundred adults across Sydney who turn up because they want to, not because it’s on a plan.
We run ten-plus events a week: bowling, bushwalks, arcades, trivia, gym sessions, gaming tournaments, festivals. What happens at those events is the point, but it isn’t the product. The product is the group chat that’s still going on Tuesday night.
A support worker moves on eventually. A mate you’ve been bowling with every second Saturday for two years doesn’t.
Our Story
Why Dan Started This
I started Mates That Matter in 2021 after working as a 1:1 support worker. The guys I supported became my mates. Same humour, same interests, just looking for a friend. But there was a problem I couldn’t get around. When I moved on from support work, that friendship was going to end. Not because either of us wanted it to, but because when your mate is also getting paid to be there, it’s complicated.
So I stopped trying to be the friend, and started building the place where people could find real mates of their own.
— Dan Drapac, Founder
Our Values
The Values That Shape Our Community
We protect the room
We assess everyone for independence before they join, and we turn people away every week. It's the only way to promise genuine peers.
Friendly but not a friend
Staff set the space and the vibes to give you the best chance to make friends, rather than becoming the friendship themselves.
Independence, not supervision
You get yourself there, you choose what you go to, you manage your own social life.
Progress, not perfection
Growth isn't linear. Catching the bus alone once counts.
Our Mission
Friendships That Outlast The Support
Our mission is to give adults with hidden disability a genuine shot at friendships that don’t depend on anyone being paid to be there.
That means getting the room right before anything else. Shared independence, shared interests, and enough events every week that connection has a real chance to build, because it doesn’t happen in a single session, and anyone who tells you otherwise isn’t being straight with you.
Our Approach
Independence you can actually see
We won’t promise anyone a best friend by Friday. What we can promise is the opportunity, and visible signs of progress along the way.
Catching the bus alone for the first time. Hanging out with someone who isn’t family. Being named employee of the month. Actually wanting to go out on a Saturday instead of sitting in a room.
That’s what progress looks like here. Not a curriculum, not a goals matrix, just a life that’s fuller than it was six months ago.
What makes MTM different
Most programs are too inclusive to work
It’s not that other programs don’t care. It’s that accepting everyone who applies means nobody can be guaranteed a genuine peer, and turning applicants away isn’t profitable, so almost nobody does it.
That one business decision is why the room never feels right. Your interests don’t match. The pace doesn’t match. The level of independence doesn’t match.
We assess for independence before anyone attends a single event. That is what makes the room different, and it’s the thing families who’ve tried other programs consistently tell us was missing.
Looking Ahead
Growing Together
As our community continues to grow, so do the opportunities available to our participants.
We’re committed to creating new experiences, building stronger community connections
and helping more people discover the confidence that comes from meaningful friendships
and shared experiences.
Every new participant, every event and every connection helps strengthen the community
we’re proud to be part of.
Your Social Life
Starts Now
Whether you’re looking for yourself, for your son or daughter, or for someone on you represent, we’ll be straight with you about whether MTM is the right fit, and point you somewhere better if it isn’t.
