Staff

Nikki Cousins

Director and Senior Occupational Therapist

Nikki is an Occupational Therapist with experience across Newcastle, the Central Coast and Sydney, having received her Bachelor of Occupational Therapy from the University of Newcastle, Australia. She has worked as a senior neurological and general physical Occupational Therapist.Nikki's clinical areas of interest are complex home modifications, wheelchair prescription and dementia care. She is also a master trainer in the completion of assessments and reports for decision-making capacity and applications to the Guardianship Tribunal and will be offering supervision and mentoring to other OTs in this area beginning in 2023.Having grown up in the area, Nikki returned to the Hunter Valley to raise her own family and start a much needed client-centred occupational therapy boutique private practice within the region in 2016.In her spare time, Nikki’s partner and three sons keep her busy and active. In addition to spending time with friends and family, she also enjoys travel, bushwalking, swimming, Lego and experiencing the many delights of the Hunter Valley.

Megan Radcliffe

Senior Occupational Therapist

Megan obtained her Bachelor of Occupational Therapy from the University of Newcastle, Australia.She is an Occupational Therapist with experience working in the Hunter and the Illawarra regions and has enjoyed working in inpatient, rehabilitation, community, and specialist home modification Occupational Therapy roles.Megan has a keen interest in home modifications, equipment prescription, and assisting people to find solutions suited to their individual needs that will help improve independence, safety and quality of life. She has the qualifications required by the NDIS for assessing for and prescribing complex home modifications.Megan was excited to join Action Occupational Therapy in April 2018 and is currently working part time. She is happy to be part of such an enthusiastic, positive, client-focused and experienced team. Being a Mum to two young boys, a mini Dachshund (and her husband!) keeps her busy, but when gifted with some spare time she also enjoys building Lego creations with her sons, gardening, spending time outdoors with family, photography and relaxing with a great coffee!

Sophie Anderson

Senior Occupational Therapist

Sophie graduated from the University of Newcastle with a Bachelor of Occupational Therapy (Honours).She is local to the Hunter region, growing up in Nelson Bay before relocating to Newcastle when joining the Action OT team.Sophie's passion for advocacy, problem-solving, science, and health is what led her to a career in occupational therapy. She has a keen interest in neurological rehabilitation and has focused her practice in stroke rehabilitation, upper limb retraining, assistive technology and wheelchair prescription, and home modifications.In her spare time you will find Sophie camping, hiking, snowboarding, swimming, painting, or enjoying the outdoors with her partner, and their (big) puppy, Lola.

Cameron Fearnley

Senior Occupational Therapist

Cameron is an experienced Occupational Therapist with previous experience working in vocational rehabilitation, where he completed various ergonomic and home assessments as well as functional evaluations. He has a keen interest in various neurological conditions (including Autism Spectrum Disorder, stroke, brain injury, dementia and Parkinson’s Disease) and cognition.Cameron enjoys helping people find ways to complete daily tasks that are important to them, and has a particular interest in equipment prescription. He has experience completing both minor and major home modifications, upper limb therapy and complex equipment prescription. He works full time, providing OT services to the Hunter region four days per week and the Central Coast one day per week.Outside of work, Cameron's interests include surfing (not very well), playing board games and taking his dog to the beach.

Jessica Sleap

Occupational Therapist

Jessica received her Bachelor of Occupational Therapy (Honours) with Honours First Class from the University of Newcastle, Australia.Jess is no stranger having worked as an Allied Health Assistant here at Action OT for 3 years prior to commencing as an OT and is looking forward to establishing her new role as an Occupational Therapist! She aims to bring her enthusiasm, passion and love of working with people into her work and is excited to broaden her areas of neurological clinical practice.As a Hunter local, Jess loves spending time with her friends, exploring the outdoors, 'attempting' to learn the guitar, and reading whenever she has a spare minute.

Shayla Walch

Allied Health Assistant

Shayla is an undergraduate student currently studying a Bachelor of Exercise and Sport Science at The University of Newcastle.She is keen to transition into Occupational Therapy as she feels it would be a very rewarding career.Shayla is excited to broaden her knowledge and skills in her role and hopes to make a positive difference in the lives of others, helping them work towards their goals.In her spare time, Shayla loves to travel and explore the outdoors, read when she can, and spend quality time with family and friends doing the things that she loves.

Sara Ireland

Administration Officer

Sara has joined our team with a Business Admin qualification and broad experience in Reception, Administration and Customer Service roles.She is the first smiling face you will see when you walk through our doors, has a strong belief in a positive client experience and will ensure you always feel welcome and supported when you attend the clinic.Sara has a passion for improving the lives of individuals and their families so has engaged in the process of training her fur-baby, Coco to be an accredited Therapy Dog to strengthen her focus in this area.Outside of work, Sara is a mum of two young kids who enjoys spending valuable time with her family, tending to her indoor plant collection and going on random drives to unknown destinations.

Abbey Douglas

Administration Officer

Abbey has just completed a School Based Traineeship with Action Occupational Therapy in Business Administration.She is keen to gain entry to an Occupational Therapy degree when she finishes her HSC this year to enable her to transition to being an Occupational Therapist, and felt this was the best way to gain further experience in this field.Abbey grew up in the Maitland region and enjoys activities including tennis, swimming and spending time with her family.