About us
Our team
Trailblazer is led by Exavier Rikonda, a Registered Nurse with 14 years of nursing experience. Here's who he is, and how we choose and train the people who support you.
Trailblazer Community Care was founded by Exavier Rikonda, a Registered Nurse with 14 years of nursing experience. He is our clinical lead. The people who support you through Trailblazer are screened before they start and trained under his clinical oversight.
Exavier Rikonda, Registered Nurse
Founder and clinical lead
Exavier Rikonda, Registered Nurse
Exavier has been a Registered Nurse for 14 years, with experience at the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital and Blue Care. He started Trailblazer in October 2020 so that people with complex and high intensity support needs, and veterans who need nursing at home, have a registered nurse overseeing their care.
He leads clinical governance, reviews referrals with clinical needs and is the clinical reviewer for the articles in our resources.
Meet the teamExavier is the founder of Trailblazer Community Care and leads our clinical governance. He has been a Registered Nurse for 14 years, in hospital and in people's homes.
In practice, his role means he is responsible for:
- clinical oversight of care plans for people with health needs
- training and checking the competence of workers who carry out clinical tasks
- reviewing incidents that involve someone's health
- clinically reviewing the health information we publish in our resources
Exavier has been a Registered Nurse for 14 years. He has worked at the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital and with Blue Care, and his clinical interests are complex wound care, continence management, mental health and palliative care.
The rest of our team
When you contact us, you'll speak to someone who can answer questions about our supports and vacancies. If your enquiry involves clinical care, it goes to our clinical lead.
How we recruit
We look for people who are good at the job and good with people. Qualifications matter, and we check them. But we also want workers who listen to people and respect their choices. Workers who speak up when something isn't right.
For roles that involve clinical tasks, we look for relevant experience or the ability to be trained and assessed for that task. Nurses must hold current registration with AHPRA.
If you're thinking about working with us, see our careers page.
How we screen
Everyone who works with NDIS participants in a risk-assessed role must hold a current NDIS Worker Screening Check. We check that clearance before anyone starts, and we don't make exceptions.
We also check:
- identity and the right to work in Australia
- qualifications and, for nurses, AHPRA registration
- references from previous employers
Every worker must also hold a national police check, a current first aid and CPR certificate, a driver licence, car insurance and up-to-date vaccinations.
How we train
Training is ongoing at Trailblazer, not a one-off induction. We run internal professional development for our staff, and our clinical lead oversees the clinical side of it.
That includes:
- induction on the NDIS Code of Conduct, incident reporting and how to raise a concern
- task-specific training for clinical supports, such as PEG feeding, catheter or stoma care, before a worker provides that support
- refreshers when a person's care plan changes or new equipment is introduced
A worker doesn't carry out a clinical task for you until they've been trained and assessed as competent for it.
Alongside our internal training, staff complete external courses relevant to their role.
We explain more about how training fits into our clinical governance on our quality and safeguarding page.
Matching you with workers
You get a say in who supports you. If a worker isn't the right fit, tell us and we'll talk about other options. That's a normal request, and it won't count against you.
No provider can approve NDIS funding, including the funding that pays for your support workers. Only the NDIA decides what goes in your plan.
Who is the founder of Trailblazer Community Care?
Trailblazer Community Care was founded by Exavier Rikonda, a Registered Nurse with 14 years of nursing experience. He is also our clinical lead, which means he oversees care plans for people with health needs and the training of workers who carry out clinical tasks.
Do all your support workers have an NDIS Worker Screening Check?
Every worker in a risk-assessed role must hold a current NDIS Worker Screening Check before they start with us. This is a legal requirement for registered NDIS providers. We also check identity, qualifications and references as part of recruitment.
Are your support workers trained in clinical tasks?
Workers who provide clinical supports, such as PEG feeding or catheter care, are trained for that specific task and assessed as competent before they do it. Our clinical lead, a Registered Nurse, oversees that training.
Can I choose or change my support worker?
Yes. You can tell us what you're looking for in a worker, and if a worker isn't right for you, ask for a change. We'll talk it through with you. Asking won't affect the support you receive.
Talk to a registered nurse-led team
Call 1300 822 333 or send a referral. We reply to every enquiry within 12 to 24 hours.
Asking a question does not commit you to anything.