ON-Q Human Resources Limited (ON-Q) was originally established as part of the Challenge Foundation of NSW (Tweed Branch) at Murwillumbah in 1988.

At this time placing people with a disability into Award-wage jobs in the community was a revolutionary concept. Our aim was to help some people working in the Challenge Foundation sheltered workshops (now called “Business Services”) to move into the open workforce.

Our original office was in Tweed Heads. We soon expanded into the Gold Coast and Ballina by co-locating with the Commonwealth Employment Service. Further expansion saw us open an office in Lismore in 1992.

The Challenge Board realised that we were able to deliver our services across a much larger region than just the Tweed Shire. Subsequently, in 1991 we were separately established as Personnel Employment – Northern Rivers Incorporated.

In 1998 we reviewed how we were travelling and made a number of changes. Two important ones were that we changed our name to ON-Q and became a Company limited by guarantee.

We also adopted a new strategy designed to keep us close to our clients and customers. At this time we were housed in two major offices, one in Lismore and the other in Burleigh Heads. Over the next couple of years we broke these two large offices into seven smaller ones. While this was an expensive exercise it has achieved its aim and has also helped create a strong “team” focus in the delivery of our services.

In 1998 we realised that many people who had a disability were missing out on the opportunities provided by Australian Apprenticeships and Traineeships. To meet this need we started our own Group Training company, now known as Start Smart.

ON-Q is now an industry leader in placing people with a disability, injury or health problem into Apprenticeships and Traineeships. We currently support over 500 people, including those with and without a disability, in this mainstream program.

In 2006 we re-branded and formalised our suite of programs to continue to deliver innovative employment solutions to our stakeholders. The Real Ability program provides employment services to disability clients who require support on a long term basis. The Reconnect program was established to help clients with a short term injury or illness to return to the workforce. Through the Get Ready program we support school leavers with a disability to transition to work and through the Start Smart program we offer a wide range of Apprenticeship and Traineeship solutions. 

In 2010 the Federal Government reformed Disability Employment Services further. From the 1st March 2010, ON-Q now offers Employment Support (Real Ability) and Disability Management (Reconnect) at all 10 locations.