Australian Spatial Analytics (ASA) case study (page 12)

Australian Spatial Analytics was founded in 2020 to address persistently high rates of autistic unemployment and growing demand for data skills in the Australian economy. It creates award-wage employment for neurodivergent people as junior data analysts, delivering geospatial, digital engineering, and data management services to government and commercial clients. By 2025, ASA had supported more than 220 neurodivergent people into paid employment, paid over $12.5 million in wages, and delivered more than $16 million in data services.

What happened

ASA lost two major commercial clients almost overnight. Revenue was effectively halved, forcing rapid decisions about staffing, structure, and strategy.

What the shock exposed was as instructive as the shock itself. During a sustained growth period, ASA had invested heavily in creating a neuro-inclusive workplace, extensive internal wrap-around supports that helped employees succeed in professional environments. Over time, this worked so well that most employees did not want to move on. Transition momentum slowed, and ASA became, in Geoff Smith's words, 'effectively an award wage sheltered workplace'.

This was compounded by a compliance decision: when Fair Work introduced casual conversion provisions, ASA moved quickly to offer permanent roles, shifting its workforce from approximately 20% to 85% permanent. In a project-based business with inherently uneven revenue, this created significant rigidity. When revenue contracted, the workforce could not flex in response.

ASA had also expanded geographically, to four locations nationally, backed by philanthropic growth funding. In hindsight, Geoff reflects that this expansion prioritised footprint before commercial demand: 'We put the cart before the horse. We should have been growing from Brisbane and metro Melbourne, expanding where demand already existed, rather than opening offices and hoping the work would follow.' Cairns and Adelaide were subsequently closed.

How they responded

ASA redesigned its employment and transition model, engaging an external recruitment organisation with deep expertise in neurodiversity coaching and workforce transition. This reshaped the transition from an aspiration into an active, measured outcome, and unlocked access to government outcomes-based funding that became a core part of ASA's revenue mix.

The organisation contracted significantly. Trade income reduced from approximately $7 million to $3.8 million annually. Yet Geoff describes the organisation as more financially stable than it has ever been: costs reduced, the sales function streamlined, operational productivity improved, and the volatility of project-based work better managed through service diversification.

ASA now operates a deliberate hybrid model, combining transitional employment with internal promotion pathways. Geoff notes a tension here: many funders prioritise transitions to mainstream employment and do not value internal career progression, leaving significant skill development invisible.

ASA's experience also highlighted the non-financial value of philanthropic support. Early backing from recognised foundations provided reputational capital that strengthened ASA's position in client pitch decks and external negotiations: 'Being associated with those funders mattered. It gave us credibility in conversations with clients, even in negotiations like rent.'

Key learnings

Employment models must be able to flex with revenue volatility. Models that work in growth phases may fail under contraction if adaptability is not designed in from the outset. For funders: interrogate explicitly whether the employment model can flex, not just whether the impact is compelling.

Hybridity is legitimate. There is no single right WISE model. Combining transitional employment with internal progression can strengthen sustainability, talent retention, and skill depth. For funders: value jobs created and retained within a WISE, not only transitions to mainstream employment.

Growth capital shapes behaviour, whether intentionally or not. Funding can encourage WISEs to expand geographically before commercial foundations are secure, or to stretch beyond their core cohort to meet funder expectations. For funders: support disciplined decision-making and strategic capacity building alongside funding, and align growth capital with contract-led demand.

Government outcomes funding is an underutilised lever. For many WISEs, long-term sustainability will require government funding or subsidy for outcomes. For funders: advocacy for government support is a legitimate and important philanthropic role.

Reputational capital has real value. Early philanthropic endorsement can open doors well beyond the financial value of the grant itself. For funders: recognise this and use it intentionally.

The main learn book and associated case studies were commissioned by Westpac Foundation (and prepared by GoodWolf Partners).