A sex worker who claims to receive about $60,000 in NDIS funding was also given $130,000 from a local council to go towards building an organisation to help others in the industry.
Estelle Lucas, 33, from Melbourne, who uses they/them pronouns, receives funding from the national disability scheme for a range of mental health conditions, including depression, ADHD, autism and premenstrual dysphoric disorder.
Lucas shared a series of YouTube videos in December and January this year, giving other people who are ‘disabled or neurodivergent’ tips on what they need to say to successfully apply for NDIS funding.
In June last year, the 33-year-old set up an organisation called Bigger Sister Channel which was awarded a $130,000 grant as part of the City of Melbourne Council’s Social Investment Partnerships 2023-25 program.
Lucas’ organisation gives sex workers basic tools on how to manage their finances and realise their working rights in the industry.
Estelle Lucas, 33, from Melbourne and who uses they/them pronouns, receives funding from the national disability scheme for a range of mental health conditions including depression , ADHD, autism and premenstrual dysphoric disorder
Bigger Sister Channel also offers workshops and advice on a range of topics relevant to sex workers.
Before launching the organisation, Lucas was awarded the Kenneth Myer Innovation Fellowship in 2022, where recipients receive up to $180,000 each.
The fellowship is offered by philanthropic foundation Sidney Meyer Fund and The Myer Foundation.
Recipients of the fellowship receive up to $180,000 ‘to focus on approaches that have the potential to achieve positive outcomes for society’.
‘Up to $180,000 is available to each Fellow for their 12-month Fellowship comprising a stipend of $140,000 and up to $40,000 for approved project expenses,’ the foundation’s website explains.
‘Project expenses are those directly related to the Fellowship from its commencement such as renting a separate workspace (if required), travel and contracting of external expertise, and available on a reimbursement basis.
‘During the 12-months, Fellows have access to a range of supports including a panel of experts, who meet quarterly, a mentor and the network of past Fellows.’
Lucas said they were able to launch Bigger Sister Channel with the financial support from the fellowship.
Their organisation also now has a $130,000 grant behind it from the City of Melbourne Council.
The money will go towards a ‘tailored financial literacy program’ to help ‘economically empower sex workers’.
‘This will include the development of material (online videos, workshops, podcasts, multimedia content) and the delivery of weekly skill-sharing sessions,’ according to a council document seen by Daily Mail Australia.
‘In addition, BSC will partner with financial organisations and relevant government bodies to make their services accessible to sex workers.
‘By troubleshooting financial pain points, offering real solutions, building capacity and challenging stigma through collaboration, this project will create lasting positive change for the City of Melbourne (CoM) and beyond.’
All grant applications are thoroughly assessed against eligibility requirements and recipients are required to provide regular updates to the council.
The Myer Foundation was contacted for comment.
Lucas has regularly spoken out about their battles with mental health and premenstrual dysphoric disorder.
Premenstrual dysphoric disorder causes severe irritability, depression, or anxiety in women in the week or two before they get their periods.
The 33-year-old in June last year set up an organisation called Bigger Sister Channel which was awarded a $130,000 grant as part of the City of Melbourne Council’s Social Investment Partnerships 2023-25 program
They shared a three-part video series to the Bigger Sister Channel YouTube account explaining what people with similar disabilities, including other sex workers, needed to do in order to successfully apply for NDIS funding.
‘For a psychosocial disability like I do, that’s $60,000 that you don’t have to work to survive because that’s what I used to pay for, like, help around the house and just to be a functioning human being,’ they said.
Just months after posting the video, Lucas claimed they were able to make up to $10,000 a week from sex work. Daily Mail Australia does not suggest they make that amount every week.
The NDIS is not means tested and does not take into account your income or assets (such as your home or investments) when determining eligibility.
Lucas recently said they did not condone or support any fraudulent behaviour surrounding the NDIS and Daily Mail Australia does not suggest otherwise.
‘It is not easy to fake an invisible illness and the level of evidence required often means many people with invisible illnesses have more difficulties, not less, accessing the NDIS,’ they wrote in an Instagram post on Sunday.
‘I made the video because I know that there are many people living with disabilities who engage to sex work because they aren’t aware of the disability support options available to them and because being disabled is expensive.
‘This video was not intended to instruct fraud and I strongly believe that even if one wanted to, my insights simply could not be used to fraudulently access the NDIS. It just wouldn’t be possible.’
In their videos, Lucas explained that it took them 15 years to discover they were disabled, having suffered mental health issues since they were a teenager.
She shared what kind of ‘buzzwords’ people needed to use to access the funding if they have a psychosocial disability.
The NDIS said it can fund those with psychosocial disabilities through improving their functional capacity to carry out everyday tasks, increasing independence and to help them participate in social, work and study life.
Psychosocial disabilities refer to disabilities that arise from mental health issues.
Lucas said they receive about $60,000 in NDIS funding
In their videos, Lucas took prospective applicants through a series of questions they would need to answer to prove their lives were significantly impaired.
‘The purpose of this video is to educate you on what the NDIS is to help you unpack maybe some of the internalised ableist rhetoric that is in your mind that makes you feel like you’re unworthy of accessing this service or that you don’t deserve it and also to sort of demystify the process.’
Lucas said they receive about $100 a week designated to travel expenses as they are at times unable to drive or use public transport.
They said they also used some of their NDIS funding to pay their brother to do some gardening around their home.
Lucas gave tips on what kind of information those applying for information would be questioned about and what they needed to say in response.
This included needing to meet criteria on topics such as selfcare, mobility, learning, socialising and communicating.
Those applying for NDIS funding who have psychosocial disabilities have to provide statements from doctors saying there are no treatment options.
Lucas shared a three-part video series to YouTube explaining their mental health conditions and why they were able to access NDIS
Lucas said they wrote their own support letter with the ‘right buzzwords’ for their doctors to review and sign ‘because I know my own history’.
The 33-year-old said their day-to-day living was impacted by their own ‘invisible illnesses’ and that there were often days they couldn’t get out of bed.
They said that often people associated a disability with something physical that you could see, but added there were many ‘invisible illnesses’ that were ‘just as devastatingly difficult to live with as say not being able to move your legs’.
Lucas has been accessing NDIS funding since 2022.
‘I didn’t see myself as a disabled person. I refused to be ill but at a great cost of my health as well,’ they said in a video.
‘When I go behind closed doors I fall apart, and it hurts to much and I’ve hurt myself in so many ways. It took me over 15 years to accept I was disabled.’
Lucas explained that they didn’t immediately seek support from NDIS as they ‘didn’t feel worthy’ and didn’t want to ‘steal’ from others who needed it.
They said they were making good money and didn’t think it was an option for them.
The sex worker said they fully qualified for NDIS funding as part of having a psychosocial disability
‘You don’t have to prove that you’re poor, you don’t have to prove that you’re worthy for this, you just have to prove that you’re disabled and that it impairs your day-to-day living,’ Lucas said.
‘I didn’t want to steal from people who deserved it more because they couldn’t work as opposed to me who could and was making a lot of money.
‘The thing that really sold NDIS to me was the fact that I thought what if I don’t want to work in this industry anymore and would I be forced to have sex with men even if I didn’t want to, and that made me feel very uncomfortable.
‘And then that’s what made me realise that I do deserve help.
‘These aren’t handouts like I fully qualify for this and I know there’s a lot of (sex) workers that fully qualify for the NDIS and just haven’t known how to start the process.’
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Lucas for further comment.