1 in 5
NDIS participants aged 15 to 24 are in employment. A whole cohort treated as passive recipients, not contributors.
Source: NDIS participant employment outcomes, 15 to 24.
Ciaralink Projects
For councils and members of parliament
A safe, local way for
young people to earn,
learn and belong.
A suburb scoped, safeguarded marketplace where teenagers and NDIS participants create real local micro businesses, join community projects and build a verifiable skills Passport.
Made in Kensington 3031
Founding pilot
Powered by CiaralinkHub
The problem in front of us
Too many young people are drifting, and too few safe, local ways exist to change that.
We do not have a shortage of good young people. We have a shortage of the connective tissue between a young person's interest and a real, safe, local chance to act on it. It is worse for young people with disability.
60% vs 45%
Young people with disability are treated hurtfully online more often than their peers. The online world is not a safe substitute for local belonging.
Source: eSafety Commissioner.
Almost none
Safe, local ways for teenagers, especially those with disability, to earn a first income and a verifiable track record. Advocates are calling for exactly this.
Source: CYDA submission to DSS, 2025.
How we answer it
A community marketplace that turns local participation into real experience, one suburb at a time.
A resident opens Ciaralink Projects on their phone, we detect their suburb, and instead of a directory we show meaningful things they can join, create, buy from and accomplish this week, close to home. Four things work together.
1
Creator marketplace
Young people and participants list real products and services and earn when they sell. They keep what they earn.
2
Community projects
Supported teams to join. A cafe crew, a media team, a garden and market crew. All abilities welcome.
3
A verifiable Passport
Every project, skill and endorsement is recorded. Over time it becomes evidence worth more than a resume.
4
A local Support Fund
Part of platform income is reinvested locally in equipment, transport and scholarships for creators who need it.
Safeguarding is the product
Built to meet Australia's child safety standards, before a single listing goes live.
Because teenagers and vulnerable people use the platform, safety is engineered into the foundation, not added later. We align voluntarily with the four regulators councils already recognise.
Safety by Design
The burden of safety never falls on the user. We assess risk up front, close stranger contact, and engineer misuse out.
Aligned with eSafety Commissioner.
Child Safe Standards
Working With Children Checks on every adult supervising minors, with expiry tracked, online environments covered.
Mandated in Victoria.
Never store your ID
Age assurance validates age only. Accredited providers verify eligibility, we keep a yes or no, inputs are destroyed.
Aligned with OAIC guidance.
Layered age assurance
Australia's under 16 online safety rules, in force from December 2025, expect a layered approach. We adopt one now.
Online Safety Act, Part 4A.
A human approves every listing
Guardian consent first
No unsupervised adult to minor contact
An honest note. We say built to meet and voluntarily aligned with, never certified or approved by. We use accredited providers, we are not one ourselves, and whether we fall under the under 16 regime is a question for legal advice. We align regardless.
Made in Kensington 3031
We are not launching all of Melbourne. We are proving the model in one suburb, well.
The founding pilot dataset holds nine live listings, five founding creators offering real products and services, plus community projects to join. Around it, the inner north west suburb network opens in rings.
Founding creators
Max's Cupcakes · baking
Kai's Computer Help · tech
Leo's Bin Cleaning · a local round
Mira Photography · WWCC current
Sam's Gardening · lawns and tidy ups
Community projects
Community Cafe Team
Local Stories Media Team
Community Garden and Market
Inclusive Events Crew
Teen Business Builder
Kensington · live
FlemingtonNorth MelbourneAscot Vale
Moonee PondsBraybrookMaribyrnongFootscray
Not a mockup
The product is built, tested and ready to pilot.
This is not a concept deck around an idea. The platform runs today, safeguarding and all, and installs on a phone like an app.
17
Working screens, from the suburb feed to the creator dashboard, supervised messages and the parent oversight view.
ID never held
Identity and payments are delegated to accredited providers. We store a status and a token, never a document, card or bank number.
Installable
A progressive web app. It works offline and installs to the home screen, no app store gate to cross for the pilot.
44 tests
Automated checks cover the safety gates, the money split, and that a guardian only ever sees and controls their own child.
How it sustains itself
Free to belong. A small fee only when a young person actually earns.
Free for the community
Discovering, joining and connecting locally is free. No young person is priced out of taking part.
5% when a creator sells
We only take a small fee on a real sale. If a creator does not earn, we do not either. Incentives are aligned.
Low subscriptions and orgs
Growing creators and organisations pay modest monthly plans. A share funds the local Support Fund.
NDIS costs stay separate and transparent. Where a participant uses funded support to run a micro business, that support is billed and described honestly, never blended into a platform fee.
The ask
Help us prove Kensington, then scale it suburb by suburb.
1
Endorse the pilot
A letter of support and a named council contact opens doors with schools, families and local NDIS coordinators.
2
Point us at a place
A community venue or hub to co-design the first supported projects, the cafe and garden crews, with real young people.
3
Measure it together
Agree the outcomes that matter, young people active, skills recorded, first dollars earned, and hold us to them.
4
Open a door in Parliament
An introduction to align this with youth, disability and local jobs priorities already on the table.
Proven in one suburb, before we promise the next.
Ciaralink Projects, Made in Kensington 3031. Let us show a young person that their suburb has a place for them.
bulent@ciaralink.com.au