“People living with autism can’t have a real career”
Hold my coffee! We say Bollocks to that!
It’s not just a café — it’s smiles, connection, courage, and coffee all served warm.
The Good Company & Co Café isn’t just another place to grab your morning flat white. It’s where heart, hustle, and humanity come together over coffee and delicious meals, as they’re brought to your table with genuine care, appreciation, and beautiful beaming smiles.
Born from the Hickman family’s love, grit, and “watch me” attitude, this café exists because one powerhouse team (mum Kerry and dad Lee) refused to let their son, Ben — who lives with autism — get left behind by a world that couldn’t see his worth.
After leaving school, Ben’s spark began to dim. The social buzz faded, confidence slipped, and the joy he once carried started to fade. His mum Kerry looked at that and said, “Nope. Not happening.”
So Kerry built Divine Social. Divine Social an events business that gives adults with intellectual disabilities and autism a place to connect, learn skills, laugh, and belong.
The business provides a space where they could enjoy the moments so many of us barely stop to notice — the café catch-ups, the weekend get-togethers, the laughter that fills a room when you feel like you fit. Before long, over 150 legends were turning up to join the fun.
But there was still one dream left to cook up.
Ben wanted to be a chef. At the café’s grand opening, they shared that he applied and tried over and over – “I certainly did everybody”.
But, the world kept saying “no”.
Having met them, no doubt there was a feisty determined “Hold my coffee” moment in the Hillman household!
And boom — The Good Company & Co Café was born.
A café where inclusion isn’t a token gesture — it’s the main ingredient. Here, people with disabilities aren’t “helping out”. They run the show.
Every latte poured, every smashed avo plated, every smile shared is another step toward independence and confidence as they are able to get hands on experience for their Cert II in Hospitality, thanks to wonderful the team at VTS Training.
“We wanted to create a place where people with disabilities aren’t just included — they’re celebrated,” says Lee.
And celebrate, we do! Because with The Good Company & Co turning one family’s challenge into a warm, thriving hub of connection, purpose, and damn good coffee, it’s not just about caffeine — it’s about community, courage, and the power of saying why not us?
Kerry and Lee had the courage to see beyond box-ticking jobs — to believe their son, and others like him, deserve more. They didn’t wait for the world to change — they built the change.
While others offered token shifts and half-hearted “experience,” they created real opportunities — not just jobs, but purpose, pride, and possibility.
They’ve opened doors to meaningful work, growth, and belonging — giving people the chance to build careers, confidence, and community all at once.
That’s leadership. That’s love in action.
Pop by, grab a cuppa, and watch the good ripple out… one smile, one brew, one life changed at a time.