After more than 24 years working across Australia, New Zealand and the Middle East, Tallat Mehmood has led major water supply, wastewater, dam, flood recovery and infrastructure programs. Yet alongside his technical career, he's become equally passionate about another challenge: helping build a water sector where people with disability can thrive.
As Member of WaterAble, Mehmood is helping reshape how the water community thinks about accessibility and inclusion. Rather than viewing disability through the lens of limitation, he believes organisations should recognise people with disability as an essential part of a diverse workforce, bringing valuable perspectives, skills and leadership to the industry.
"People with disability should be recognised as part of that diversity," Mehmood said.
"They should be recognised as people with unique strengths who can thrive when organisations provide the right support and reasonable adjustments."
For Mehmood, that philosophy has become the driving force behind WaterAble's work, from developing practical tools that remove barriers to creating opportunities for people with disability to step into leadership roles across the sector.
Mehmood's journey in water has been driven by a simple but powerful motivation: improving people's lives.
"Water is an essential service that transforms lives. Without it, people simply cannot exist. It has to be delivered safely and to the highest possible standards. That has always been my biggest motivation for working in this sector," he said.
"My involvement with WaterAble came from recognising that our industry is incredibly diverse, and people with disability should be recognised as part of that diversity."
While conversations about diversity and inclusion are important, Mehmood believes lasting change depends on practical action.
One of WaterAble's most significant recent initiatives is the development of My Inclusion Passport, a secure digital platform designed to give employees greater control over how they share information about their disability and workplace adjustments.
"The passport is being designed for member organisations to use with their employees," Mehmood explained.
"It will allow individuals to confidentially and securely record their reasonable adjustments and, if they choose, information about their disability."
Rather than requiring people to repeatedly explain their circumstances, the passport enables employees to record the adjustments they need and decide who they wish to share that information with.
"One of the features that makes the project stand out is its approach to confidentiality. The information belongs entirely to the individual. Even the organisation's administrators won't be able to access the confidential data unless the individual chooses to share it,' he said.
Currently around halfway through development, the project has already reached minimum viable product stage and is progressing with support from a dedicated working group comprising subject matter experts and people with lived experience of disability.
"We're aiming to deliver the project either by the end of this year or during the first quarter of 2027," he said.
Although many organisations express a commitment to inclusion, Mehmood believes genuine progress requires a willingness to examine the systems that shape everyday workplace experiences.
Throughout his career, he has learned that capability is often measured in ways that fail to recognise a person's true potential.
"We sometimes focus on how confidently someone speaks, how quickly they respond in a meeting, whether they can work in a particular physical environment, or whether they fit an established way of working," he said.
"Those things do not necessarily reflect a person's real skills, judgement or potential."
For Mehmood, this is why inclusion cannot rely solely on good intentions.
"My governance and leadership experience has taught me that inclusion cannot depend only on the goodwill of individual managers. It needs to be built into policies, systems, recruitment, procurement, technology, workplace design and leadership expectations," he said.
Mehmood believes there has been genuine progress, yet a gap still exists between policy and people's lived experience.
"Many organisations say they support inclusion, but people may still feel uncomfortable asking for an adjustment or disclosing a disability. That gap between policy and lived experience is what motivates me," he said.
Real change, he says, starts with leadership, but it must extend into every part of an organisation.
"Recruitment processes, HR systems, financial systems and workplace procedures should all be examined to ensure they don't disadvantage people with disability. People shouldn't feel they'll be judged, labelled or singled out because they've chosen to disclose a disability," he said.
Mehmood also encourages organisations to think differently about reasonable adjustments. Whether that's flexible working arrangements, accessible technology, ergonomic equipment, written information after meetings or changes to the way work is organised, those adjustments allow people to contribute on an equal footing.
Ultimately, Mehmood believes the responsibility lies not with individuals to overcome barriers, but with organisations to remove them.
"Very often, the real problem is the barrier created by the workplace, the system or the way a task has always been done," he said.
"When we remove those barriers, people can contribute their skills, experience and different perspectives."
Creating inclusive workplaces is only one part of WaterAble's mission. Mehmood is equally passionate about ensuring people with disability have opportunities to develop as leaders.
"One of our biggest priorities is creating opportunities for people with disability to step into leadership positions. To achieve that, people need access to leadership development that focuses on their strengths rather than their disability," he said.
The WaterAble Leadership Program is delivered by facilitators with lived experience of disability, enabling participants to learn from people who understand many of the challenges they may face.
"That lived experience allows them to connect with participants in a genuine way and deliver the program with authenticity, which will have a much greater impact on participants' learning," he said.
Looking ahead, Mehmood believes the opportunity for the water sector is clear. As the industry continues to face complex workforce and infrastructure challenges, creating environments where everyone can contribute is not simply the right thing to do, it's essential.
"The water sector needs skilled and experienced people. We should not lose talent because our systems are inflexible or because someone does not feel safe discussing their needs," he said.
Interested in learning more about WaterAble? Take a look here for more information.