Packaged with love

Supported Employees from Burleigh's Forensics and Packaging site, find meaningful work and love!

February 11, 2025

They say you find love when you least expect it. This was certainly the case for Daniel and Sharon Phillips from Disability Service Provider, Aruma’s Forensics and Packaging social enterprise in Burleigh.

It’s a workplace that provides employment opportunities for people with disability but for Daniel and Sharon, it’s also the start of their love story.

“We first met each other 30 years ago but we didn’t date. Then I bumped into Sharon at the supermarket and then again at Aruma. After that we went on our first date, and our love grew from there,” shared Daniel.

“There are ups and downs like every couple, but we are a great team both at work and at home. And we love each other.”

The love birds started at the Forensics and Packaging site in 2015.

Daniel is a forklift driver who provides support in the warehouse and Sharon works on packaging breakfast packs primarily for local hotels.

“Daniel is a real gentleman. He honestly assists us in so many areas, and he is the guy we can go to with anything and he will always be willing to help. Sharon is amazing and really works hard to achieve her goals. When she first started with us, she didn’t know how to write, now she has some of the best handwriting in our team,” shared Site Manager, Helen Karathanasis.

They are part of a team of 35 other people with disability, who are all responsible for producing a variety of high-quality medical packs, forensic packs and specialised products for customers including Queensland Police Service, NSW Police and Australian Federal Police (AFP).

Both Daniel and Sharon love what they do, and Sharon said, “We really like helping others and our community. We also enjoy the social aspect of work and the supported environment.”

When you’ve been together for three decades, you learn a lot along the way and Daniel’s advice to us was simple, “Listen to each other. Don’t keep secrets from each other and always try to share your interests together.”

The pair plan on spending Valentine’ Day enjoying each other’s company at their Burleigh home and reminiscing on some of their favourite adventures like cruising to New Zealand and of course their very special wedding day.