Nisha Kirkham at Sutherland station on her way to work in the City. Picture by Murray Trembath

Nisha Kirkham is among the thousands of commuters who catch the train at Sutherland each morning to travel to work in the City.

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But Nisha is unlike most other workers - her intellectual disability could easily have stopped her holding down a job.

This month, Nisha chalks up an extraordinary 23 years of continuous employment in regular workplaces.

Her jobs have been located a long distance from the security of her home and required many hours of public transport travel.

Nisha Kirkham at Sutherland station on her way to work. Picture by Murray Trembath

For 15 years Nisha worked at KFC Broadway, cleaning tables, before moving eight years ago to a concierge position at the Commonwealth Bank branch 48 Martin Place in the Sydney CBD.

Nisha's parents Jim and Kabita said when they talked to her about the effect of paid work on her disability pension, she said she didn't care, and wanted to work as much as possible.

"Sometimes you can get too much help and then do nothing," Mr Kirkham said.

"Even during COVID, she put on her mask and went to work because bank employees were considered essential workers."

Another family member, who contacted the Leader after Nisha was presented with an award by her agency JobSupport, said she was "one in a million and deserves to be recognised".

Nisha with her parents Jim and Kabita visiting the Taj Mahal in 2025. Picture supplied

"She loves her Mum, Dad and siblings, and is a loving aunt to her niece and nephews and all extended family members. A hug from Nisha is something."

The family member said Nisha was very proud of her work - "she is very quick to tell you she is a tax paying citizen".

Nisha told the Leader work was "excellent...I enjoy everything about it".

In her present bank role, working daily from 10am to 2pm, she greets customers at the door, offers them a mint, biscuit or bottle of water and gives directions when required.

Mr Kirkham said, when Nisha was born, he and his wife received very good advice and support from her paediatrician and other experts in that field.

"The Down Syndrome Association put us on to a good speech pathologist, which proved to be a great move because Nisha has really good language skills," he said.

"What we hoped for was for Nisha to lead as normal a life as possible and make a contribution to the community,

"She has done that - she has been a good worker and stayed active in her private life. She has had her ups and downs, but she has shown tremendous determination and achieved so much."

Mr Kirkham said, at KFC, Nisha was known as the "dining room supervisor".

"She was basically cleaning up tables and keeping the restaurant clean and tidy," he said.

"We went in and saw her at work and couldn't believe how busy the place was and how calm she was dealing with the competing demands from people."

Nisha left school, Presbyterian Ladies College, Croydon, in 2003 and began working in May 2004.

She works five days a week for four hours from 10am to 2pm.

Nisha is picked up at 8.15am each day and taken to the station. After work, she gets the train to Jannali and walks nearly 2km to her home.

Her family say she takes pride in how she looks and has great taste in clothes.

She enjoys music, especially that of Elvis, but her heart belongs to Sir Cliff Richard, and she attended his last concert in Sydney.