Posted September 19, 2018
The horror stories of neglect and abuse of people in care are not confined to older Australians living in nursing homes. Last night, Greens Senator Jordon Steele John held the Upper chamber spellbound as he read out the names of younger disabled people who have died due to extreme negligence and even violence. Jordon Steele John is demanding that the Royal Commission into aged care be expanded to include what the ‘shared horror’ that is the disability sector. ‘We have a systemic problem here and I cannot, for the life of me, understand why the Liberal and Labor parties are not taking this opportunity to step back and ensure justice is done’ says Senator Jordon Steele John
Posted September 19, 2018
Like health care, aged care is heavily subsidised by the government, meaning the taxpayer, with the balance picked up by those receiving care who can afford to pay. But big investment corporations also play a big role in helping to grow the sector and improve the living standards of residents. They claim the funding model is broken and are waiting for the government to clearly explain how it’s going to cater for an ageing population, and greater demand, before backing the sector again.
Posted September 18, 2018
The commission will be dealing with in-home care and young people with disabilities in residential aged care, but won’t look at disability organisations more broadly. “It’s important that we keep the focus of these inquiries. If they become an inquiry into everything, they become too broad,” Mr Morrison told reporters in Canberra on Tuesday.
Posted September 18, 2018
As the first person with a disability to sit in the Upper House, Senator Steele-John said he often heard of horrific cases of abuse in the disability sector. “We speak every day with each other about people who have died because of the neglect they have been subjected to,” he said. “I’m talking about being locked in rooms, I’m talking about being kicked, I’m talking about being spat at and restrained.
Posted September 18, 2018
Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the royal commission on Sunday, and said it would primarily examine the quality of care provided in aged care to senior Australians, while also including young people with disability living in residential aged care settings. Disability advocates also praised the announcement, but expressed dismay their ongoing calls for a royal commission into violence and abuse affecting the broader disability community had been ignored.
Posted September 13, 2018
The VR learning prototype offers support staff the opportunity to experience and learn about possible high risk situations in a safe and realistic way. The organisation embarked on developing the prototype in July 2017, after receiving $200,000 from the National Disability Services (NDS) Innovative Workforce Fund.
Posted September 13, 2018
A vulnerability in the service portal for the National Disability Insurance Scheme has allowed a number of providers to obtain personally identifiable information of users and steal money.
Posted September 13, 2018
The Andrews Labor Government is backing a ground-breaking disability employment program that’s helping young Victorians living with a disability get the skills they need to find a job. The program is a partnership between the Royal Children’s Hospital and Holmesglen Institute of TAFE and is helping 10 students with a disability complete a Certificate I in Work Education.
Posted September 13, 2018
A mother says she faces a “devastating” loss of short-term accommodation for her son with disability, and is calling for greater access to this support under the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
Posted September 13, 2018
“The portal flaw allowed any participant or registered provider to guess a nine-digit plan number in the search function and bring up random support packages from participants,” the report said. Labor’s shadow social services minister, Linda Burney, said on Friday the Social Services Minister Paul Fletcher “needed to immediately” explain what the ramifications of this breach would be, and why the breach occurred in the first place.
Posted September 10, 2018
Closing date: October 2, 2018
The program is open to employees working in a ‘not for profit’ organisation engaged in supporting people with a disability (both disability and/or psychosocial disability). The NDIS Transition scholarship program provides financial assistance to undertake study in an undergraduate or postgraduate course, or a course that leads to a qualification in 2019 and/or 2020.
Posted September 10, 2018
Frauds are continuing against users of the $22 billion National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). The National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA), which runs the NDIS, set up a specific fraud task force earlier in 2018, while it was reported in February that the NDIA was investigating over 500 allegations of fraud or “sharp practice”, up from 300 in July 2017. Recent complaints of fraud against NDIS users include sums in the order of tens of thousands of dollars being “siphoned” from support packages. From The Australian:
Posted September 7, 2018
The Housing Hub is a new way for people with disability to find suitable housing. The Housing Hub advertises vacancies for all types of housing that may be relevant to people who have disability – specialist disability accommodation (SDA), disability-friendly private rentals, supported residential services (SRS) and more.
Posted September 7, 2018
“This is the only place we’ve actually been able to get a haircut where we don’t have meltdowns, we don’t have any type of tantrum, and also where she can get a haircut that actually looks like a proper haircut,” said Lillian’s mum, Melissa Whitehall.
Posted September 5, 2018
Over the last few months, I have witnessed an alarming number of problematic and, frankly, confusing responses from the NDIA to submitted Housing Solutions reports.
