How the rise of autism and ADHD fractured Australia’s schools
Almost a million Australian schoolchildren now have a disability – that’s one in four enrolments. Parents, teachers and advocates say education is at crisis point
News and blogs
Choice and control: people with disability feel safer when they can select their NDIS providers
Recent media coverage about the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) frames the choices of people with disability as threats to their safety or the safety of others. Such reports suggest participants who use unregistered providers could be putting themselves in harm’s way. Or that some participants – such as those with criminal backgrounds – pose … Continued
DSS announces supported employment funding recipients
The Department of Social Services (DSS) has distributed $14.9 million to help people with disabilities into work. The first round of the government’s structural adjustment fund for supported employment was issued to NDIS providers to support the employment of people with high support needs.
People with disabilities “treated like non-humans” in group homes
“They were treated like non-humans.” Alastair McEwin, commissioner from the Disability Royal Commission, says shocking vision of a woman being abused by her carers reinforces the “common theme” of disabled people being treated poorly in group homes.
Call for legal aid for Australians with disability
In recent years legal aid services around the country have warned that too little government funding has left them struggling to ensure everyone can equal access to justice, regardless of income. But this year the peak body National Legal Aid is calling on the federal government to stump up a relatively-modest six million dollars to … Continued
NDIS akin to a ‘Byzantine maze’ for frustrated families having to go without funding for months
While each of their stories is different, the results are frustratingly similar — dealing with the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) has driven some of the most vulnerable people in our society to the brink. Becki Greene’s experiences left her in tears “many, many times”.
Choice and control: will NDIS reforms mean people with disability don’t get to decide who they live with?
Australia is failing some of our most vulnerable citizens. This week, a news report showed the vile and cruel behaviour of three workers in a group home for people with disability.
Higher education was easily accessible to disabled people during Covid. Why are we being shut out now?
The pandemic showed that remote learning is effective. It’s absurd that universities are going back to processes that exclude us
Disability Royal Commission Recommends Independent Complaint and Oversight Mechanisms
Following a disturbing Four Corners investigation into Irabina Autism Services last year, the NDIS Commission appointed a Former judge to conduct an independent review.
Support For Disability Self-Help Groups Across Victoria
More Victorians with a disability will get the peer support they need thanks to the Allan Labor Government’s Disability Self-Help Grants Program. Minister for Disability Lizzie Blandthorn today visited Sunspec Support Group for Families and Carers of People with Disabilities in Sunbury to announce 72 self-help groups will receive a grant through the latest round … Continued
Choice and control: are whitegoods disability supports? Here’s what proposed NDIS reforms say
Many Australians with disability feel on the edge of a precipice right now. Recommendations from the disability royal commission and the NDIS review were released late last year. Now a draft NDIS reform bill has been tabled. In this series, experts examine what new proposals could mean for people with disability.
National Autism Strategy a start but there’s much more to do
On the eve of Autism Acceptance Month, the clue to 30-down in the Hobart Mercury’s giant crossword was “competent”. The four-letter answer was “able”. It got me thinking about how the construct of “disability” is often framed as synonymous with failure, incompetence and inability.
‘Outrageously scary’: NDIS participants fear proposed changes will give them less choice and control
Many who use the NDIS disagree with the mandatory registration of disability workers, saying it could block their access to support.
Mainstream NDIS providers failed Will, so he built his own support service for neurodiverse people to game together
He struggled through school, feared he wouldn’t have coped at university, and lives with a genetic condition, but somehow Will Golding has used his disability to create his dream career. But it didn’t come easily.
Pinjarra Resort motel refuses to allow guest to bring her seeing eye dog, despite laws prohibiting discrimination
Lynn Potter just wanted a short holiday when she booked accommodation at the Pinjarra Resort, south of Perth, in January 2024. But when she was told her guide dog Hector was not allowed, she went through months of stress trying to resolve the situation. Ms Potter told Jo Trilling on ABC Radio Perth that the … Continued