Some residents say it’s taking too long to receive food and medicine, and that communication from authorities has been poor. Disability groups say they’re worried that people in the nine towers who rely on the National Disability Insurance Scheme have lost access to their carers, and may be unable to call for help.
Following a A$2 million funding injection from the federal government, the ABC and SBS have introduced an audio description service for audiences who are blind or vision impaired.
How often do you see a person with a disability reporting the news or telling their own stories? The media frequently reports stories about people who live with a disability, rather than allowing people to have their own voice. So how do we change that?
The training reinforced that people living with a disability want the same qualities in a counsellor as non-disabled people. “The fact that the training was done by people with lived experience made it really meaningful and gave integrity to the content,” she said.
Robyn Kruk AO has been appointed as the new Principal Member and is joined by four other new members, Tricia Malowney AOM, Sam Paior, Mark Tonga and Sharon Boyce, who bring a diverse suite of experience in various aspects of the disability sector, disability advocacy, and sensory, physical and intellectual disability.
Deciding who is and isn’t disabled, who does and doesn’t deserve accommodation, is complicated. Most efforts to distinguish fakers from “real” disabled people usually do more harm than good.
Treasure Jennings has been appointed as the new Mental Health Complaints Commissioner and the Disability Services Commissioner. Victorians will continue to be well supported by two independent bodies that safeguard rights, resolve complaints and provide advice on improving the mental health and disability sectors.
Victorians with a disability will have greater protections thanks to new safeguards introduced by the Victorian Government, which commence today under the new Victorian Disability Worker Commission. The safeguards are part of the Government’s zero-tolerance approach to neglect and abuse of people with disability, developed in response to recommendations of the Victorian Parliament’s 2016 Inquiry into Abuse in Disability Services.
Between Fair Work Wage decisions, CPI, changes to the NDIA’s Disability Support Work cost model and the removal of the COVID-19 loading, this Price Guide has seen upward and downward pressures on hourly pricing. The overall impact is not an increase in price limits but an approximately 5-7% reduction in most prices.
A free sign language interpreting service will soon be available for senior Australians who are deaf, deafblind or hard of hearing. “This comprehensive new sign language interpreting service will make our aged care system far more accessible for people who are deaf, deafblind or hard of hearing,” Minister Colbeck said. “It will ensure that these people can participate in the assessment, planning, and review of their care – something which may have been more difficult in the past.”
All disability workers in Victoria will need to abide by a new code of conduct as part of a plan to better protect people with disability from harm and abuse. Victoria’s Disability Worker Regulation Scheme begins on 1 July, bringing into effect a code of conduct, mandatory notification requirements for providers and workers around safety concerns, and an independent complaints service.
Three special schools in Melbourne will be investigated over a series of allegations of “violence, abuse and serious neglect” of students with disabilities over the past 10 years. Victoria’s Department of Education and Training has launched an investigation into multiple claims of mistreatment of vulnerable children at Marnebek School in Cranbourne East, Jackson School in St Albans and Southern Autistic School in Bentleigh East.
Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme, Stuart Robert, today announced more flexibility and increased choice for participants to live with their families, friends and partners. Changes to Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) rules mean couples will be able to share a bedroom where they choose to do so, and children will be able to share a room with their parent or siblings.
The National Disability Insurance Agency has been working for months on a secret report that will lock in the evidence base for different autism interventions and support packages, but advocates fear it could be used to cut costs if it is not made public.
The National Disability Insurance Scheme’s watchdog failed to immediately investigate the rape of a disability care recipient “by one or more care workers”, Federal Parliament has been told.