Tips for planning for the evacuation needs of disabled persons in the community In any disaster planned for by emergency management personnel, one in five people encountered will have a disability of some type – Michael Rieger/FEMA In 2013, the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction, Margareta Wahlström, noted that people with disabilities … Continued
Thousands of disabled Australians earn just a few dollars an hour working at disability enterprises. A recent Federal Court decision will lead to higher wages, but some employers fear this will send them broke. Is this a cunning ploy to get out of paying more or are their fears justified? And some parents believe these … Continued
Tyrone Sevilla is the boy deemed not good enough for Australia. The Immigration Department has resolved to deport the nine-year-old to his native Philippines, because his autism has been judged a financial burden on taxpayers. His mother, clinical nurse Ma Cecilia “Maria” Sevilla, is also likely to be forced to leave her home in Townsville … Continued
Tracey Hayes has photos of her twin boys strapped to chairs at Monash Special Developmental School in Melbourne Other parents of autistic children have also made complaints about how their children have been treated in Victorian schools Rebecca Cobb claims she was forced to pull her autistic son Tristan out of Marnebek school, in Cranbourne, … Continued
The theory of overcoming barriers for entry into the workforce by disabled people is great. The practice, however, is something else altogether. Rob Potter explains. Discrimination against disabled people is a difficult subject to broach, much less comprehensively discuss. This is compounded by the fact that we live in a society that thinks it actually … Continued
Inclusive education, where students with disabilities are educated within mainstream classrooms rather than special schools or classes, is widely recognised as being the best way to ensure everyone gets a good education. However, resourcing is a major issue, with schools not receiving adequate funding or training. One of the major barriers to adequate funding is … Continued
‘Strengthening Disability Advocacy’, a conference aimed at providing self-advocacy skills to those with intellectual disabilities, gets underway today in Melbourne and three people heading to the conference join us this morning. The National Disability Insurance Scheme is being rolled out and the government has foreshadowed tightening eligibility to the disability pension, the Disability Discrimination Commissioner … Continued
People with disabilities are routinely being denied access to justice by police and other agencies, a Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission (EOHRC) report has found. The commission estimated 20 per cent of Australians had a disability, and while they were more likely to experience violent and sexual crime they were less likely to … Continued
The Health and Community Services Union has blamed the situation on a lack of state government services for disabled children. Staff at the Royal Children’s Hospital notified the union late last month of an autistic child who was aggressive and transferred to the hospital’s inpatient unit for mentally unwell adolescents, despite having no mental illness. … Continued
Access to courts that most take for granted can be a challenge for many Border people with a disability. It can come down to something as seemingly straightforward as getting into a building. Wodonga’s Disability Advocacy and Information Service senior advocate Michelle Critchley said another barrier was hearing loops not being available. “People who have … Continued
Disability advocates need to help their clients stay informed and navigate the complexities of the new NDIS to make sure no one misses out, those attending a recent DARU forum were told. About 30 people from the disability sector across Victoria took part in the Disability Advocacy Resource Unit (DARU) Advocacy Sector Conversations Forum this … Continued
“Australians with disabilities would be lifters, if there were not barriers in society that force us to lean every day. I have challenged this my whole life.” Outgoing Australian disability discrimination commissioner Graeme Innes delivered this speech to the National Press Club on 2 July, 2014. I acknowledge the traditional owners of this land. I … Continued
Police asked a disabled man to leave the foyer of the ABC at Southbank in Melbourne during a protest against the axing of the disability website, Ramp Up. About 20 people held a protest outside the building. Some of the protesters entered the foyer and security called police when a 39-year-old man in a wheelchair … Continued
It was announced recently that the ABC’s disability website, Ramp Up, launched in 2010, will be scrapped by the end of the month. Seed funding for the website — provided by the Department of Social Services — was scheduled to cease at the end of June this year. The previous government had expected that the … Continued
The disability movement in Australia has taken some significant steps forward over the last three years. When Kate Larsen moved from London to Melbourne three years ago, she was surprised to find that Australia was on the back foot with disability issues. Today, however, she feels Australians with disability and their non-disabled allies are more … Continued