The UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) and partners, consulted nearly 6,000 persons with disabilities in 126 countries on how they cope and prepare for disasters through an online survey. The results show that people living with disabilities across the world are rarely consulted about their needs in times of disasters. Also highlighted is the … Continued
Forty-five per cent of the two million Australians living with a disability, live in or near poverty, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. This is partly because most of us spend much of the small income we receive on services and supports. The new national disability insurance scheme will address this over … Continued
With the launch of the new national insurance scheme, DisabilityCare, disability is for once high on the public agenda. Many Australians now agree that the previous system failed those in need and they thus support this long-overdue reform. What is more, there is finally real money on the table, money that can help address the … Continued
A man with significant learning difficulties has been ordered to undergo a vasectomy to prevent him from having further children in a landmark legal ruling by the High Court. Mrs Justice Eleanor King, sitting in the Court of Protection, said there was “no question” of the 36-year-old having the mental capacity to use contraception and … Continued
Timewell Crescent in Boronia is home to some of Victoria’s most severely intellectually disabled people. Run by the state’s biggest non-government residential care service, Yooralla, the house has been in crisis for several years. Poor management and inadequate staffing have enabled residents to violently assault each other or disappear from the premises unsupervised for hours. … Continued
Families who take their disabled children overseas to be sterilised should face criminal charges, a parliamentary inquiry has recommended. For 10 months, senators have been weighing up human rights issues and the challenges faced by carers, while investigating reports some people with disabilities are being sterilised without informed consent. An upper house committee made 28 … Continued
In recent months discussions about disability featured widely in the media. One issue however has been noticeably ignored. In the months before the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) was launched on July 1, discussions about disability featured widely in the media. One issue however was ignored – the sex lives of the disabled. Sex and … Continued
When Stella Young was four years old, she broke her leg while on a family holiday in Adelaide. For Stella and her family, such an incident wasn’t uncommon. The disability advocate and editor of ABC’s Ramp Up was born with osteogenesis imperfecta, a congenital condition more commonly – and crudely – known as brittle bone … Continued
I recently made some widely reported comments about helping more disabled people – particularly disability support pensioners – into jobs. In response, I received two death threats and about 50 emails, phone calls and letters, many from people who wished me in fairly graphic terms – how do I say this politely? – to refrain … Continued
Jock Watson spent most of his 20s in a nursing home after a car accident left him with an acquired brain injury, meaning he needed constant care. While fellow residents tried to engage the young man in their bingo games and sing-a-longs, it was an isolating experience. ”He spent much of his time in his … Continued
It began with a mother’s plea and had many champions. Australia’s groundbreaking disability insurance scheme starts today. One day in 2006, Bruce Bonyhady went to visit a kindergarten in the Melbourne suburb of Endeavour Hills. Bonyhady, then chairman of Yooralla, was confronted by a woman demanding to know why she couldn’t get the support she … Continued
International negotiators meeting under the auspices of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) adopted on June 27 a landmark new treaty that boosts access to books for the benefit of hundreds of millions of people who are blind, visually impaired and print-disabled. The treaty, approved after more than a week of intense debate among negotiators … Continued
The PM has delivered on Gonski’s recommendations for a funding boost to students with disabilities. Money is necessary, but will only go so far – attitudes must change too, writes Stephanie Gotlib On Monday, Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced an additional funding boost to special schools of $76 million over six years. This equates to … Continued
The disability and aged-care workforce, already one of the fastest-growing in Australia, will need to expand by a fifth in the next four years as major Labor reforms worth billions power up. That this will also happen against a backdrop of a rapidly ageing workforce presents unique problems for the sector, according to a new … Continued
The national disability insurance scheme DisabilityCare Australia is at risk of ”grinding to a halt” unless enough workers can be trained to provide care by the time the program is running in 2018, according to community sector workforce analysis. Community Services and Health Industry Skills Council chief executive Rod Cooke said there was a critical … Continued