In the excitement of the Minister’s announcement a couple of weeks ago, you might have missed the humble release of the latest quarterly report. Well the truth is there is nothing humble about quarterly reports. They are like watching the NDIS show through rose tinted glasses. But, regardless, they always teach us something new about the state of the Scheme.
The threshold for what was considered “low cost” increased from around $500 to “generally under $1,500” in July this year. And according to this update, it was tripled again to $5,000 on 1 October. But, sadly, it seems like this might be an update that is too good to be true.
Imagine you spent three or four years completing a degree and all your university friends were easily able to get a job. But you have been to many, many interviews and can’t get anywhere. Why? Because you have a disability.
It’s important that as a nation we acknowledge the many lives that have been impacted by these terrible stories and do all we can to ensure they don’t happen again. One way of doing this is by taking a step back and asking why we have needed three royal commissions into vulnerable people in our society in such quick succession.
People with disability continue to be abused and live in fear in group homes over which they have little say. Advocate Kevin Stone says the overwhelming majority of group homes are safe and supportive, but the problems of abuse and neglect persist.
When Gibb was ready to start school, his mum, Caitlin, took him on a school tour. She had picked this school because of its “small village feel”, thinking they would embrace her son, who has Down syndrome, and provide him with the right support to thrive.
The Victorian government has admitted it needs to overhaul the way prisoners with mental illnesses and cognitive impairments are treated, concerned they are over-represented in jail, suffer more in custody and are more likely to reoffend on release.
VicRAN launched their Systemic Advocacy Project on Tuesday 12th November 2019 at La Trobe Uni, Bendigo. This innovative project will develop and implement an effective approach to taking action on systemic advocacy issues impacting on people with disability in the community.
Arts, Culture and Heritage portfolio holder Cr Tony Hooper said the exhibition highlighted how our culture and systems discriminate against people with a disability, and how discriminatory attitudes and actions are challenged.
Will and David’s genuine friendship is rare, according to the Australia Talks National Survey, which revealed Australians who do not live with a disability rarely socialise with people who do.
National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) Minister Stuart Robert this month announced a number of “practical changes” to the scheme. Acknowledging the NDIS is not consistently living up to expectations, he said these improvements will put it “onto a business as usual even keel for the long term”.
The NDIS Commission received 1422 complaints – more than half which came from ‘a person with disability’ or their family or friend. More than half of these related to the very broad category of ‘provider practice’. The complaints process was completed for 1063 of these complaints with less than half being handled within six weeks (47%).
Ms Warn, who has PTSD, told a parliamentary inquiry into the NDIS that she had been “bullied, berated, intimidated and lied to” as she dealt with bureaucrats in the scheme. “They’ve won. I’ve given up,” Ms Warn said.
More than half of disability providers fear they won’t be able to offer National Disability Insurance Scheme services under current prices, according to a new survey.
Despite being one of the first signatories of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, advocates say 30 years on, Australia is ignoring some of the biggest issues affecting children.