Justine Martin, 49, and Karen Dare, 40, who both have multiple sclerosis, met in Melbourne in 2015. Sharing the condition has allowed them to be open with each other about their bodies – and their dating experiences.
The families of disability service clients in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley say Scope Australia’s decision to relocate its activity service will severely limit their children’s ability to undertake activities in the community.
Data is an important element for measuring the scale of abuse and violence faced by people with disability in Australia, but there isn’t enough available, researchers say.
The survey picked up extreme anxiety among workers about their safety in the workplace and the safety of their clients,” Dr Cortis says. “Many described working with very little support, and a lack of personal protective equipment. They also felt stretched, as they lacked access to the additional resources needed to properly support people with disabilities adjust to safe distancing measures.”
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.