The work of Victorian disability advocacy organisations is increasingly being consumed by issues related to national systems such as the NDIS and Centrelink. The introduction of the National Quality and Safeguards Commission, and the much anticipated Royal Commission into Abuse and Neglect of People with Disability, further adds to the nationalising of advocacy issues arising for people with disability right across Australia.
The pressure on disability advocacy organisations is relentless. The overwhelming demand for advocacy support through review and appeals processes within national systems means that many organisations are, for the first time, putting waitlists in place as a way of managing the onslaught. Endless efforts don’t seem to be resolving the inherent unfairness and gaining basic rights for people with disability. Burnout is becoming an increasing reality for many disability advocates and yet another thing that organisations need to manage.
The Strengthening DIsability Advocacy Conference for 2019 will have a national focus, so we are extending beyond state borders this year. To this end, Disability Advocacy Network Australia (DANA) will cohost this year’s disability advocacy flagship event in partnership with DARU.
This conference is for anyone who is interested in strengthening and upholding the rights of people with disability.
The Strengthening Disability Advocacy Conference is hosted by DARU and is the flagship event for the disability advocacy sector. The conference planning committee is comprised of representatives from disability advocacy organisations. The team putting together SDAC19 includes:
Speaker: Wayne Herbert, MC
Meet the dashing Wayne Herbert who will be the MC for the day and an official Welcome to Country by an Elder from the Kulin Nation on who’s traditional lands we gather.
Speaker: Melbourne Playback Theatre Company,
This amazing team of professional actors and musicians bring your workplace perspectives and experiences to life and into focus in a way that is entertaining, surprising, illuminating and transformative.
Speakers:
This session opens with an address from the Minister responsible for the disability portfolio in Victoria. Following this, leaders from Disability Advocacy Network Australia and Disability Advocacy Victoria, will outline the issues that are currently hindering organisations from delivering equal rights for people with disability.
Tea and coffee with sweet and savoury snacks in the foyer. Or stay to watch DARU’s Gogglebox episode, Ba Hung’s Story on the big screen.
Speakers:
Advocates are all too familiar with tackling issues around entitlement within national systems such as the NDIS and Centrelink. How can we do this more efficiently while at at the same time empowering our clients to effectively advocate for themselves? This session introduces some resources to assist with the Disability Support Pension (DSP) application process.
Facilitated by: Rick Morton, Journalist & Author
Speakers:
Assisting people with disability to navigate the National Disability Insurance scheme (NDIS) has become core business for many advocacy organisations. But working with the agency has not always been easy. This frank and open conversation provides an opportunity for some straight talking and clear responses from the top to questions and concerns raised by the disability … Continued
Hot and cold, meat and veg – something for everyone! The big screen will be showing another ‘reel Zone’ music video collection.
Facilitated by: Leah van Poppel, Chief Executive Officer, Women with Disabilities Victoria
Speakers:
The long awaited Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of people with disability is about to kick off. How do disability advocates best support their clients to feel safe in sharing their stories? What have past Royal Commissions taught us about this process?
More food! And a repeat screening of Ba Hung’s Story, DARU’s very own Gogglebox episode.
Speakers:
Appealing NDIS decisions involves taking cases to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. What are some of the things that advocates need to know about this process to get the reasonable and necessary outcomes that their clients need and deserve?
Speaker: Wayne Herbert, MC
Wayne Herbert will provide a summary of the day- you wont regret staying for this one!
Speaker: Professor Michael P Leiter, PhD (U of Oregon) MA (Vanderbilt) BA (Duke), Professor of Organisational Psychology at Deakin University
This session is an ‘invitation only’ event. It’s a space for funded disability advocacy organisations from across Australia to com together and participate in a facilitated workshop. It’s an opportunity to share knowledge and address some of the organisational issues arising during the transition to the new world of disability service provision.
More mingling and munching as morning workshop participants leave and afternoon forum participants arrive.
Facilitated by: Victorian Disability Advocacy Network (VicDAN),
Where does the NDIS fitwithin the Australian legal landscape? How does an advocate/ participant recognise and navigate avaible legal remedies? Thisforum will explore participant rights in the NDIS context and unpack the Interface between NDIS and other areas of law including: Consumer and contract laws – what are participant’s rights and remedies Guardianship laws – … Continued
Dr Meg Clement-Couzner is a social policy expert in disability and gender. She is currently Senior Policy Officer at People with Disability Australia with responsibility for violence prevention and access to justice, including leading policy work on the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability. She previously worked in campaigning and advocacy at Family Advocacy NSW, where she managed systemic advocacy, with a particular focus on inclusive education.
Meg holds a PhD on the intersection of gender studies and economic justice. She is a self-confessed nerd with an interest in intersectional feminist, disability and LGBTIQA+ politics and culture.
Photo of Dr Meg Clement-Couzner, Senior Policy Officer: violence prevention & access to justice, People with Disabilities AustraliaGerard is CEO of the Consumer Action Law Centre, an independent, not-for-profit consumer organisation based in Melbourne. Consumer Action provides financial counselling, legal advice and representation to support vulnerable and disadvantaged Victorians, and draws on its direct knowledge of the consumer experience in modern markets to pursue consumer interest campaigns and policy reform at both state and national levels.
Gerard is also the Chair of Consumers’ Federation of Australia, the peak body for consumer organisations in Australia, representing a diverse range of consumer groups, including most national consumer organisations.
Photo of Gerard Brody, Chief Executive Officer, Consumer Action Law CentreGillian Wilks is the Director of Social Security Rights Victoria (SSRV), a state-wide community legal centre specialising in social security law and policy. Gillian has worked extensively in the community legal sector and in the TAFE and youth work fields. She holds post graduate qualifications in adult education and in evaluation.
Photo of Gillian Wilks, Director, Social Security Rights VictoriaGraeme Head was appointed in December 2017 to lead the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission.
Graeme has had a long and distinguished career in public administration and public policy. He has been the chief executive of three New South Wales government agencies – notably as inaugural Public Service Commissioner for 6 years – and one Commonwealth agency. He has served as a deputy secretary in both NSW and the Commonwealth and his experience spans policy, regulatory and central agencies, with a focus on social policy, environmental policy and public sector employment.
Graeme is a Fellow of the Institute of Public Administration and was made an Officer in the Order of Australia in the 2019 Australia Day Honours.
Photo of Graeme Head, Commissioner of NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission.Kerri understands grassroots advocacy well, being a founding member of an Advocacy Organisation birthed on Facebook in 2010 and incorporated as a NFP in 2012. Kerri was awarded the National Disability Award for Excellence in Justice and Rights Protection in 2016 for this work. In 2017 she completed a Bachelor of Social Science, an achievement she attributes to her passion for the voices of people with disabilities to be heard and respected, and the grit she possesses through riding the roller coaster of living with MS. Kerri has spoken locally and overseas, to self-help groups, medical professionals, parliament and academics on ‘The Collaboration Imperative’ – That including consumers in the design and evaluation of medical research is an essential element.
Kristy McKellar is renowned in the family violence sector, both in Victoria and nationally, her work attracting overseas interest. Kristy was named in the top 100 Women of Influence in the country, named as the Agenda Setter of the Year for Australia and has been inducted into the Victorian Honour Roll of Women.
Kristy has contributed to a Victorian Parliament landmark, invited to address Members of the Legislative Assembly and Council, in a unique sitting in Parliament House and has played a significant role in the Victorian Royal Commission into family violence.
Photo of Kristy McKellar, Family Violence AdvocateLeah is a woman with a disability and a feminist who is highly respected for her strong track record as a disability rights advocate, working at state and national levels over the last decade. Leah’s strengths include collaborative leadership, governance, advocacy and policy, to which she applies a gender lens.
Apart from being the CEO of Women with Disabilities Victoria, Leah is also the Chair of the National Disability and Carer Alliance, responsible for overseeing the Every Australian Counts campaign to gain national support for the NDIS. She is also a member of the Independent Advisory Council of the NDIS.
Photo of Leah van Poppel, Chief Executive Officer, Women with Disabilities VictoriaDisability Advocacy Network Australia (DANA) is the Canberra based national peak body for independent disability advocacy in Australia. DANA supports organisations in every state and territory that work to promote and advocate for the rights of people with disability. With the advent of the NDIS independent advocacy will be even more important in assisting people … Continued
Photo of Mary Mallett, Chief Executive Officer, Disability Advocacy Network Australia (DANA)Mary is the CEO of Disability Advocacy Network Australia (DANA) based in Canberra, the national peak body for independent disability advocacy in Australia. DANA supports organisations in every state and territory that work to promote and advocate for the rights of people with disability.
Photo of Mary Mallett, CEO at Disability Advocacy Network Australia (DANA)Melanie has been working in community services for the past thirty years. She leads the advocacy team at Leadership Plus which is funded through the National Disability Advocacy Program and delivers disability advocacy, NDIS Appeals work and runs the Decision Support Project. Leadership Plus provides advocacy to hundreds of people each year and is committed to working with the disability advocacy sector to strengthen the rights of people living with disability.
Photo of Melanie Muir, Disability Advocacy Victoria Board Member and Advocate, Leadership PlusDuring Melbourne Playback workshops and training sessions, participants experience new ways of thinking, leading, listening, and interacting as effective tools for learning. The skills developed in these workshops help create cohesive teams by developing trust and creative play.
Photo of Melbourne Playback Theatre Company,Dr Darren O’Donovan is Senior Lecturer in Administrative Law at La Trobe Law School. His research focuses primarily on frontline administrative justice and the integrity branch of government, and he has published widely in both areas. Darren is co-author of the NDIS Digest, a regular accessible guide to NDIS appeals and policy developments for the disability sector and the broader public.
Photo of Professor Darren O’Donovan BCL (Hons), PhD, Senior Lecturer, Director of Engagement La Trobe Law SchoolDr Michael Lieter is a world renowned expert on the Psychology of work, work-life quality and job burnout. Prior to coming to Deakin, Michael was a Professor of Psychology at Acadia University in Canada where he held the Canada Research Chair in Occupational Health and Wellness. While at Acadia University, he served as Head of Psychology, Dean of Science, and Vice-President Academic.
His research on job burnout and work engagement has been widely read. He co-authored the ‘Maslach Burnout Inventory’ and the ‘Areas of Worklife Scale’ and has extensive experience and depth of insight regarding their interpretation. In a commitment to improving work-life quality, he consults with organizations and researchers around the world.
Photo of Professor Michael P Leiter, PhD (U of Oregon) MA (Vanderbilt) BA (Duke), Professor of Organisational Psychology at Deakin UniversityRick Morton is an award-winning journalist and the author of One Hundred Years of Dirt (MUP, 2018). Dirt is part family memoir, part book of essays about growing up on the outside in Australia. Originally from Queensland, Rick has worked in Sydney, Hobart, Melbourne and Canberra as the social affairs writer for The Australian with a particular focus on social policy including the National Disability Insurance Scheme, aged care, the welfare system, religion and employment services.
Photo of Rick Morton, Journalist & AuthorLuke Donnellan is Minister for Child Protection, Disability, Ageing and Carers in the Victorian Labor Government led by Premier Daniel Andrews.
Luke was elected as the State Member for Narre Warren North in November 2002.
He was born in Melbourne and attended Xavier College 1977 – 1984. He received a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Melbourne in 1987. After finishing university, he worked as a commercial real estate agent, financial planner and client services manager.
Luke is married to Charlotte and together they have two sons. In his spare time Luke enjoys going to the footy with his boys, running and gardening.
Photo of The Hon Luke Donnellan MP, Minister for Disability, Ageing and Carers; Minister for Child ProtectionTim Noonan is a lawyer in the Economic and Social Rights Program at Victoria Legal Aid. He practices in a range of areas of law, with a particular interest in administrative law and medico-legal matters. He has conducted, and provided advice in relation to, a number of reviews of NDIS decisions at the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, with an emphasis on jurisdictional and procedural issues.
Photo of Tim Noonan, Lawyer, Economic and Social Rights Program, Victorian Legal AidVicki Rundle was appointed the Acting Chief Executive Officer in the National Disability Insurance Agency on 30 April 2019, pending the appointment of a permanent CEO. Vicki’s usual role in the NDIA is Deputy CEO, Government, Communications and Stakeholder Engagement. Vicki has worked in Commonwealth and State Governments across a range of health and human … Continued
Photo of Vicki Rundle, Acting CEO, National Disability Insurance AgencyThe main aim of the network is to assist independent disability advocates and legal service providers to work effectively in supporting Victorians with disability to access the NDIS. Activities include raising awareness with the NDIS about instances where participants in the scheme may not have their voice heard and ensure they receive effective representation to work through issues.
Photo of Victorian Disability Advocacy Network (VicDAN),Wayne has undertaken a number of speaking opportunities throughout Australia to present issues of disability, diversity and human resources. He is a solutions-focused thought leader. He knows all too well that as a country, Australia cannot let the skills and talents of people with disability go to waste.
Wayne has a unique, humorous, thought-provoking, and challenging insight into the issues facing people with disability. He too has a disability, but is well-known for forgetting about it.
“Is it wrong that I forget I have a disability? I just get on with things; I’ve got shit to do.”
Wayne has experience in all aspects of client relations, human resources, and business administration. He has a keen interest in social and employment policy that ensures the talents and expertise of people with disability are recognised in the workforce and community more broadly. His work is focused on ensuring that full participation in both work and community life is realised.
Photo of Wayne Herbert, MCPlanning is underway. There will be more to see here very soon.
National Australia Bank have created a hub in Melbourne’s CBD with a range of meeting rooms and technologies available to NAB customers in a modern, architecturally interesting building.
The building design incorporates access features including talking lifts with tactile buttons, multiple accessible toilets on the same level as The Hall and safe taxi drop off and pick up point. Being located right next to Southern Cross station with entrance directly from the Bourke Street concourse further adds to the access credentials.
These facilities are offered to NAB not-for-profit customers free of charge. DARU is pleased to take advantage of this offer and we look forward to welcoming you here in September.
The Hall is located on level 3. There are two main entrances:
Look our for the volunteers wearing our striking, bright red conference vests – hard to miss them! They are helping out with ushering, registration and general assistance so please approach them if you need anything.
Here’s more information to assist your journey in getting there…
Southern Cross Station is the nearest station which is very convenient as most metropolitan lines, and all regional lines, go through Southern Cross.
Coming from a train platform at Southern Cross Station:
You should see the NAB building almost immediately as it is the first building on the right over the tracks. Once inside the very impressive atrium, take the escalator directly in front of you, or the lift on the right, up one level to The Hall.
Trams that stop at Southern Cross station include:
NAB 700 has a taxi drop off point at 700 Bourke Street which is located opposite the Channel Nine studios. The taxi rank located outside Platform 28 night club can also be used as a drop off point. The Platform 23 rank is recommended as the pick up point when booking taxis for return journeys home.
Getting to NAB from the Platform 23 rank:
Etihad Stadium’s car park provides 24-hour security and surveillance seven days a week. The fully covered and underground facility is located only a short walking distance from NAB.
Visit the website for information on rates or to book your space in advance online:
http://etihadstadium.com.au/car-park-options/
Note: Event discounts are only applicable for events held at the stadium.
Tickets for SDAC19 Advocacy Under Pressure, have sold out. A waitlist is in ace.
Places are still available for associated sessions taking place on Tuesday 3 September. See ticket information below for details.
Tickets are NOT available at the door on the day and entry will be denied to anyone who is not on the attendee list. We need to be strict because the room capacity is dictated by OH&S restrictions.
On the day, go to the registration desk to check-in and receive your pass and program.
Tickets for this event are not refundable. However, tickets are transferrable. If you can no longer attend, contact DARU to change the details on your ticket.
Companion Card is accepted for this event. Contact DARU to arrange:
T: (03) 9639 5807
E: admin@daru.org.au
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This conference takes place at a time of great change and importance. The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is being rolled out, with launch sites operating amid much political, policy and practical uncertainty. The 2013-2016 Victorian state disability plan has been in place for a year. Read more >
Our 3rd conference aims to make sure the disability advocacy sector understands and is well equipped to use the legal system in their work. Read more >
