Sunday 25th March, 2012

Monday 26th March, 2012

Day 1 Sessions

Opening address

 Presented By:  Andrea Coote, Parliamentary Secretary

Keynote Address

 Presented By:  Ian Gray, Chief Magistrate of Victoria

The Chief Majistrate will present a broad focus on the court’s programs and services for persons with intellectual disabilities including the Assessment and Referral Court List. He will give references to therapeutic jurisprudence principles and emphasis on the court’s problem-solving jurisdiction.

Wheelchair Waltz

Presented by:  Johnny Crescendo, International Guest Speaker

In the early 90’s Johnny wrote a ground breaking article (our allies within), on what it takes to be an ally to disabled people and the disabled people’s movement. Johnny revisits this subject exploring subjects like consumer control, structuring for power and most importantly how non disabled professionals can truly be allies without taking control. He explores through real life examples successes and failure of well meaning people who have had commitment. To sum up he explores on a personal, professional and macro level what it means to be an ally.

Songs: Wheelchair waltz, Strong woman.

Twenty Years of the Disability discrimination Act (DDA)

Moderated By:  Julie Phillips, Disability Discrimination Legal Service

Panel members include:

• Placido Belardo, Principal Solicitor,Disability Discrimination Legal service
• Graeme Innes, Disability Commissioner
• Rob Daly, Victoria Legal Aid
• Beth Gaze, Lecturer in Discrimination Law, Melbourne University

The Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (DDA) is twenty years old. This session will look what the legal landscape was like for the Act, how things have changed and how things can be improved. The topic will be explored from different angles and perspectives.

Accessing legal services

Presented By: Eleanore Fritze and Robyn Mills, Victorian Legal Aid

This session is about accessing legal services, with a particular focus on the legal services that people with a disability might require. This session promotes early access to justice with a focus on the assistance lawyers can provide to help sort out disputes and legal issues without having to go to court, or in a way that is less stressful. It will also encourage people to be proactive in seeking legal help and in working with their lawyer.

The session covers:

• What is a legal issue?
• When should I get legal help?
• Who can give me legal help, including what does a lawyer do?
• How and where do I get legal help?
• Do I have to pay for legal help?
• How should I work with my lawyer?

Guardianship and Supported Decision Making

Moderated By: Greg Leeson, Villamanta Disability Rights Legal Service

Panel Members include:

• John Chesterman, Office for the Public Advocate
• Sophie Delaney, Victoria Legal Aid
• Kevin Stone, VALID
• Anne Coghlan, VCAT

Nothing About Us Without Us: from Across the Tasman

Presented by: Michael Aldridge, National Chairperson & Cindy Johns, National Manager,  People First, NZ

This presentation will  tell you about People First New Zealand , who we are and what we do and how we are working to make sure the UN Convention will make a difference in New Zealand.

Voting is for Everyone

 Presented By:  Alex Markham, Victorian Electoral Commission

This session will talk about your rights and why it’s important to vote. You’ll find out wWho can vote and how to get help if you need it.

We will show a short film we made with Scope about voting. Some of the people who helped make the film will be at this session to talk about it.

Strength in Numbers: Let’s Talk about Setting Up a Victorian Self Advocacy Network

Presented By: SARU and Reinforce

A round table workshop for self advocates to talk about setting up a Victorian Self Advocacy Network. Does self advocacy in Victoria need a network? Is it a good idea? How would it run? Who could join? These are just some of the things we will talk about in the session so come along and share your ideas and have your say.

Rural Access to Justice

Presented By:  Richard Coverdale, Deakin University

Rural and Regional communities are generally disadvantaged in comparison to people living in larger cities when accessing legal services, programs or the courts.

The Deakin University Centre for Rural Regional Law and Justice has recently been established to undertake research around these issues and is working to improving justice system services for rural Victorians.

This session will outline the Centre’s role and activities and the findings of a recent report – Postcode Justice Rural and Regional Disadvantage in the Administration of the Law. Delegates will also be alerted  to other activities occurring in this area nationally.

Systemic Advocacy Training -Empowering Women with Disabilities in Local Communities

Presented by:  Lauren Hayes, Women with Disabilities Victoria

This presentation will focus on the recent development of a learning package designed to assist  women with disabilities in representation and advocacy work. The package is based on a partnership model and will be used to resource a pilot advocacy training program to be held later in the year. It is hoped that the learning package and training program will be rolled out in conjunction with women’s services across the state empowering women with disabilities to raise their voices and address issues of concern for themselves and other women with disabilities.

National Disability Consumer Quality Assurance Tool

Presented By:  Matthew Potocnik, Disability Advocate

This IT system allows the individual consumers to give accreditation to the services they use. It provides brokerage of services, identifies gaps in service and the need for specific service development. It data bases individual and systemic issues and matches clients to specific advocacy agencies. NDCQA is perhaps the strongest Human Rights tool developed marring client fee for service with accreditation. NDCQAT is introduced during a clients’ Individual Support Plan assessment. NDCQAT is an evidence based conduit from the grass roots which drives service and culture development and best government practice.

Achieving Systemic Change. People with Disabilities – Missing in Action

Presented By:  Julie Phillips, Disability Discrimination Legal Service

Julie Phillips tracks international disability activism over the last century. Is there enough activism in Australia? Has grassroots action fallen prey to a new and different level of “engagement” with people with disabilities? Has the new wave of “disability consultation” and its associated Working Groups, Consultative Committees, Advisory Groups, Blueprints and Disability Action Plans helped or hindered equality of people with disabilities?

Are the bureaucratic relationships between people with disabilities and government helping the cause or weakening our position?

The audience is asked to consider whether disability rights have been progressed or stifled due to the last decades “consultative” approach.

Deafblind World: An Interactive Hands-on Experience of the Impact of Deafblindness

Presented By:  Heather Lawson, Trudy Ryall and Michelle Stevens, Victorian Deaf Blind Advocacy Group

Members of the Victorian Deafblind Advocacy Group invite people to come along and take part in a series of hands on interactive activities that provide an insight into what it is like to be deafblind . The activities will be followed by and question and answer session with members of the group.

A History of Disability Advocacy

Presented By:  Sarah Barton

In 2010 Sarah Barton travelled on a Churchill Fellowship to England and America and recorded more than 25 interviews with surviving figures from the disability rights movement. Her documentary is still in production but in this session Sarah shares some of the highlights of her journey and tells stories about issues, characters and ideas that she discovered along the way.

Day 2 Sessions

Hypothetical

Moderated By:  David Craig

Panel Members Include:

• Kate Bergman, Citizen Advocate
• Seth Howell, Disability Advocate
• Deidre Griffiths, Legal Advocate
• Susan Arthur, Self Advocate

This session will use real life scenarios and allow panel members to respond from their specialist perspectives.

Disability Advocacy and Self Advocacy Working Better Together for Change

Moderated BY: Paul Ramcharan

Panel Members Include:

• Pauline Williams, AMIDA
• Jen Rowley, Gippsland Disability Advocacy
• Colin Hiscoe, Reinforce
• Sue Smith, SARU
• Rachel Walters, New Wave

A panel discussion of successful examples of disability advocacy and self advocacy organisations working together for change. The session will also include discussions about the long term mutual benefits and outcomes that can be achieved as a result of disability advocacy organisations working in partnership with self advocacy groups.

Success Stories about Life by Self Advocates

Presented By:  Heather Forsythe and Luke Nelson, VALID

Through the Keys to Success program VALID gives people who use disability support services the skills and confidence to speak up about what they want in their lives.

Self Advocacy and Self Determination skills are important for people who are planning for the future, for some people knowing what they want is easy it’s the making it happen that proves to be the challenge. This session will also include stories by invited guests who will speak about their Person Centred Plans, the dreams they have and the things that they are doing in their lives. They will tell their own stories of how they have achieved their goals.

Everything you wanted to know about strategic Lobbying and Campaigning but were too afraid to ask

Presented By:  David Imber, Essential Media Communications

The ability to lobby and campaign are essentials for any advocate- whether you’re helping an individual, a discreet local cause or seeking to affect national social change. Yet the idea of lobbying is scary to many people and campaigning sounds awfully hard and political to others. Well they don’t have to be. If you’ve ever freaked out at the thought of lobbying a politician or worried that you’ve been doing this wrong thing this is the session that can help you with the basics.

This session will provide a definition of the terms and some critical do’s and don’ts for lobbying and campaigning as well as plenty of opportunities for questions and if time permits even some brief discussion in the group. David will also outline briefly some of the elements of the Every Australian Counts campaign which is being supported by EMC.

Advocacy Using Human Rights Legislation

Presented By: Eden Parris, Communication Rights Australia

There has been much discussion in recent years about a human rights-based approach to advocacy. But what are some practical ways we can incorporate human rights legislation into our advocacy, so that people with disabilities can experience greater justice in their lives?

This session will focus on several practical strategies for using human rights in your advocacy.

Making Change Happen

Presented By: Sue Smith, SARU

The session will show a step by step guide to campaigning and lobbying for self advocates.  The session will include practical tips and ideas for getting your message out to the community.

Disability Vilification

Presented By:  Deborah Randa, Disability Discrimination Legal Service

Deborah Randa discusses the vilification of people with disabilities. Are people actually hated/criticised/put down because of their disabilities? Is this a problem in Australia? Deborah seeks the views of the audience as to whether this is really a problem, and if so, should it be addressed by changing the law

Fight for your Rights

Presented By:  Eleanore Fritze, Aimee Cooper, Jessica Richter, Rob Daly, Victorian Legal Aid

Following an introductory presentation about standing up for your rights, lawyers from Victoria Legal Aid will host smaller group discussions, provide practical information and answer questions about the following legal topics which often affect people with disabilities:

• Centrelink issues
• discrimination claims
• interacting with police
• consumer rights
• victims of crime

Criminal Justice System and People with Disabilities

Moderated By: Jessica Richter, Victoria Legal Aid

Panel Members Include:

• Peter Persson, Corrections Victoria
• Kerry Stringer, NEAMI
• Patrick McGee, Office for the Public Advocate
• Ben von Einem, Villamanta Disability Rights Legal Service

People with disabilities are over-represented in the criminal justice system as accused persons, and also face significant challenges as witnesses and victims of crime.

This less favourable treatment combined with the inherent vulnerability of people with disability increases the likelihood of a conviction compared to people without a disability. People with disabilities experience challenges in accessing appropriate legal help and exercising their rights, and can also experience higher rates of incarceration than other people.

In spite of law reform efforts to strengthen the rights of victims of crime who have a cognitive impairment, there are still significant barriers in prosecuting these cases.

People with disabilities should have the same rights, opportunities and choices as people without a disability but this does not appear to be the case.

This session will explore themes such as

• What happens to people with disabilities within the criminal justice system
• How does the legal system inhibit or facilitate cases involving people with disabilities.
• What reforms are required?

Employment for People with Disabilities

Moderated By: Sharon Granek, DARU

Panel Members Include:

• Riki Domagalski
• Kairsty Wilson, Principal Lawyer, AED Legal Service
• Gordon Prior
• People First, NZ

What are the facts, statistics and myths of the employment situation for people with disabilities? How we can work together to overcome the barriers to employment?

This session will explore the experiences of people with disabilities in open employment, supported employment, unemployment and under employment both here and New Zealand.

Discussions will also include the recent court case involving two men with disability lost their bid to prove that thousands of workers on a Commonwealth-funded employment scheme are being underpaid.

My House, My Home, My Rights

Presented By:  Colin Hiscoe, Reinforce

Colin will present Reinforce’s new training resource and video “My House, My Home, My rights.  The training package is aimed at both community residential unit staff and residents.  The video features actors from Dream Theatre and takes you on a journey through a series of events showing a day in the life of people living in a CRU. The training package challenges us  all to reflect on how things can be done differently.

Supporting Self advocacy: Reflections on Empowerment, trust and Respect

Presented By:  Heidi Peart, Self Advocacy advisor

This workshop examines the findings from a discussion paper aimed at developing a code of conduct for self advocacy advisers and workers. The workshop will include a brief presentation on the research findings and some interactive activities exploring the themes of the paper.

Tear Down the Walls

Presented By: Johnny Crescendo, international Guest Speaker

Johnny talks about the Independent living movement from its birth to present day and beyond. He talks about core philosophy, how it has developed and its future. He talks about ADAPT in the US and the UK’s Direct Action Network’s struggle for IL services and their relative success in “Freeing our people” from institutions and compares British and US policies and practice. He talks about his concerns for the future and the principle of consumer control.

Songs: Tear Down the Walls, Ballad of Josie Evans, Inglis House.

The Social Inclusion of People with an Acquired brain Injury: A Consumer Perspective

Presented By:United Brains and VCASP

Social inclusion, a sense of belonging to community makes people feel cared for, loved and valued which in turn protects wellbeing on the flipside, exclusion is linked to unhappiness, illness and reduced life expectancy. The issues that prevent the social inclusion of people with an acquired brain injury and approaches to foster participation in the social, economic, institutional and symbolic fabric of life will be discussed

The session will end with the launch of United Brains – so come along and join the party!

Rights, the Web and Video tape – A Creative Bridge to the Disability Act

Presented By:  Michael Buckley, Film Maker and Jane Hauser, Reinforce

Take a journey through an intriguing new website which creatively explores the   Victorian disability act through animation, and video.  The website features individuals reflecting on how they use the disability act to campaign for their rights. The session will include a show and tell of some of the interesting and creative videos and resources produced as part of the Act Resource Project.