Suspected child molesters have walked free because their disabled victims lack the capacity to be cross-examined in court, a senior police officer has told an inquiry.
Violence, abuse, and neglect of Australia’s disabled people is at an epidemic level, national rights and advocacy organisation People with Disability Australia has said in a detailed submission to the New South Wales parliamentary inquiry into elder abuse.
Mobility taxis for the disabled are no longer commercially viable and the number of wheelchair accessible cabs will likely be cut, the Melbourne taxi industry has warned. Ride-sharing service Uber has claimed it could provide the solution and wants to launch UberWAV wheelchair accessible vehicles.
Thirteen disability groups have issued a joint plea to Jacinta Allan, Victoria’s public transport minister, not to legalise Uber unless the ride-share service makes a legally binding commitment to serve passengers in wheelchairs.
The child sexual abuse Royal Commission has heard that the demands of a criminal case mean many children with a disability never see their abuser convicted. The commission is examining the barriers that children face in reporting their abuse and giving evidence and possible reforms to improve the chances of a successful prosecution.
Two special guests, Jess Richter, from the RMIT Centre for Innovative Justice and Christina Ryan, CEO of Advocacy for Inclusion, talk about their advocacy projects which are about seeking justice and inclusion for those with a disability and discuss why there is an over-incarceration of those with an ABI.
Less than half of Australia’s disabled students are supported by the appropriate funding at their schools, with a new report showing about a fifth of the country’s school kids have a disability or learning difficulty, a union says.
This session was a conversation with Fleur Campbell, Senior Project Officer, DHHS Office for Disability. The Q&A is a standing agenda item for this forum series.
That was the message in this Croakey #Periscope discussion between Deakin University’s Dr Patsie Frawley and Women with Disabilities Victoria Executive Director Keran Howe at last week’s National Research Conference on Violence against Women and Children hosted by Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety (ANROWS).
The federal government is concerned that disability advocates will use the courts to seek further wage rises of intellectually disabled people, which it says could leave them worse off.
It was hurdle after hurdle for Tegan Allen to make it through high school. The legally blind Everton resident said a lack of understanding from some peers and staff made it “a fight to get through”.
Toni Van Hammond, Assistant Director – Engagement & Community Strategy, NDIA Barwon office, explained the role of an NDIA planner and took us through what happens during the planning process.
This panel provided different perspectives of the NDIS appeals process and included Kylie McCutcheon, NDIS participant and AAT complainant, James Keith , Geelong Area Advocate, Coordinator of SPSP, EMRS Support Officer, Rights Information & Advocacy Centre Inc (RIAC), Len Jaffit, Manager Commonwealth Entitlements Civil Justice, Victoria Legal Aid and Rosalinda Casamento, Senior Lawyer, Victoria Legal Aid, Civil Justice Program.
Dual disability can be crappy for many reasons. For those with the diagnosis, it’s tough enough having a brain that doesn’t seem to work as efficiently as everyone else’s. It’s even worse when you become anxious, or hear voices. For families it can be an enormous, sometimes impossible, burden. But saddest of all, it doesn’t … Continued
In a report to be released on Friday, the panel, which comprised a range of academics, teachers and advocates, backed the best practice intervention for young children, which can cost up to $80,000 a year.