Disability advocates are ramping up calls for the National Disability Insurance Scheme to reverse a decision on the way it handles payments to participants. From July 1 the agency that administers the scheme stopped giving people a month’s payment in advance, instead asking participants to obtain receipts and claim money back.
Leaked documents reveal a number of corporate heavyweights will be appointed instead. That’s sparked fears the government may be trying to seize control of the $22 billion scheme in order to cut its funding. Among the casualties is the chairman Bruce Bonyhady, known as the ‘grandfather’ of the NDIS. He joins Fran Kelly on RN Breakfast.
In Australia in the 21st century, people with disabilities occupy a strange liminal world, at once accepted and ostracised. We have made enormous steps as a society when it comes to people with disabilities; we have given them financial support, anti-discrimination legislation, and even the opportunity to participate in sport. However we seem reluctant to … Continued
A new comic series, called The Disabled Life, is using humour and sarcasm to chronicle what it’s like to live with a mobility-related disability. Created by Jessica and Lianna Oddi, who both use wheelchairs, the series documents what they call the “jerks and perks of living #TheDisabledLife.”
A big central Victorian disability support agency has immediately cut about 40 jobs after going into voluntary administration.
Human Rights Commission president Gillian Triggs and disability commissioner Alistair McEwan told the hearing that disability complaints were on the rise and now made up the highest number of all complaints received, particularly around employment, and goods and services.
A man with severe disabilities who has been in state care since 1999, was ordered by Centrelink to prove his eligibility for a disability pension.
But advocates for diversity in the workplace have expressed concern over the negative publicity, arguing that setting targets for more open-minded hiring policies is necessary to achieve cultural change.
The implementation of the NDIS must ensure equity in availability and accessibility of support that will respond to the needs and choices of participants from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds. It is also imperative that the cultural rights of people with disability are recognised and accommodated within the Scheme.
Closing date: October 13, 2016
Almost one quarter of Victorian public servants with a disability have experienced discrimination at work, according to workplace survey data released by the Victorian Public Sector Commission.
Carers have claimed a 21-year-old Victorian woman with cerebral palsy and a severe intellectual disability who was half-dragged from a taxi into a home “did not really feel pain”.
Rania Saab, a Sydney lawyer who works in the Family Court, was born with hearing loss. She believes discrimination against hard of hearing people is rife in the legal system.
Mental illness won’t go away once we address stigma – we need to address the symptoms, writes Ben Pobjie.
I think it is time for a Senator Malowney…if the senate nomination to replace Stephen Conroy following his recent resignation needs to be filled by a woman, why not a woman with a disability, writes systemic advocate for inclusive practices Tricia Malowney.
Getting a morning coffee on the way to work is a ritual many of us take for granted. Not Jeremy, who is a young man with a communication disability. The thought of not only being able to order coffee, but run a business, was a pipe dream. Until the National Disability Insurance Scheme arrived in Lake Macquarie.