When she checked her sons’ accounts, she saw charges for services she says they had never received involving therapy providers she had never heard of. One invoice of nearly $2,000 was for “sand box” therapy and another was for a trauma counsellor who she says had not seen either of the boys.
However, existing social bias, historical exclusion and insufficient research and data sets pose a challenge for the successful development and implementation of cognitive diversity policies.
The federal government is foreshadowing an overhaul of the national disability insurance scheme. NDIS Minister Bill Shorten warns the scheme has lost its way and needs a reboot. In his address he outlines the six key policy reform areas.
At today’s National Press Club Address Minister Bill Shorten made some important announcements and reminded me why I have such deep respect for this man and gratitude for his commitment to improving the lives of disabled people. Then it ended with something really scary that freaked me out!
Can you recognise when you’re being ableist? Even well-meaning people can exhibit unconscious bias against people with disabilities. Read each example and think about how you would typically react to the situation. Then read how people in the disability community feel about the same scenarios.
A Victoria University student is fighting to study all her law classes online, saying her disability and chronic health issues mean coming to university is not safe or accessible.
People with Disability Australia and Advocacy for Inclusion have called for Hanson to withdraw the video and apologise. The People with Disability Australia president, Nicole Lee, said the video showed “insensitive cruelty” and it contained “offensive, inappropriate and inaccurate depictions of disability supports under the NDIS”. “People with disability experience high levels of abuse as it is and now we’re being used as cheap shots for political point scoring,” she said.
Government Services Minister Bill Shorten has called for further investigation into the former government’s handling of contracts overseen by former LNP Minister Stuart Robert.
Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) Bill Shorten today announced the appointment of two new members of the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) Board, including a First Nations appointee. The new Board members are Ms Joan McKenna Kerr from Western Australia and Dr Richard Fejo from the Northern Territory. In addition to his other qualifications and skills, Dr Fejo is a person with a disability, taking the number of people with a disability on the board to six out of 12 – the highest representation in the agency’s history.
Decades of community activism have advocated for the rights of d/Deaf and Disabled people to participation, self-representation, employment and economic opportunity in the arts sector. While there is a great deal of goodwill in the mainstream arts and an acknowledgement that things should change, many people do not know how to go about it.
The government should prioritise funding towards the National Disability Insurance Scheme, says People with Disability Australia Vice President Sam Connor. Ms Connor says the government’s budget should provide “reasonable” and “necessary” support towards the NDIS and focus on supporting the lives of people living with disabilities.
The recent death of American disability activist Judy Heumann and dedication of a memorial statue for Australian disabled comedian, advocate, and journalist Stella Young, have me thinking about the lifespans and unique learning experiences of people with disabilities, and what disabled adults would want to tell our younger selves if we could.
It is assumed that by building a greater concentration of disability at the entry level, that over time disabled workers will drift upwards into positions of leadership and decision making. Over several decades this approach hasn’t worked, yet it remains the primary method used to achieve disability equality.
It feels entirely appropriate that children be watched over by the newly unveiled bronze statue of Stella Young as they tumble and squeal in Stawell’s accessible playground. The much-admired disability advocate grew up in the small western Victorian town where she was today immortalised at an emotional ceremony.
Some participants say they are being charged double or even triple the price of services compared to those not on the scheme, for the exact same treatment or product. “I was really disappointed, I had a physio that was wonderful but when I got on the NDIS, he told me that he was no longer going to charge me the regular rate that he was charging everyone else, including my own partner who saw him,” she said.