Shorten likens NDIS bureaucrats to ‘Oompa-Loompas’ and ‘chimpanzees’ in attack on red tape
Bill Shorten has copped backlash for “disappointing” remarks where he labelled NDIS workers as “Oompa-Loompas” and “chimpanzees typing”.
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Falling off the ‘magical cliff’: Call for review of NDIS age ‘discrimination’
And now he is taking on the federal government over a feature of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) that means people with a disability who do not register with the scheme before the age of 65 are barred from funding under the scheme. Instead, they are at the mercy of the aged-care system.
Mandatory access vote a win for disability advocates like Des Ryan, OAM, after years of obstruction
Building Better Homes Campaign Director Alistair Webster called it “a once-in-a-generation opportunity”. “What this means is that the millions of Australians with mobility limitations who currently cannot get access to appropriate housing will have more opportunity to fully participate in community life,” he said.
Fears are justified, says PWDA President
I spoke not in my capacity as President of People with Disability Australia, nor as a board member on any of the other boards that I sit on. I spoke as a disabled woman and a carer who, like many of us, has spent a lifetime battling disability and mainstream services and systems.
COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy higher among disability support workers amid concern over safety and side effects
Lead author Anne Kavanagh from the University of Melbourne said the survey found of those undecided, 68 per cent reported there was inadequate data about the safety of the vaccine and 59 per cent were worried about possible side effects.
Disability royal commission calls hearing into vaccine rollout with just 101 care homes receiving first dose
Almost three months into the COVID-19 vaccination program the federal government is still working out the best way to immunise people with disabilities despite their inclusion in the first two phases of the vaccine rollout.
Turbulence ahead for NDIS amid proposed changes
The latest documents, released under freedom of information laws, show that NDIA officials inserted an entire chapter into the latest review of the scheme legislation. That chapter recommended the introduction of independent assessments for everyone who is a part of the scheme, a change likely to take place by the end of the year.
Quality and Safeguards: You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know
There is no doubt about it: the NDIS quality and safeguarding system is a complicated beast. Many newly transitioned providers are scratching their heads about what all this means in practice. If you aren’t sure whether you are across the fundamentals, here’s some questions to help…
‘End big four consultancy cronyism’ in the NDIS: Bill Shorten
Addressing the National Press Club, Mr Shorten blamed “big consultancy cronyism and a stultifying staffing cap” for poor service delivery in the NDIS, accusing the Coalition of putting compliance measures ahead of improving the lives of Australians with a disability.
Sydney University Catholic Society asks students in controversial poll: ‘Are disabled people a burden on society?’
“If their intent was to oppose ableist views in academia, or have positive conversations around disability, they have instead perpetuated academic ableism by literally putting the worth of disabled lives up for public debate.
Australia’s NDIS goes live with first phase of digital transformation program
The Specialist Disability Accommodation within Australia’s disability scheme has been overhauled from relying on ‘off systems’ to being completely visible.
Carl felt sick at his NDIS job because of independent assessments. So he quit in protest
Closing date: April 22, 2021
“People with disability are sick of able-bodied people patronising them and telling us how we should feel and react to things, especially with an organisation that’s a government department meant to have our best interests.”
‘Robo-planning’ will ‘blow-up’ NDIS: key architect
“With no transparency, robo-planning could be used to exclude participants, cut plans, or change the NDIS eligibility criteria. And the NDIA would not be able to be held to account for such actions. The fact that robo-planning has reached the current stage of implementation is a disgrace. It should have been stopped long before now.”
COVID vaccine rollout delays frustrate vulnerable Australians in priority group
Any Australian over the age of 50 will be able to get a COVID vaccine from May 3, but many vulnerable Australians are frustrated that they are still yet to be vaccinated despite being in the priority group.
Doctor with patients from Stolen Generations fears NDIS reforms will be ‘traumatic and triggering’
Debra Blackmore, a GP with the Victorian Aboriginal Health Service, made the comments in a submission to the bipartisan parliamentary committee looking into NDIS independent assessments, which have sparked sector-wide backlash.