Senator Jordan Steele-John objects to the passing of the Bill on the grounds that people with disability were not consulted – ‘Nothing about us, without us’. He challenges the Government to do better and not perpetuate old attitudes of thinking they know what people with disability need and expect.
There has long been concern and evidence that the NDIS, which promised so much for people with disability, is not meeting the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO) highlighted many of the reasons why in its 2018 submission to the Parliamentary Inquiry into NDIS Readiness.
The mother of an intellectually disabled man who initially received a $15,000 “robodebt” has described the Department of Human Services’ conduct in seeking to recover the debt as a form of “disability bullying”.
A South Australian living with a disability says accessing the services of a sex worker is a lifeline to intimacy. It comes as a bill to decriminalise sex work is being debated in SA’s Parliament.
Ms Ryan uses a power wheelchair, made of metal and powered by truck batteries, so she always expects that getting through the security checkpoints at the front door will be complicated. But her most recent visit, which was to attend a work function, was more than complicated — she said it was a traumatic experience that caused days of anxiety.
Women’s reproductive rights are a tough enough topic for any female-identifying person in the 21st century. For the disability community though, they raise a whole different set of issues.
An Australian delegation has travelled to Geneva to highlight concerns about the lack of support services for people with a disability in this country. The group will address a United Nations committee reviewing Australia’s progress on the rights of people with disabilities. They will also present the findings of a new report, with the high incarceration rates of Indigenous Australians among the key issues.
A group of Australians with disabilities have travelled to Geneva to tell a UN committee about their experiences of discrimination and call on the government for more support for the community.
Four of Australia’s major disability groups argue the NDIS needs a “sexuality policy” to cover a broad range of needs such as adaptive sex toys, services from sex workers and sex therapists – as well as education about sexuality and relationships.
The position statement released by Disabled Peoples’ Organisations (DPO) demands a comprehensive national policy on sexuality and the NDIS, saying “governments have an obligation to ensure people with disability can enjoy rich and fulfilling lives equal to others in society”.
Historically people with disability have been subjected to
societal beliefs that we are either asexual or hypersexual, while constantly being
denied full autonomy over our own bodies.
Jenny Macklin held many social policy portfolios over her long political career. As Minister for Disability Reform in the Gillard government she ushered in the NDIS. Jenny talks about the process of winning support for big social policy changes.
Women with Disabilities Australia executive director Carolyn Frohmader said Australia’s most vulnerable continue to face unacceptable barriers. “There’s widespread hardship, discrimination, violence and poverty, they face these every day,” she said.
The launch of No Limits: The Disabled People’s Movement, A Radical History, took place last Friday (12 July), and was attended by its author, Judy Hunt, on the 40th anniversary of the death of her husband, Paul. It was Paul Hunt’s letter to the Guardian in 1972 which led to the formation of the Union of the Physically Impaired Against Segregation (UPIAS), which itself was to play a crucial role in the development of the movement and what was later known as the social model of disability.
The Administrative Appeals Tribunal this week ruled in favour of a woman with multiple sclerosis who applied for sex therapy funding in her NDIS plan, but was refused by the National Disability Insurance Agency.
The Morrison government has already indicated the NDIA will appeal the ruling, which said the woman should receive $10,000 a year to fund her treatment.