Earlier this year Women With Disabilities Australia submitted their response to the Final Report of the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability (Disability Royal Commission / DRC) and its 222 recommendations, which was tabled in the Australian Parliament on 29 September 2023. Their analysis focuses on ten areas for … Continued
For over four and a half years our disability community, laid bare throughout the Disability Royal Commission (DRC) the violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation we have endured and continue to experience. PWDA stood alongside people with disability throughout the DRC, supporting them to share their individual experiences as we collectively called for justice and genuine … Continued
The distressing state of affairs for adults with disability and mental health issues in Victoria has been highlighted in the 2022-2023 Community Visitor Annual Report, presented in Parliament this month.
The Australian Government has commissioned a world-first survey into LGBTIQA+ people’s attitudes and experiences of sexual violence, in partnership with the University of New South Wales (UNSW).
This report builds on the Actuaries Institute’s May 2023 Green Paper that found inequality in Australia is significantly higher than in the 1980s.
I was an anaesthetist and intensive care specialist, commissioning Western Australia’s first non‐tertiary intensive care unit and becoming the State Medical Director of DonateLife WA. On 16 September 2018, I broke my neck, lumbar spine, jaw, multiple ribs and both hands in a cycling accident during a charity race in Melbourne. Worst of all was … Continued
Consumer Affairs Victoria are warning about unqualified or unscrupulous operators doing dodgy home modifications. Their checklist helps people manage a building project worth $10K
Women living with disabilities are almost twice as likely to experience domestic violence than those without, but most will not seek help.
A new report from People with Disability Australia (PWDA) has revealed the significant barriers women and children with disability face when accessing domestic and family violence services. The report, produced as part of the national peak body’s Building Access Project, outlines the roadmap forward to ensure these essential services are safe, inclusive and accessible to … Continued
Disability Advocates are highly likely to identify family violence or receive disclosures of experiences of violence in their work. Rates of violence against people with disabilities are around twice as high as across the general population. Yet the links between the disability advocacy sector and the family violence response system is not clear. This short … Continued
It’s Christmas Day. A man paces the caged courtyard attached to his secure unit. There are bits of tinsel strewn around it – an attempt to bring colour into his world. He’s rarely left this space in the past 11 years. There’s no date for his release. He’s never been convicted of a crime. Adrian* … Continued
People with Disability Australia (PWDA) is calling for urgent reform to ensure the human rights of people with disability are upheld in Australia, outlining 10 actions that all Australian governments must prioritise.
Disability advocates say tighter regulation of NDIS service providers is needed after an ABC investigation uncovered “sickening” practices being used against children with disabilities. The ABC’s Four Corners revealed children with autism and intellectual disabilities were unlawfully pinned to the ground facedown by up to six workers as part of a controversial therapy funded by the NDIS.
Two of Australia’s human rights leaders have expressed grave concerns in the wake of shocking videos broadcast on ABC’s Four Corners program, which showed children with intellectual disabilities being repeatedly restrained as part of a radical treatment funded by the NDIS.
Scams to people with a disability have risen by over 58 per cent in 2 years, according to data from Scamwatch. Now a TAC-funded program, co-designed by people with brain injuries, is seeking to provide safety training and psychological interventions for those at risk. CyberAbility project lead Dr Kare Gould told Trevor Chappell about the free … Continued