Sue Olney
The much-anticipated NDIS review released in late 2023 failed to explicitly consider gender equality or recommend a gender strategy. In today’s post, UNSW PhD candidate Molly Saunders gives a history of gender and the NDIS, and discusses her doctoral research on whether the NDIS supports women with disability to live a life of their own choosing.
Read MoreIn today’s post, moderator Dr Rae West @raelene_west discusses the balance between the roles of the NDIS Quality and Safeguarding Commission and Community Visitor schemes in deterring and preventing harm to people with disability utilising funded support services in accommodation settings and homes.
Read MoreIn the wake of the budget, the Antipoverty Centre asked people on Centrelink payments – the real social policy experts – for their reactions. A contributor shared how he and other carers performing unpaid labour save the government money, and another describes the devastating impact of the failure to raise the JobSeeker rate on welfare recipients.
Read MoreMarina is one of nearly 900 000 Australians who are either unemployed or underemployed and who receive either Jobseeker Payment or Youth Allowance. This open letter is to Amanda Rishworth, Minister for Social Services in preparation for an upcoming “raise the rate” protest hosted by the Anti-Poverty Centre and the Australian Unemployed Workers’ Union on International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.
Read MoreSince Australia’s National Disability Insurance Scheme was created nearly ten years ago, its roll out has been closely scrutinised by governments, policymakers, researchers, and advocates. Dr Sue Olney, Dr Amber Mills and Liam Fallon discuss their research into how working-age people with disability without NDIS funding are faring. Their findings reveal a huge gap between talk and action on disability inclusion.
Read MoreVictim-survivors of family violence often sustain undiagnosed brain injuries which have a profound impact on psycho-social health and overall cognitive function. In today’s analysis, Phoebe Nagorcka-Smith of Good Shepherd Australia New Zealand (@GoodAdvocacy) details how acquired brain injuries (ABIs) too often go undiagnosed, and even when they are diagnosed accessing required support remains out of reach for many women.
Read MoreIn today's post, Dr Raelene West (@raelene_west) discusses the history and current state of Australia's National Disability Insurance Scheme. She argues that the NDIS is at a critical juncture, and that its success hinges on people with disability having a more significant role in its design and delivery. Dr West is a sociologist based at the Melbourne Disability Institute at the University of Melbourne, and she has lived experience of disability.
Read MoreNew research reveals that women are underrepresented in Australia’s National Disability Insurance Scheme, and may be less likely to get the supports they need once they are on the scheme. In today’s post, three members of the research team - Sophie Yates, Gemma Carey and Jen Hargrave - present key findings from their study and call for further research and policy reform to address the gendered dimensions of inequality in the NDIS and other individualised funding models. This post was originally published on Broad Agenda and you can read the original article here.
Read MoreLuke Michael (@luke_michael96) highlights findings from a new research report from Children and Young People with Disability Australia that suggest problems with NDIS implementation are many and varied, and are not likely to be fixed by the Government’s proposed major reform of Indpendent Assessments. He talks over the implications with the report’s lead author Professor Helen Dickinson.
Read MoreIn today’s post, originally published in The Conversation, Professor Helen Dickinson (@drhdickinson) outlines concerns about the introduction of independent assessments into Australia’s National Disability Insurance Scheme, and explains why an independent evaluation of the proposed changes, designed in consultation with people with disability and their families, is needed before they are introduced.
Read MoreToday’s article expands on a recent post by the same author published on Power to Persuade that exposed flaws in processes for government to capture the experiences of people with disability experiencing homeless in recent federal and state government inquiries (link to other post). How can governments better factor the needs and circumstances of people with disability into consultation processes and policies, and how might this improve policy outcomes? The post’s author, who has lived experience of disability and homelessness, looks at the intersection of disability and housing insecurity and proposes some wide-ranging reforms. The author is still in search of stable housing herself and has asked to remain anonymous.
Read MoreResearch shows that people who experience chronic homelessness are likely to have complex needs linked to a developmental or psychiatric disability, a traumatic brain injury, physical health problems and/or mental health issues. Today’s post examines the complex intersection of disability and homelessness in the context of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs inquiry into homelessness in Australia initiated in February 2020 and the Victorian Government inquiry into homelessness initiated in June 2019. The post raises important questions about whose voices are being heard and included in these inquiries, given that the call for submissions and public hearings overlapped with bushfires, bushfire recovery and the COVID-19 pandemic - a time when the resources and energy of many people with disability, Disabled People’s Organisations, and people in insecure housing were stretched to breaking point and their capacity to focus on and influence the business of government was severely limited. These are not the only examples of government failing to factor the needs and circumstances of people with disability into consultation processes, and it smacks of systemic bias. This post’s author, who has lived experience of disability and homelessness and started a support group for homeless women, is still in search of stable housing herself. She has asked to remain anonymous.
Read MoreWe know that the NDIS is a lot of administrative work for scheme participants, but the administrative burden isn’t just borne by people with disability. Today’s post comes from Ellie Malbon (Centre for Social Impact), Gemma Carey (CSI), Helen Dickinson (Public Service Research Group), Megan Weier (CSI), and Gordon Duff (National Disability Services), who have done some research on the administrative burden of the NDIS for service providers.
Read MoreIn today’s post, Georgia Katsikis, Alex Devine and Sue Olney explore the implications of COVID-19 for disability policy in Australia – policy currently affecting one in five Australians living with disability with the potential to affect a growing number who may acquire a disability as a consequence of the pandemic. They argue that the needs and rights of people with disability must be integrated into plans to rebuild the economy now, to avert far-reaching and long-lasting social and economic costs.
Read MoreAs Victoria enters the unprecedented time of Stage 4 lockdown and a state of disaster is declared in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, disability advocates and academics have come together to highlight the vital importance of state and federal Governments working together to eliminate critical gaps for people with disability.
The situation in aged care homes has already shown a lack of joined up planning and responses can result in preventable harms and risks. In the media release below advocates from the disability sector identify the key areas of concern for people with disability and the urgent need for the NDIA and Victorian Government to implement a plan to ensure people with disability do not suffer through the stage 4 lockdown.
Read MoreJeff Thompson, a disability employment specialist from a community organization in Canberra, reflects on the changing landscape of disability services, and wonders who the current policies are serving. Are faith-based and for-profit organizations able to deliver the ‘choice and control’ promised by the National Disability Insurance scheme (NDIS)?
Read MoreAustralians with disability represent some of the most excluded of all Australians in relation to the impacts of coronavirus. At the same time, many people with disability are particularly at risk from COVID-19, because of barriers that exist to their inclusion, and their need for ongoing support. People with Disability Australia asked people with disability to tell them about their experiences over the last two months, and have released a report on those findings today.
Read MoreLeading health and disability researchers in Australia are calling for urgent action from State and Federal governments to develop a targeted response to COVID-19 for people with disability, their families and the disability service sector. In this post originally published by Croakey, Professor Anne Kavanagh from the University of Melbourne and Associate Professor Gemma Carey from UNSW flag risks facing people with disability in this rapidly shifting environment and set out recommendations for government to mitigate those risks.
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