News Hub Opinion
Voices of experience on living with disability, inclusion and how the NDIS is transforming lives.
Protected: A Day in the Life of an SRS Resident: Reflections on the Need for Safe, Sustainable NDIS Housing Options
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
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Why It’s Time to Move Beyond Group Homes
By Jarrod Sandell-Hay Jarrod Sandell-Hay is a disability activist with lived experience of disability and self-determination under the NDIS. As we head towards the next federal election, housing
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NDIA Hits Reset on Co-Design – Here’s What It Means for You
The National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) has announced a reset in how it will work with people with disability to design changes to the NDIS. According to the
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Foundational Supports: A new lifeboat or a disguise to capsize us?
Heidi La Paglia Reid is an Autistic, disabled advocate, an NDIS participant and a member of the Every Australian Counts Steering Committee. If you would like to contribute
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New Support Needs Assessments for the NDIS
Suddenly, everyone seems to be talking about new assessments for the NDIS, called Support Needs Assessments. What are they and why are they such a talking point? Read
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NDIS “Support Lists” Threaten People with Disability’s Right to a “Normal” Life By Stevie Lang Howson
Every Australian Counts supporter, Stevie Lang Howson Shares his concerns about the NDIS “Support Lists” that are currently open for consultation. The central question at the
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NDIS participant is “terrified of the consequences of the bill”
Scott Harry is an NDIS participant who is concerned that if the NDIS Bill goes through, the government will be able to implement the NDIS Review recommendation that
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Implications of the NDIS Amendment Bill 2024 for some of Australia’s most marginalised people
The Power to Persuade editors, Sue Olney and Elroy Dearn originally published this article on their website The Power to Persuade on the 13th of May 2024. We
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The Role of Navigators – An Opinion Piece by Michaela Kennedy, Judith Ellis and Peter Sheehy
Michaela Kennedy, Judith Ellis and Peter Sheehy have co-written this opinion piece about the part of the recent Review that relates particularly to the recommended introduction of navigators.
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We won’t let the NDIS review take away our right to choose – An open letter to Bill Shorten
Douglas used AI technologyto generate the photo above
Douglas Fogg is a NDIS participant with a passion for making technology inclusive and accessible.
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NDIS review: Regulation does not keep people safe. People keep people safe!
Linda Hughes is president of the Self Manager Hub and parent of an NDIS participant. Together they self manage and directly employ support workers. Here Linda describes some of the problems with the changes proposed by the NDIS review.
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Too Much About Us Without Us: Psychosocial Disability and the NDIS Review
Muriel and Neil participated in our NDIS Review forums where we came together to share our perspectives on the recommendations in the final report. Here is a summary of their perspectives that were developed in collaboration with six NDIS participants who are members of the Australian Psychosocial Disability Collective.
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The NDIS review “makes me so angry and scared”- by Sam Petersen
Samantha Petersen participated in our NDIS Review forum in December where we came together to share our perspectives on the recommendations in the final report. Here are some of Sam’s concerns.
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The NDIS Review housing and living recommendations are “outdated and unethical”
The above image was drawn by Peter to help visually represent his concerns about the NDIS Review.
The issues identified through the NDIS Review are not new or unexpected. However, the solutions proposed create a level of bureaucratic overreach that intrudes into people’s lives and does not align with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability (UNCRPD).
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My Take On “Redesigning the NDIS”
This week, Australia’s national representative body of independent disability advocacy organisations, Disability Advocacy Network Australia, released a report calling for “urgent and radical reform of the NDIS”.
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Independent Assessments 2.0? NDIS Review Chair Forecasts Massive Changes – check them out…
Today the NDIS Review Chair gave us a first look at some huge changes that they want to make. In case you missed the speech by Professor Bruce Bonyhady, here is a summary:
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What Would Life Be Like Without the NDIS? & 5 Reasons to Defend It
This week, 10 years ago, our community won the fight for a National Disability Insurance Scheme. Today, the media cycle is dominated by stories about the cost of the scheme, so it’s important that we remind ourselves about what life was like before the NDIS, why the NDIS was introduced and why it needs to succeed into the future.
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Budget 2023 with Minister Shorten & How the NDIS Is Changing… In Plain(ish) English
Is the government putting a cap on the NDIS? Are our plans going to be cut? Will it be more difficult to get onto the NDIS? These are
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NDIS Minister National Press Club Address and what you might have missed (it’s scary!)
At today’s National Press Club Address NDIS 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! Here is a summary of his announcements and my take on what he had to say. You’ll have to read to the end for the scary bit.
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What can we expect from the new chair of the NDIA Kurt Fearnley?
Our friend Dr George Taleporos sat down with the new Chair of the National Disability Insurance Agency, Kurt Fearnley, for his latest episode of Reasonable and Necessary. He finds out why Kurt took on the job, and what we can expect from his leadership of the Agency.
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Explainer: What were the original intentions of the National Disability Insurance Scheme?
One of the things people with disability and families have been asking their federal election candidates to reflect on this year is a promise to bring the NDIS back on track with it’s original intentions. To look at why we all fought so hard for the NDIS in the first place. What were the ideas, intentions and principles behind the idea for an NDIS? Our friends from PIAC have written a new helpful explainer…
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Explainer part 3: New changes to the NDIS Act
Last year thousands of you emailed our Senators urging them not to support certain changes to the NDIS Bill as originally proposed by NDIS Minister Linda Reynolds. And your message got through loud and clear – the changes were changed! The NDIS Bill was voted through parliament recently – thankfully our friends from PIAC have another explainer to help us all make sense of it all…
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Is your organisation returning to face-to-face meetings? You need to read this…
Lockdowns have lifted – and some disability organisations are moving back to face-to-face meetings, and interstate travel. The pandemic is not over. People with disability are still at risk of serious health complications and death – even with some protections from vaccines. And apart from that – we cannot now or ever forget the enormous gains mainstream society has made in online accessibility over the last couple of years. Our friend Dr George Taleporos has some important advice for these organisations based on his recent personal experience.
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Goodbye Mum, I’ll be okay
“Like most parents, my mum wanted to know that I was okay. But unlike most parents, her middle-aged son needs round-the-clock support from others, to stay alive.” Our good friend Dr George Taleporos has an important message for NDIS decision-makers, following the recent death of his Mother. “When we say the NDIS is for 450,000 Australians with disabilities – we are leaving out millions of family members who rely on the scheme to provide them with the assurance that their loved ones are going to be okay when they die.”
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