Being of service or being a service?
My motivation to create a more inclusive Australia is highly personal. I have been transformed by love and by my brother’s experiences in a disabling world.
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Hit the road … or the skies … or the island!
Floating at dawn in a hot air balloon, front row seats at a zoo safari tour, an elevated viewing tower at the Phillip Island penguin parade; three top outdoor attractions when visiting Melbourne. But wait, there’s more – they’re all accessible.
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Waising Miss Chloe
Nestled in the outer Eastern suburbs of Melbourne is a light and leafy abode, the home of Sue and Chloe Dymond. They welcome me quite literally with open arms, and having followed their life journey in Sue’s book ‘Waising Miss Chloe’, I was only too comfortable with this.
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Why the NDIS makes economic sense
The NDIS is not just about improving the lives of people with disability; it is also clearly a win for the Australian economy.
Here’s how.
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The NDIS: See It Through
Two years ago, the law that would eventually establish the National Disability Insurance Scheme was introduced into the parliament.
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Molly and Jane: Play, bike riding and swimming – it’s all in the plan
A few months ago Jane Paardekooper hadn’t even heard of the NDIS.
Now she marvels at the change in her young daughter Molly as she runs from activity to activity under the watchful eyes of skilled therapists.
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NDIS full rollout timetable on track
The timetable for the full rollout of the NDIS will be released in six months time.
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Disability in Australia: Unfinished Business
Our investment in the NDIS is a landmark achievement. However Australia requires deep cultural, structural, economic, legal and attitudinal change if we are to deliver on the reform agenda outlined by the Productivity Commission for disability in this country.
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Call for a comprehensive blueprint for the NDIS rollout ahead of today’s minsters meeting
“If I could sit in the room with the disability ministers today, I have one message for them. We need to know it’s coming, we need to know when it’s coming so we can plan. We need you to see it through.”
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Action calls for a national rollout strategy
While there are some incredible stories of transformation rolling in from the trail sites, the fact is that most people are still waiting for the NDIS.
At last count almost 9,000 people had approved NDIS plans so that leaves a good 450,000 people to go.
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Every Australian Counts transforms
Today we are excited to launch the next phase in the Every Australian Counts campaign. You told us you’d like to hear more from people in the NDIS trial sites. You told us you’d like to know more about exactly how the NDIS works on a practical level. And you told us you wanted us to keep up the pressure to make sure the NDIS rolls out on time and on budget.
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Vale Stella Young
Every Australian Counts mourns the loss of Stella Young, a passionate feminist, comic, writer and disability rights campaigner who died on the weekend at the young age of 32.
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NDIS – Where are we at? September 2014
More than 8,800 people with disability are now living their lives with an approved NDIS plan out of almost 11,000 people eligible for the scheme.
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Changing Attitudes Changes Lives
I roared out of the garage of Sydney University, and the College of Law, a shiny new lawyer. My social justice engine, fuelled by its knowledge of unfair dismissals and unconscionable contracts, was ready to drive people from the back roads of disadvantage onto the freeway of life.
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Work and the invisible disabling disease
Most of us have an idea in our heads of what ‘disabled’ looks like. It’s a very clear picture, and it usually involves wheel chairs or other visible devices.
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The starers, the nosy, the plain rude
If you’ve ever been to a grocery story with a toddler, it’s likely it’s happened to you.
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Minister Fifield reaffirms commitment to rolling out the NDIS in full.
Yesterday, Minister Fifield spoke about the NDIA’s Quarterly Report in Parliament. Importantly he reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to rolling out the NDIS in full.
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Lynn Foreman – a view from the beginning
She was there when it was just a dream, she was there when there was a tough campaign to be won, and now she’s here as a deserving beneficiary as it all kicks off. Meet Lynn Foreman, spritely 50-something, mother, grandmother, great grandmother (yep!) and NDIS user at the trial site in the Barwon (Geelong) area.
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Meet the monster truck of wheelchairs
Computer science lecturer David Stratton sits there beaming with a grin so wide you’d swear his face will just about crack in half. He’s on a large flat granite slab atop a peak called Mt Bishop in Victoria’s exquisite Wilsons Promontory National Park.
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The one thing all Australians with disability REALLY need
We all need love and care and support and dignity and a hundred other things, right? Including the right to vote.
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Opening address to the National Carer Conference 2014 – Assistant Minister for Social Services, Mitch Fifield
The Assistant Minister for Social Services, Mitch Fifield, delivered the opening address to this years National Carer Conference on Nov 16, 2014.
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Carers Role Becomes Clearer
Nearly 18 months on from the launch of the NDIS trial sites many of the initial concerns of carers and those associations which represent them are being addressed.
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10 reasons we need the NDIS
The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is a ground-breaking change to the way disability services are funded and delivered. Here are ten ways the NDIS will benefit all Australians.
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Inclusive Playgrounds: Everyone’s a player
Play is not just for fun. It’s also for learning, problem solving, motor skills and socialising. But it’s also fun just to play!
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