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In this issue ....
Report from the CEO and Chair
The AFDO Chair and Acting CEO provide a report of the issues and events that AFDO has dealt with over the past three months.
Policy Update
AFDO National Policy Advisor Collette O'Neill provides an update on the various policies and issues that AFDO has, and will be, dealing with. This includes the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disability, the 2007 Federal Election, the CSTDA Disability Assistance Package, the 5 year review of the Standard for Accessible Public Transport and Centrelink Reporting Requirements.
Workshop on Ratification of UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with a Disability
Martin Leckey report on the workshop he attended in Sydney on behalf of AFDO. He provides feedback on information given by the Federal Attorney-General and the outcome from the workshop.
CSTDA Forum: Creative solutions to improving disability and community services forum
AFDO held a CSTDA forum in Brisbane in April. This is a report of that forum and includes an attached document with the notes and themes from the forum.
Australia Fair Election Forum
A short notice about an upcoming Australia Fair Election Forum
Campaign ‘Enable’ Relaunched
Campaign Enable will be (re)Launched ready to go into action for the 2007 Federal Election.
VCOSS/DRC Accessible Transport Watch Project
A short notice about the Accessible Transport Watch Project run by VCOSS, Disability Resource Centre and the Disability Advocacy and Information Service.
Are you affected by Welfare to Work? Tell your story and make a difference.
Share your story from the welfare frontlines. Are you affected by Welfare to Work? If so this article will help you tell your story.
The good, the bad and the ugly
The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission has released a new CD Aimed at designer, builders, building certifiers and access consultants that shows 13 examples of common mistakes made when applying the Building Code of Australia.
Access for All Alliance Wins Award for Tourism
Access for All Alliance in Hervey Bay have won a tourism award for their website that helps people with a disability find accessible holiday spots.
National Disability Awards 2007
Nominations are out to pick the person who has made a difference in the world of disability.
TEDICORE mobile phone survey completed
The Telecommunications Disability Consumer Representative project has released the findings on its mobile phone survey.
Access Card Update
Sue Salthouse attended a briefing on the Access Card on behalf of AFDO. This is her report
Domestic NGO Human Rights Update
Maurice Corcoran reports back on the meeting held in June in Canberra.
PDCA: Cost of Disability Research
Physical Disability Council of Australia will soon be conducting research into the cost of having a disability. Read this notice if your are interested in keeping track of what the research is and who to contact for details.
Update from Qantas
QANTAS hosted a Consumers Forum in Sydney in June. This is a brief rundown of what happened at the Forum.
AUSLAN Training Video Released
A short article about a great resource for learning AUSLAN.
News In Brief
Grants, awards, handbooks and conferences, it’s all here in the News in Brief.
Since our first newsletter went out AFDO has been working on a number of key issues and is continuing to build on our work in others. We have also experienced some changes in the AFDO office with our inaugural CEO, Maryanne Diamond, moving on to greener pastures.
As the previous Chair of AFDO, Samantha Jenkinson has taken on the role of Acting CEO while AFDO recruits someone permanently into this position. It is expected that a new CEO will be appointed in time for the AGM, and applications are currently open for the position. If you wish to apply for the position please contact the AFDO office for the position description. Graham Douglas-Meyer is acting in the role of Chair while Samantha has stepped down from the Board.
Over the last few months AFDO has done a lot of work in our strategic objective areas, some of which include:
This newsletter contains articles on these issues and many others that we have been, and are still working on.
For the AFDO office the next six months leading up to the AGM will be very busy with the following key issues taking priority:
Recently the AFDO Board met for its June meeting to finalise the business plan for the coming year. The above mentioned issues were seen as priority areas as well as continuing to strengthen the governance of our organization. A communiqué from the AFDO Board has been distributed following the meeting and can be downloaded from the link below.
Regards
Graham Douglas-Meyer, Chair AFDO Board
Samantha Jenkinson, Acting CEO
Over the next 6 months, AFDO will be working on a number of key policy issues.
UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disability
In June, AFDO took part in a workshop about the United Nations Convention on the rights of people with disability. Australia was one of the first countries to sign the Convention, signing on 30 March 2007.
The workshop was organised by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission. AFDO has agreed to work with the disability sector to lobby for the Federal Government to ratify the Convention.
The text of the convention is available on the United Nations web site at www.un.org/esa/socdev/enable/rights/convtexte.htm
2007 Federal Election – Making Australia Fair
In coming months AFDO and our members will be planning and running an election forum, focussed on issues of importance to people with disability. We will also be working with other organisations that are part of Australia Fair to try to make as many of the functions organised as part of the Australia Fair campaign accessible to people with disability. Keep watching our website for more information.
CSTDA/Commonwealth Disability Assistance Package
On 28 June, the Federal Government announced a Disability Assistance Package, with funding of $1.8B over five years. The announcement includes initiatives in the areas of accommodation, respite, employment and personal support. It also provides greater financial assistance to people who are caring for children with disability.
The Australian Federation of Disability Organisations and its members will work with the Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs to try to make sure that as these initiatives are implemented, the primary focus is improving the lives of people with disability. We will also continue to work to ensure that the perspective of people with disability is heard in the negotiations around the Commonwealth-State/Territory Disability Agreement.
5 Year Review of the Standards for Accessible Public Transport
AFDO and its members are preparing submissions to the 5 year review of the Disability Standards for Accessible Public Transport. You can read more about the Review, including how to make a submission, at the review website: www.ddatransportreview.com.au
AFDO encourages all people with disability to make a submission to the Review to tell your personal experience of using public transport.
Centrelink Reporting Requirements
In April, the Disability Discrimination Legal Centre (DDLC) wrote to Centrelink outlining the concerns of AFDO and its members about the accessibility of a new Centrelink reporting system. Some people receiving Newstart Allowance are now required to complete a Participation Record. We were concerned that some people with disability would find it difficult to complete the Record correctly.
In response to this letter, AFDO, our members and the DDLC have met with Centrelink to discuss our concerns in more detail and to find solutions to them. The meeting went well, with Centrelink committing to practical solutions to improve the accessibility of Centrelink forms.
On 27-28 June, Martin Leckey represented AFDO at a workshop on Promoting the Ratification and Implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Australia. The workshop was auspiced by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission in Sydney, and was attended by representatives from peak disability advocacy groups, both national and state based, as well as human rights commissions and disability advisory groups.
The purpose of the workshop was to build the capacity of Australian organisations of people with a disability and disability advisory groups to promote the ratification and implementation by the Australian Government of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and to gain Australia’s signature and ratification of its associated Optional Protocol.
Those attending the meeting were quick to congratulate the Federal Government on being among the first to sign the Convention on 30 March 2007.
The next step is to ratify the Convention; a process that involves the State, Territory and Commonwealth governments. At the conclusion of the workshop, the participants agreed upon a joint communiqué calling on the State and Territory governments to support the Commonwealth as it pursues ratification of the Convention, with the goal of Australian ratification of the Convention by the International Day of People with a Disability on the 3rd December 2008. The full text of the communiqué is available at www.hreoc.gov.au/disability_rights
Phillip Ruddock, the Federal Attorney General, spoke at the Workshop on the Government’s support for the Convention and the steps it is taking towards potential ratification of the Convention.
He explained that a process will now commence to review Commonwealth, State and Territory legislation, to ensure domestic law is consistent with the obligations in the Convention and an analysis of possible impacts, including the results of extensive community consultation, will also be completed and tabled in Parliament, together with the Convention. The Federal Attorney General stated that he will be putting the Convention on the agenda for the upcoming Standing Committee of Attorneys General (SCAG) due to take place at the end of July.
At the SCAG meeting Mr Ruddock will alert States and Territories to the process and timetable for discussions and consultations on the development of the National Interest Analysis.
One outcome of the Workshop was that the participants gave their support to a proposal for AFDO, in partnership with other peak disability organisations who participated in the workshop, to assist in the setting up of a Taskforce to further develop a strategic plan on ratification within the advocacy sector.
On Monday 23 April 2007, AFDO held a national forum to talk about how to improve disability and community services.
One of the challenges for the community and government is to find ways of meeting the increasing demand for disability services, particularly in the context of an ageing population.
We all agreed that we need increased funding for disability services, but that this was only one part of the solution. The forum talked about creative strategies to make sure that the needs of people with disability are met effectively by disability and community services.
The Minister for Family and Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, Mal Brough, opened the forum and took the opportunity to give an update on the negotiations about the next Commonwealth-State/Territory Disability Agreement (CSTDA).
The participants at the forum considered three questions:
The Australian Federation of Disability Organisations will use the information gathered at the forum when it works with government and other organisations to decide how best to provide disability and community services. It will also use the information when it develops policy in this area.
In the future, AFDO is planning to pull together the good practice examples into a document that provides more information about them and the features that make them such good examples. This will be made publicly available when it is completed.
A complete set of the notes and themes from the forum can be downloaded from the link below
Australia Fair is a new national initiative which aims to get the community active and involved in making Australia fair.
Australia Fair is supported by the Australian Federation of Disability Organisations.
As part of our commitment to making Australia fair, AFDO will be organising a public forum to talk about the fairness priorities identified by AFDO and its members.
More information about the forum will be made available soon.
In the meantime, AFDO encourages everyone to get involved in Australia Fair. You can join via the website www.australiafair.org.au and receive updates on activities, take part in discussions and take action to make Australia fair.
In 2005, the Australian Federation of Disability Organisations launched Campaign ‘Enable’ in response to the Australian Government’s proposed changes to the Disability Support Pension. The campaign aimed to get the Australian Government to change its mind about the proposed changes and instead make a commitment to developing a National Employment Strategy for Australians with disability.
Unfortunately, the changes were passed by Parliament in late 2005 and came into effect on 1 July 2006.
This year there is a Federal Election and so AFDO is relaunching Campaign ‘Enable’ to get the major political parties to commit to reversing the changes to the Disability Support Pension and introducing a National Disability Employment Strategy.
Your voice is important. By campaigning together we can make sure that people with disability and their families and friends have a powerful voice in the next election.
To take action, Click here
AFDO gratefully acknowledges the support for this project provided by the Reichstein Foundation.
The Victorian Council of Social Service, Disability Resources Centre and Disability Advocacy and Information Service have combined to run the Accessible Transport Watch Project.
The project aims to monitor and report on how well the Disability Standards for Accessible Public Transport have been implemented in Victoria.
The project has developed surveys for people with disability to use to assess how easy it is to use various types of public transport in metropolitan Victoria and in regional areas.
These surveys are being completed by as many people as possible in July and August and will then be compiled into a state-wide report.
You can learn more about the project, including finding out how to take part, by contacting the Accessible Transport Watch Project on 03 9654 5050 or be going to www.vcoss.org.au/what-we-do/transport/accessible.htm
Are you affected by Welfare to Work? Tell your story and make a difference
Are you having problems with Centrelink or with an agency that is helping you to look for work or to get ready to look for work?
Have you been affected by the Federal Government’s recent changes, called Welfare to Work?
Are you a person with a disability?
If so, the Australian Federation of Disability Organisations would love to hear from you.
We are collecting stories from people with disability about their experiences dealing with Centrelink and other agencies. We will use the stories to help the Government and the media to understand the impact of Welfare to Work.
Click here to find forms on our website to help you to tell us your story on, or you can call us on 03 9662 3324 and we can post them to you.
If you would like to talk to someone about your story, or you need help to tell it, call us on 03 9662 3324. If you live outside Melbourne we will call you back.
We gratefully acknowledge support from the Reichstein Foundation for this project.
The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission has produced a new CD aimed at designers, builders, building certifiers and access consultants.
The good the bad and the ugly looks at thirteen examples of common mistakes made in applying today’s Building Code of Australia (BCA) in areas such as handrails on stairs, use of Tactile Ground Surface Indicators, signage, visual indicators on glazing and kerb rails on ramps.
The purpose of this resource is to explain why precise application of the BCA and its referenced Australian Standards is necessary by describing how people with disability benefit from good design and construction.
It does not try to replicate all the access provisions of the BCA or Australian Standards in words and pictures, and it does not seek to define access requirements under the Disability Discrimination Act. It simply draws attention to the fact that the technical specifications are there for a reason and failure to apply them has serious consequences.
The good the bad and the ugly could be used as a self learning tool; as an in-house continuing education program for building certifiers, designers, builders, building managers, fit-out specialists, access consultants or advocates interested in access issues.
The CD also contains the photographs used in The good the bad and the ugly which can be used to develop your own presentations.
A copy of the Commission’s Guidelines on access to buildings and services is also included on the CD. The guidelines are aimed at businesses, service providers, Government agencies, property managers and anyone involved in the purchasing, leasing or assessment of property. The aim of the guideline is to assist in identifying possible barriers to buildings and services and direct people to resources and expertise to address those barriers.
You can order a free copy of this CD now (it will be available for delivery after July 25). If you want a copy of the CD please contact publications@humanrights.gov.au or telephone 1300 369 711
The material is also available on the Commission’s website and will be updated from time to time. www.humanrights.gov.au/disability_rights/buildings/good.htm
Congratulations to State member Access For All Alliance Inc for winning a special commendation award at the "Communities In Control" conference which was held in Melbourne at the beginning of June 2007.
www.australiaforall.com.au is a one stop shop for accessible tourism in Australia.
It is an Internet based service devoted entirely to accommodation and tourist attractions which are accessible to people with mobility, hearing and/or vision impairments.
The awards, under the National Westpac Community Idol 2007 awards scheme, were initiated to find ten community groups in Australia which 'stood out from the pack'.
AustraliaForAll.com.au was judged to be innovative, effective, representative and a community leader.
Nominations for the inaugural National Disability Awards are now open!
If you have made, or know someone who has made, a significant contribution to the community, either at a local, regional, state or national level, tell us about it by nominating for the National Disability Awards 2007.
There are five award categories:
Nominate today! Nominations are open until 20 July 2007.
For more information call 1800 677 427 to order a hard copy version of the forms or you can download the forms at www.idpwd.com.au/awards.asp
TEDICORE has completed its survey of Mobile phones and people with disabilities in Australia. The survey was answered by 207 people from all over Australia and with a range of disabilities and many with multiple disabilities. A disproportionate number of people were highly educated with either a degree or postgraduate qualifications.
Some key findings from the survey included:
People did not like the following:
Desired features included but were not limited to:
Only 51% of people reported getting the information they wanted and many had difficulty in phone shops.
These findings and others detailed in the report indicate the need for an overall policy to improve accessibility to mobile phones for people with disabilities in Australia.
TEDICORE has made a number of recommendations in their final report which should be up on their website soon.
The TEDICORE website can be found at www.tedicore.org.au/index.html
On Tuesday 3 July, Sue Salthouse attended a briefing on the Access Card draft legislation. The briefing was conducted by staff from the Office of the Access Card in the Department of Human Services.
Participants were given a comprehensive briefing pack – containing a large number of Fact Sheets, a copy of the Draft Exposure Bill, and various explanatory notes. The briefing pack is available from the Office for the Access Card phone 131 792. Their web site is at www.accesscard.gov.au
Of interest to people with disabilities is the section outlining who may be authorised to act on behalf of an individual, e.g. in making application for an Access Card.
Administration Rules will set out details of who can act on another’s behalf where the individual is unable to do so because of disability. It is likely that it will be someone who has Power of Attorney, or some power invested by Court Order, or someone deemed to have ‘authority to act’.
Thus this area is still a bit hazy and further consultation will be done with people with disabilities for clarification of an acceptable set of ‘agents’. Presenters were clear that they will use existing experience with Centrelink and Medicare to craft the new rules.
Presenters and Access Card office staff reiterated that they will be undertaking further rounds of consultation, especially with representatives of AFDO and the peak disability organisations.
Maurice Corcoran represented AFDO at the 15th Attorney-General's (AG) NGO forum on Friday 15 June 2007 at Old Parliament house.
The Agenda included a welcome from Philippa Lynch, First Assistant Secretary, Information Law and Human Rights Division who gave an overview of the day.
This was followed by an update from the AG's Human Rights Branch by Peter Arnaudo and Geoff Skillen gave an update on International Law.
Presentations were made by the Attorney-General Phillip Ruddock, Susan Roberts from the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC), and Emergency Management Australia on the National forum on Emergency Warnings to the Community.
During the discussion Maurice Corcoran on behalf of AFDO, asked a number of questions.
In particular he asked about the long delay in progressing the Access to Premises Standard and the impact of this i.e. uncertainty for people with disabilities and owners of buildings.
The Attorney-General responded that they were about to convene a small
high-level group to work through some of the more contentious issues with the aim of trying to resolve as many as possible. They are hopeful that this process will commence in the next few months.
Questions were also asked about the lack of appropriate monitoring and reporting of the existing Standards for Transport and Education. The questions were raised in the context of lodgement of complaints where the test is whether operators are complying with the standards however, where there is no monitoring of this, it becomes near impossible to get accurate information about progress against compliance schedule.
Concerns were also expressed regarding complaints not being conciliated via HREOC. Respondents to complaints are growing in confidence that complainants are unlikely to take their complaints further i.e. to the Federal Court because of the costs and the risks of costs being awarded against complainants. The AG agreed to look into this, especially in cases of public interest.
This forum is a regular event to which AFDO sends a representative.
PDCA is undertaking research again on the cost of disability and will be asking people with disability to participate in a questionnaire to determine the additional costs of disability. This will include documenting costs related to disability over the period of 4 weeks.
If anyone would like to participate in this research, contact Sue Egan on pdca@pdca.org.au or by telephone on 1300 781 786 to register your interest. The research will take place around August 2007.
This cost of disability research once finalised, will be presented to government and is designed to be able to be used by all sectors of disability. Sue Egan will be the principle researcher for this project.
Qantas hosted its fourth Forum for Customers with Specific Needs at Sydney Domestic Airport on the 6th June 2007.The Customer Forum provides an opportunity for Qantas and QantasLink to provide an update on initiatives to improve products and services for customers with disabilities.
Forum members provided valuable feedback, offered suggestions and raised concerns.
This feedback is used with general customer feedback that Qantas receives throughout the year to assist Qantas in its continuous improvement programs and review of its policies for people with disabilities.
Representatives from the following disability groups were invited to the Forum in June, 2007:
Qantas has reviewed and developed its disability awareness training material for Airport Staff, Cabin Crew and Contact Centre staff across Qantas and has introduced the Passenger Assistance Brochure to assist passengers travelling with a mobility aid.
For Qantas domestic travel within Australia and New Zealand, customers who travel with a carer are eligible to purchase reduced fares for both themselves and their carer where they have an approved carer concession card such as the Qantas Carer Concession Card (available through Nican). Refer to www.nican.com.au for further information.
Qantas is currently reviewing its policies for people who are deaf or hearing impaired, along with its policies for people who are blind or vision impaired, and hopes to be able to announce new improvements to these services in the coming months.
A 51 minute Auslan Training DVD is now completed and ready for you to purchase. It is designed for people attending the Auslan Company’s 8 week / 16 hour 'Professional Development in Auslan - Level 1' course as they have a course workbook to assist them.
However, the DVD can be used as a stand alone introduction to Auslan signs and basic sentences or as a brush up resource for people who learnt to sign many years ago.
The DVD comes with an interactive drop down menu in 2 parts - the weekly signs with voiceover and the weekly sentences with no voiceover.
DVD is great for - schools, kindergarten, child care centres, families, special schools, libraries and any professional working with child or adults with non verbal communication.
For orders and further information contact Darren:
Phone (03) 9786 3104
Email: darren@auslan.net.au
Web site: www.auslan.net.au
auDA Foundation grants to close 31 July
Not-for-profit and research organisations are invited to apply for grants to enhance the use of the internet for the benefit of the community.
The funding, provided by the auDA Foundation, can be used for community demonstration projects, public education and awareness initiatives, scholarships and research initiatives.
Funded organisations in 2006 included:
The preferences of the auDA Foundation Board are that projects focus on local, regional and national community groups, enhance internet access of people living in rural and remote communities and improve access for disadvantaged groups.
Applications for grants close on Tuesday 31 July.
For more information and to apply, visit the auDA Foundation website at www.audafoundation.org.au/default.htm..
Alcoa Foundation 2007 Outstanding Community Worker Award
In the community sector people work because they're committed to a vision - not so much for money and position. Salaries are much less than the commercial sector, there is little opportunity for promotion, perks such as training and staff development are harder to come by and the group usually has to survive on the smell of an oily rag.
The workers are not complaining - there are other satisfactions in doing the work that they love, for causes that they believe will make the world a better place - but it's a hard cold world out there, and there are going to be moments when the community workers must wonder if anybody cares.
Community workers throw their hearts, minds, and souls into their jobs unflinchingly, work harder than they have to, and observe the most exacting ethical standards. They're clever, innovative, unbiased, flexible, dedicated, determined, client-centred, and socially responsible. They risk misunderstanding, prejudice, frustration, and burnout. And their work is largely unsung and unrecognised.
Until now.
The Alcoa Foundation has developed the first award in Australia to recognise the contribution to the nation's life made by the men and women working in community groups. The Foundation will award $5000 to the community sector worker who best exemplifies the sector's ideals of dedication, excellence, and service.
The award is for community sector workers - an award for the enormous unrecognised efforts. The nominees will display the qualities that make the sector so productive and so exciting.
Any worker from an Australian community organisation can be nominated for the Award (volunteers aren't eligible; this one's for the staff who don't usually get thankyous).
They're people who get paid for it - but who aren't in it for the money. They can be full-time or part-time, junior or senior, administrator or client worker, specialist or generalist, credentialed or paperless, working in the back room or the clinic or the front office. Closes 19 October 2007.
Website: www.ourcommunity.com.au/training/training_article.jsp?articleId=2876
Publications and Research - AAA Training and Publications Handbook 2007
Access Audits Australia's Training and Publications Handbook details a wide range of training programs, presentations and Access Awareness Handbooks.
Topics include Access Awareness for a wide range of staff within organisations, including:
Contact Access Audits Australia for any queries regarding publications or presentations. Their website is at www.accessauditsaustralia.com.au/
Australian Healthcare Reform Alliance (AHCRA)
Reform in the Australian Health Sector
30 July 2007 - 31 July 2007
Old Parliament House, Canberra
Australia’s health care system needs reform. There is a widespread belief that, despite good life expectancy and health outcomes in Australia overall, there is a serious need for improvements in the system. The Australian Health Care Reform Alliance (AHCRA) is committed to a leadership role in discussing and effecting such improvements.
More details at this website www.healthreform.org.au/
Annual General Meeting
The AFDO AGM will be held on November 16 2007 in the Hayden Raysmith Room on the fourth floor at Ross House in Melbourne. More details will be sent out to members as the date draws nearer.
July
11-13 July - Australian Social Policy Conference
13 July - Access to Premises campaign launched
15-17 July - National Disability Advocacy Conference in Melbourne (18 July ADDE forum)
20 July - Nominations for the Inaugural National Disability Awards close
31 July - auDA Foundation applications for grants close
August
9 August - PM Employer of the Year Awards announced
AFDO Election forum and relaunch of Campaign Enable (Date to be confirmed)
PDCA Cost of Disability Research
7-16 August Parliament sitting
September
National member meeting
Special General Meeting (Date to be confirmed)
21 September – Deadline for October newsletter
10-20 Sept Parliament sitting