Welcome to the May edition of the AFDO Newsletter.
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)
The momentum to ratify the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities continues with 53 countries now having lodged their official documents at the United Nations. The latest country to ratify was Sudan on 24 April. Recently we have heard that the Tanzania Government have agreed to ratify the Convention and they are expected to deposit their documents later this year.
http://www.un.org/disabilities/
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/CRPD/Pages/CRPDIndex.aspx
The CRPD Committee of 12 independent disability experts had their first meeting on 23-27 February in Geneva. This meeting was only to agree on their terms of reference, their procedures for working and to elect their Chairperson and other officer bearers. Mr Mohammed Al-Tarawneh (Jordan) will be the Chair for the first year and Ana Pelaez Narvaez (Spain) will Chair for the second year of the Committee’s term. Australian Professor Ron McCallum AO has been elected to the Committee. During the meeting, time was made available for input from UN agencies, States and Disabled Peoples’ Organisations (DPOs) on the suggested work for the Committee. An unofficial report is available at http://www.disabilityrightsnow.org.au/node/1 The next meeting of the Committee is being held in Geneva on 19-23 October 2009.
An Expert Group Meeting on Mainstreaming Disability in Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) policies, processes and mechanisms: Development for All was held at World Health Organisation (WHO) headquarters, Geneva 14-16 April 2009. Disabled Peoples’ Organisations from International Disability Alliance attended to ensure WHO continues to move away from the medical model to the social model. http://www.un.org/disabilities/default.asp?id=1470
International Conferences attended by AFDO
In February our international representative Dr. David Webb attended three international meetings on the CRPD, Mental Health & Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) in Bangkok. In April our CEO Lesley Hall attend a Womens’ forum and Conference of the Pacific Disability Forum in Vanuatu. Their reports will be available at www.afdo.org.au
International Conference on Transport - TRANSED 2010
The Hong Kong Society for Rehabilitation (HKSR) is hosting the 12th International Conference on Mobility and Transport for Elderly and Disabled Persons (TRANSED 2010) in Hong Kong, June 2 - 4, 2010. The theme of TRANSED 2010 is “Sustainable Transport & Travel for All”. Held every three years, TRANSED conferences are milestone events in the field of accessible transportation, attracting researchers, policy-makers, transport operators, consumers and other specialists worldwide to share innovations and best practices in order to make transportation and mobility accessible to everyone. http://www.transed2010.hk/front/
There are less than three weeks to go until the AFDO conference. Everyone has been very busy working on it and the program looks terrific. You can read more about it elsewhere in the newsletter. If you haven’t already registered do so as soon as you can.
Apart from the conference AFDO has been extraordinarily busy.
Some of the things we have been working on are:
• Disability Inclusion Allowance
• Access to Premises Standard
• National Disability Insurance Scheme
• Emergency Management Issues
AFDO extends its sympathy to all of the people with disability, their families, neighbours and community members who were affected by the Victorian bushfires. AFDO is involved in a number of events and forums which will hopefully provide better outcomes for people with disability in emergency situations.
The Access to Premises Standard campaign kept us busy from January to March. Along with a number of other organisations, AFDO helped spread the word to the sector and assisted in developing responses to enable the proposed standards to be improved.
AFDO has developed a policy paper on the Disability Inclusion Allowance (DIA). The purpose of the DIA is to cover all the additional costs (excluding income support) that people with a disability have. Each person would be assessed on their needs and receive an allowance to cover the costs of whatever supports are needed. The policy paper can be downloaded from our website. Once the conference is over AFDO will be developing a campaign around the DIA to educate the community and to gain support for its implementation.
AFDO has formed an alliance with National Disability Services and Carers Australia to advocate for the implementation of a National Disability Insurance Scheme. This would be similar to a Medicare type levy where a percentage of revenue is set aside to cover the costs of supports and other things required by people with disability. More information on this can be found at www.natdis.com.au
As well as these campaigns AFDO has provided input into a number of consultations. These have included written papers and/or attendance at workshops and other meetings. AFDO is represented at these events by not only staff but our board and members as well as other people with the appropriate expertise.
In April I had the privilege to attend the Pacific Development Forum (PDF) held in Vanuatu. Combined with the forum was a workshop on women with disability. It was great to be able to meet people with disability from the Pacific region and to hear about what is happening in their countries. AFDO is now a member of the PDF and whilst we only have limited capacity and resources to be involved at the international level it is important to accept our responsibilities here and to engage in a process of two way learning.
Another highlight over the last two months has been the Art of Difference Festival and Symposium. This was a two day symposium debating many issues around people with disability and the arts as well as ten days of the best arts practice I have seen involving and including people with disability.
Once the conference is over I hope to be able to get around and meet many more people, hear what your issues are, what you are involved with and what you think AFDO should be doing. Until then I hope we will see you at the AFDO conference.
With the AFDO conference so close, it’s time to get in quickly and register! The conference is shaping up to be a major event on the disability calendar, with the aim of promoting lively discussion about the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability (UN CRPD). The five keynote speakers will be:
Tina Minkowitz: Centre for the Human Rights of Users and Survivors of Psychiatry – “The UN Convention as a Way Forward to Liberation”
Robyn Hunt: Commissioner, New Zealand Human Rights Commission – “From Strategy to Convention: Implementing Disability Rights in New Zealand”
Rhonda Galbally: Chair of the National People with Disabilities and Carer Council – “Secure Funding is a Key to Unlocking the UNCRPD”
Graeme Innes: Human Rights Commissioner and Disability Discrimination Commissioner, Australian Human Rights Commission – “Using the CRPD for Practical Change”
Ron McCallum: Professor of Labour Law and former Dean of Law at the University of Sydney – “The United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: Its Inaugural Meeting”
Closing remarks at the conference will be delivered by Bill Shorten, Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities and Children’s Services.
In the afternoon sessions, however, it’s all over to you! We’ll have three streams on the UN Convention – Liberation (what does the UN CRPD do to liberate us and how can we use it?), Capacity Building (how can the disability sector work better to use the UN CRPD?) and Monitoring (what do we need to do to make sure the government lives up to its promise to work towards the goals of the UN CRPD?). Panellists will provide us with food for thought before we have a workshop discussing ideas to move forward. These ideas will go into a report for government.
You can register online or find out more at:
Dean Barton-Smith
Board Member - AFDO
AFDO was invited by Emergency Management Australia (EMA) – a department within the Attorney General Department - to present at their National Forum on Emergency Warning to the Community (NFEWC) on the 26-27 February 2009 in Canberra.
With the exception of a few people from Victoria/Queensland who were unable to attend due to the crises within their states, the Forum was relatively well attended with representatives from Government (federal, state and local), emergency agencies, Bureau of Meteorology, mainstream media and the disability sector. Several AFDO representatives were also present.
There were a number of presentations that were thought provoking and provide some insight as to the challenges from an emergency service perspective including the attitude and behavioural issues within the community. In addition there were a couple of presentations from the media and their perspective of how to best communicate warnings to the community.
The following day each state emergency department was given the opportunity to outline what disability access plans that they have in place.
AFDO took the opportunity to present on matters pertaining to emergency management including growing numbers of people with disability, the UNCRPD, various communication issues. These issues were based on feedback collated from members to date.
Due to our collaborative effort, disability access issues were put to the top of the agenda for the rest of this day. Amongst the discussion there were some genuine concerns about what constitutes the minimum ‘standard’ that emergency services need to deliver in order to address the communication needs of Australians with disabilities in event of a disaster. There were issues about potential inconsistencies between different states.
Towards the end of the Forum it was agreed that national guidelines for emergency managers should be established. The guidelines will aim to meet the requirements set out in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities which was recently ratified by the Australian Government.
A working group, comprising disability sector representatives (including myself as AFDO representative) and emergency management experts will be set up to develop the guidelines to inform emergency managers of the communication needs of people with disability or in other circumstances where receipt of emergency warning messages may be compromised.
Chronic Disease Commonwealth Dental Scheme
A Chronic Disease Dental Scheme was introduced on 1 November 2007, for people with chronic conditions and complex care needs, whose oral health is impacting, or likely to impact on their general health.
Eligible patients can receive Medicare benefits of up to $4250 in total over two consecutive calendar years for dental services, on referral from a general practitioner. Even though the Minister for Health and Ageing, the Hon Nicola Roxon MP announced the discontinuation of this service in March 2008, the legislation was not passed. As a result eligible people can continue to have access to this scheme (items # 85011-87777 in Medicare).
Consumers with chronic conditions where the condition causes deterioration of teeth (e.g. as a side effect of some medications which reduce saliva flow), or where their dental condition is impacting on general health, should ask their GPs about the scheme. Not all may be eligible but it is worth asking about.
What’s up with Medicare Services?
Medicare Australia wants to know about issues with their services or shopfronts which are affecting persons with disabilities. For example, the accessibility of their website might be bugging you, or the inaccessibility of the touch screen queuing console at your local shopfront. You might be impatient to get your GP surgery to install Electronic Claiming facilities so that you can get your reimbursement paid direct to your bank account before you leave the surgery.
You might have a problem with one of the other services which Medicare operates : the Organ Donor Register; Family Assistance Office services; Australian Childhood Immunisation Register; Disaster Relief Payments; Teen Dental Scheme; Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, etc.
Or you may feel that your knowledge about Medicare Australia services is so minimal that you want them to give you some better feedback.
You might have words of praise for the service you get in a shopfront.
Feedback is welcome from specific Disabled People’s Organisations and individuals. Anything at all will go into a feedback presentation to Medicare Australia managers at their next meeting with their consumer representatives.
Please get your feedback to AFDO representative on the Medicare Australia Consumer Consultation Group, Sue Salthouse, before the AFDO conference on 28-29 May.
Sue may be contacted on: sue.salthouse@gmail.com or by phoning 02 6291 6842
Leah Hobson
For those of you who haven’t yet been introduced to me, I came to AFDO from a policy officer role within a member organisation – Blind Citizens Australia. I am working on my Master’s degree in Social Science at RMIT University. As a person who is deafblind, I have lifelong experience of disability.
The last few months have seen me settling in to AFDO, with the focus on attending meetings and conferences to raise the profile of AFDO. These have included meetings with key organisations such as the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS), the Australian Human Rights Commission, Disability Studies Australia Research Institute, People With Disability and member organisations.
During this time, there have been several key issues in policy for AFDO:
Access to Premises
During February and March the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee called for submissions regarding the draft Access to Premises Standard. AFDO led a sector wide group aimed at promoting discussion of the draft Standard so that a consistent voice could emerge from the disability sector on key issues. AFDO also presented at the hearings on this matter and will continue to lobby the government to ensure positive change.
Key issues raised by AFDO representatives and other disability groups were:
1. The need for inclusion of Class 2 buildings (apartment blocks) under the Standard. Some groups argued that all areas of Class 2 buildings should be included while others sought for all common areas – such as restaurants and gyms – to be part of the Standard.
2. Emergency egress should be included in the Standard. Some areas of emergency egress – such as the need for accessible fire stairs and ramps – have been excluded altogether, while others, such as accessible information and alarms, have not been mentioned at all.
3. Smaller multi-storey buildings should be included under the Standard no matter what their floor space. At present there is an exemption for buildings under 200 metres squared.
4. Exemption criteria for eco-lodges and caravan parks should be higher.
The Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee has now finished taking submissions and will table a report in Parliament on June 15th. For more information about the inquiry, including transcripts of all hearings and copies of submissions made public, please visit:
http://www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/laca/index.htm
AFDO has a special website dedicated to Access to Premises news and information. To find out more, visit:
http://accesstopremisesstandards.afdo.org.au/
Telecommunications
In the AFDO office, we have:
1. Attended the Signposts for Change forum and made a submission to the Independent Disability Equipment Program;
2. Provided support as necessary to the Consumer Telecommunications Network and the Communications Alliance Disability Council with regards to code development issues and the disbanding of the Communications Alliance Disability Council;
3. Met with the new ACCAN CEO to begin dialogue on pressing telecommunications issues and the transition of TEDICORE from AFDO’s auspice to be within ACCAN.
Same Sex Legislation and Income Support
There will be further information on this issue in a dedicated article within the newsletter. AFDO has signed on to a sector wide position statement and continues to work with specialist groups, such as National Association of People Living with HIV/AIDS and the National Welfare Rights Network, to support the rights of people in same sex relationships who are on the Disability Support Pension.
National Human Rights Consultation
During April, May and June the Australian government is conducting consultations on human rights within Australia. AFDO attended the Melbourne face to face consultations and will be making a written submission to the inquiry. Information about the inquiry can be found at:
http://www.humanrightsconsultation.gov.au
The Australian Human Rights Commission is also conducting workshops which ‘follow’ the consultations and has provided resources for community groups. More information can be found at:
Last year the Australian government moved to change a raft of laws which implicitly discriminated against people in same sex relationships. The changes will include the introduction of equal access to financial arrangements such as superannuation and welfare payments at the start of the 2009-2010 financial year.
AFDO, along with a number of other organisations, has been particularly concerned about the impact this change will have on the rights of people in same sex relationships who are on Disability Support Pensions (DSP). Our concerns are that:
Over the past few months AFDO has been supporting the work of other agencies in this area. The focus of lobbying has been on getting good education and advice resources as well as asking for grandfathering provisions to be added to the changes to the welfare laws. On May 5th the Australian government announced additional funding for education and advice services to support people in same sex relationships to adapt to the changes. There is, however, still a strong concern over the lack of grandfathering for people who are already on benefits. AFDO will continue to lobby as necessary in the coming months.
For more information, see:
Attorney General’s Department site:
http://www.ag.gov.au/samesexreform
Welfare Rights Network factsheet:
http://www.welfarerights.org.au/Factsheets/fsmlr.htm