Australian Federation of Disability Organisations

Welcome to the Christmas 2008 edition of the AFDO newsletter. In this issue ....

AFDO Conference

Board Update - Graham Douglas-Meyer

Development and Disability Conference

Meeting Dates

National Disability Strategy

New AFDO Board

CEO report - Lesley Hall

CONFERENCE - NEW DATE AND VENUE ANNOUNCED

AFDO is pleased to announce that the Conference will now be held on 28th to 29th May 2009 at the Jasper Hotel Melbourne.

Please note this in your diary. More details and a draft program will be availalbe soon.

The Australian Federation of Disability Organisations (AFDO) has been established as the primary national voice to Government that fully represents the interests of all people with disability across Australia.

The mission of AFDO is to champion the rights of people with disability in Australia and help them participate fully in Australian life.

Click here for more information about AFDO

Have you been affected by the Federal Government’s Welfare to Work changes?

AFDO is collecting stories about the impact of these changes on people with disability.

We would love to hear your story.

We have prepared some information "About the project" and "Why take part?"

You can download the forms to tell us your story from this website and email them to us. Or, if you need help telling your story, you can call us on 03 9662 3324.

This project has been supported by the Reichstein Foundation.

The Access to Premises Campaign Kit
has been launched

The Access to Premises Campaign Kit addresses the issues of up to 4 Million Australians who are unable to access their own communities.

The Kit provides information and tools to people with a disability that will help them speak out about the lack of access to businesses and services that they face in their local communities.

Tourism Accommodation Requirements and Information Needs of People with Mobility Disabilities.

You are invited to take part in a research study conducted by the University of Technology Sydney on the tourism accommodation needs of people with mobility disabilities. The research aims to identify the room requirements and preferred information format for presenting accessible accommodation so that a person is able to make an informed decision for their needs.

The Australian Federation of Disability Organisations (AFDO) congratulates the Australian Government on its signing the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at the United Nations on the 30th March 2007.

This is an historic day in the lives of people with disabilities here in Australia and around the world.

“The Convention upholds the values of all people with a disability irrespective of the type of disability, their language or geographic location”, AFDO Chairperson, Samantha Jenkinson said. “This would not have been possible without cooperation between governments and civil society. In this process people with a disability have been acknowledged as the experts on our own lived experiences. Our experiences have been the catalyst to create a more just and inclusive world,” she said.

AFDO has prepared a summary of information about the Federal Budget announced 13 May 2008. We gratefully acknowledge the assistance of David Craig (Action for Community Living), Leah Hobson (Blind Citizens Australia) and Antony McMullen (Justice Unit of the Uniting Church in Victoria & Tasmania) in the preparation of this summary. Responsibility for commentary rests with AFDO.