Australian Federation of Disability Organisations

As I prepare to move on from AFDO, it is a good time to reflect on where we came from, where we are and where we might be in the future.

In this article, I will talk about the first few years of the Australian Federation of Disability Organisations (AFDO) from my perspective as the inaugural CEO.

In the beginning
For many of us working in the disability sector, it seemed a very long time from the day that Minister Newman announced the Government’s intention to establish a federation of disability organisations, to when AFDO finally opened its doors for business.

It would be true to say that prior to the establishment of AFDO I, like many, recognised the possibilities of a peak body but was unsure how it would work.

The history of disunity in the sector made me think that it might take some time to find a way to work together effectively.

I was mistaken
Since AFDO became operational we have demonstrated the strength that comes from working cooperatively and strategically, knowing when to work together and when issues are best addressed by a specific organisation.

AFDO was registered as a company in late 2003 and in early 2004 the inaugural board of AFDO undertook recruitment for a CEO. At that time I was employed as the Executive Officer of Blind Citizens Australia. I was successful in my application and commenced on 2 August 2004.

Lou-Ann Lind who was at that time the Executive Officer of NEDA had provided secretarial support to the AFDO board during the recruitment phase. We negotiated with NEDA for her to continue in this role until November 2004.

AFDO had a Board, part-time secretarial support provided remotely and a CEO based in Melbourne. For the first two months we operated out of the offices of BCA before moving to premises in Ross House. Ross House is a building located in Melbourne’s CBD that has been left in trust for small self-help organisations. The accessibility of the building, low rent and co-location of other community-minded groups were a perfect fit for AFDO.

At the same time we began the process of recruiting two staff members, developing a brand for the organisation and completing all the necessary tasks that are part of setting up a small organisation.

We planned two events, the first Annual General Meeting of AFDO and the launch of the organisation. These events were held on 18 November 2004 at Parliament House in Canberra. Both were great successes with a great deal of interest from politicians, senior public servants, community sector representatives and people with disability.

In November 2004 Collette O’Neill commenced as National Policy officer and Brenda Lacy as our Administration Officer.

Membership
The nine founding members of AFDO were:
• Australian Association of the Deaf
• Blind Citizens Australia
• Brain Injury Australia (formerly Head Injury Council of Australia)
• Deafness Forum of Australia
• National Council on Intellectual Disability
• National Ethnic Disability Alliance
• National Indigenous Disability Network
• Physical Disability Council of Australia and
• Women with Disability Australia.

At the first AGM, AFDO members unanimously agreed to invite the Australian Mental Health Consumer Network and the National Association of People Living with HIV/AIDS to join AFDO and to offer them founding member status.

Unfortunately, in 2005 the National Indigenous Disability Network withdrew from AFDO due to internal reasons.

The same year the AFDO constitution was amended to allow state-based, cross-disability organisations to join AFDO and to give them representation on the Board. Since then, two state-based organisations have joined:
• Disability Resources Centre (Vic) and
• Access for All Alliance (Qld)

Putting the Basics in Place: Year 1
In 2005 the AFDO constitution was rewritten. It had become clear that it needed to be redrafted to match the reality of what we could and did do.

There was much to do in establishing the organisation as well as important work in the policy area. We developed a strategic plan, governance and policy manual, undertook development of a communications strategy and some development for board members in the area of governance and their responsibilities as a director of a company.

A great deal of work was put into development and expansion of networks in the disability and wider welfare sector. We invested a great deal of time and effort into developing relationships with politicians, public servants, and organisations like ACOSS as we recognised the gap between our large aim and our small resource base.

Some of the areas of policy we pursued in our first year were:
• Supporting the disability representatives on the access to premises standards development committee;
• Working for the introduction of the Disability Standards for Education;
• Undertaking aconsultation on the draft UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities with PWD Australia;
• The proposed, and then implemented, changes to income support and employment assistance for people with disability.

Moving Forward: Year 2
During 2006 AFDO moved from the establishment phase to a consolidation phase. We undertook a second consultation on the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities as well as a consultation for the Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs about the Commonwealth-State/Territory Disability Agreement.

We put a lot of effort into seeking resources for projects and initiatives which would support and build our capacity. The Reichstein Foundation has been particularly generous, supporting three AFDO projects to date:
• Campaign Enable, which aims to reverse cuts to the incomes of people with disability living in income support;
• the Welfare to Work case study collection project; and,
• building the capacity of people with disability through a campaign for the introduction of Disability Standards for Accessible Premises.

AFDO has been fortunate to obtain pro bono support from skilled people such as Mark Madden from the Agenda Group and Jane Evans from Dragongale. Mark has worked with staff and the Board to develop a strategic plan, business plan and risk management strategy, as well as working with the Board on improving their understanding of governance. Jane worked with staff, the board and AFDO member organisations to develop a communications strategy for AFDO which has provided the framework for AFDO’s work in this area.

Looking Ahead
As I wrote above, one of the strengths of AFDO has been that we have been proactive about working with organisations outside our membership, both within the disability sector and in the welfare sector more broadly.

We have also been particularly fortunate that we have employed hard working, talented and great staff. I certainly consider the opportunity to lead the small team here at AFDO one of the highlights of my career.

We have put into place sound policies and practices which I believe are based on good business principals. It is clear that AFDO is highly respected and recognised as an organisation working strategically with all stakeholders.

It is difficult to know where AFDO may be in the future. One of the greatest challenges facing AFDO in my view is developing resources to ensure the organisation is sustainable. Meeting the non-optional costs of disability has been challenging and I believe will continue to be difficult for AFDO.

I have learned a great deal over the last few years which I value and appreciate and which will assist me in my future work. I have seen first hand the strength we have when we work collectively.