Advocacy Campaigns – COVID-19

We are advocating alongside other Disabled People’s Organisations (DPOs), Disability Representative Organisations (DROs) and Disability Advocacy Organisations to ensure that people with disability are prioritised during the COVID-19 pandemic.  Below is a list of advocacy campaigns that AFDO is either a part of, or that we endorse and support.

  • The International Disability Alliance (IDA) and the International Disability and Development Consortium (IDDC) have launched an Accessibility campaign to call for public health information and communications around COVID-19 to be fully accessible.  The aim is to make the World Health Organisation (WHO) and United Nations daily briefings and any supporting documents on COVID-19 fully accessible to persons with disabilities.  You can read more on the Accessibility campaign on the IDA website.

 

  • 15th April 2020 – Statement of Concern
    Australian experts in the areas of human rights, bioethics and disability, have released a Statement of Concern to emphasise key human rights principles and standards that need to underpin ethical decision-making in the context of disability and the COVID-19 pandemic. You can read the media release and Statement of Concern on the AFDO website.

 

  • 2nd April 2020 – Close Australian Disability Enterprises (ADEs) until pandemic passes 
    Women With Disability Australia (WWDA), along with our members Inclusion Australia (IA) and Disability Advocacy Network Australia (DANA) are calling for the immediate closure of Australian Disability Enterprises (ADEs).  We are urging Australia’s 600 ADEs to stop putting their vulnerable staff at risk, and for the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) to provide an avenue for individual funding support should ADEs temporarily close. You can read the full statement on WWDA’s webpage.

 

  • 25th March 2020 – Increase the Disability Support Pension (DSP) 
    We have joined with other Disabled Peak Organisations (DPOs), as well as disability advocacy and information organisations in calling for the Australian Government to urgently include Disability Support Pension (DSP) recipients in the $550 per fortnight CoronaVirus Supplement, to ensure that people with disability are not further disadvantaged by the impact of the CoronaVirus. You can read the media release on the AFDO website.

 

  • 26th March – Take necessary measures to protect people with disability
    The Disability Royal Commission is calling on all Australian Governments to ensure that responses to COVID-19 include dedicated strategies and take all necessary measures to protect and support people with disability. The Royal Commission has issued a Statement of Concern about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on people with disability. The Royal Commission has heard directly from people with disability who are, like many in the broader community, very anxious about the COVID-19 pandemic. They have also heard that this anxiety is exacerbated by the feeling that people with disability are being left behind or ignored in government and community responses. You can read the media release here.

 

  • 19th March 2020 – List of issues that need to be addressed urgently to ensure the wellbeing of people with disability during the current COVID-19 public health emergency 
    We have released a joint media release calling for urgent action to make sure people with disability and their representative organisations are included in preparations for the current public health emergency. This list of issues addresses employment & income support, education, telecommunications, health services, and other issues.  You can read the joint media release here, and the list of issues here.

 

  • 15th March 2020 – Develop a targeted response to COVID-19 for people with disability 
    The Centre of Research Excellence in Disability and Health (CRE-DH) is calling for urgent action from State and Federal Governments to develop a targeted response to COVID-19 for people with disability. We join in calling for Government to ensure that sufficient support is available for people with disabilities, and that Government ensures continuity of support for people with disabilities, especially those with complex needs. You can read more about this COVID-19 campaign on the CRE-DH website.

 

  • 12th March 2020 – Include Auslan interpreters in all emergency & disaster broadcasts 
    Deaf Australia, the national peak organisation representing Deaf people whose first language is Auslan is calling for the provisioning of Auslan interpreters during all emergency and disaster broadcasts and advertising around COVID-19, and that legislation be amended so that broadcasters are obligated to include interpreters in screenshots. AFDO joins Deaf Australia in this campaign as it’s essential that all emergency and disaster broadcasts, and advertising around COVID-19 is accessible to all Australians. You can read Deaf Australia’s letter (PDF) here. There is also a Word version of Deaf Australia’s letter on the AFDO website.
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