PWD
E-Bulletin
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Issue 76 March 2012 - ISSN 2202-0705 Welcome to PWD’s
E-Bulletin. This e-bulletin goes out to members and interested others
regularly by email. For members who do not have access to email, a printed
version of the e-bulletin will be sent by post. To be added to or removed
from our mailing list or to change your email address, please email pwd@pwd.org.au
or contact PWD on one of the numbers listed at the end of this bulletin. If you would
like to become a member of PWD or learn more about our membership options,
contact PWD on pwd@pwd.org.au Are you a Member of PWD? Do you believe
that everyone is born equal and has the right to fully participate in
community life, gain employment, get an education, receive health services,
be free from violence and abuse and participate in political, cultural,
social and recreational activities? Would you like to join a global movement
of people fighting for the rights of the world’s most marginalised community?
If you’re not
yet a member of PWD then check out the Membership section of our
website. Membership doesn’t cost much, can be done via mail or email, and
will ensure that your voice is heard in the processes that affect your life. Join Today! Disability Rights Defenders
There is now a NEW way
to support PWD – Disability Rights Defenders can now sign up online! Click
here to set up a regular donation to PWD and automatically become a DRD.
Disability Rights
Defenders help change lives by making a significant financial contribution to
support the work of PWD through regular, monthly, tax-deductible donations.
Regular donations help us pursue essential projects, such as systemic and
legal advocacy projects, assist with conducting members’ and stakeholders
consultations, enable us to work with Disabled People’s Organisations in the
Pacific and in providing information and training to people with disability
and their associates. If you’d like to know more about the Disability Rights
Defender Program, click here. Contents
Other State and Territory News
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New South
Wales News
Inquest into the deaths of six
people with disability living in a licensed boarding house
PWD was shocked and appalled by evidence heard at an inquest at Glebe
Coroner’s Court from 12-16 March 2012, into the deaths of six people with
disability over a fourteen month period at Sydney licensed boarding house,
300 Livingstone Road, Marrickville. The Inquest again raises serious
questions about the competence of NSW Department of Family & Community
Services - Ageing, Disability and Home Care (ADHC) in fulfilling its clear
legislative responsibility to monitor licenced boarding houses and ensure the
safety, health, rights and freedoms of residents.
In response to the information revealed during the inquest, which remains ongoing,
PWD issued a media release on 16 March 2012 calling on the NSW Government to
start making real reforms in the boarding house sector. This media release
was endorsed by the NSW Consumer Advisory Group – Mental Health Inc., the
Australian Centre for Disability Law, Dr Gabrielle Drake, and the Tenant’s
Union of NSW.
PWD is funded by ADHC to provide advocacy services to people with
disability living in licensed boarding houses in NSW, and strongly advocates
for the rights of the residents to live lives free from abuse and
exploitation. Please click here
to read more about these services. Last year PWD brought critical
attention to allegations of abuse and exploitation of residents at another NSW licensed boarding house,
which resulted in the majority of those residents being removed and placed in
alternative accommodation (these allegations remain subject to Police
investigation).
Further highlighted by this Inquest is the inadequacy of health
services and health practitioners working with people with disability living
in licensed boarding houses. These issues have also been repeatedly reported
on by the NSW Ombudsman in its reviews of the deaths of people with
disability living in licensed boarding houses over many years, and again
little action has been taken to rectify the situation.
PWD and its supporters are now calling on the Minister for Disability
Services to acknowledge the circumstances of the deaths of Shaneen Batts, Ilona Takacs, Dorothy Hudson, Ian Birks, Donald MacKellar and Mohammed Ramzan,
and to immediately plan for the closure of all licensed boarding houses for
people with disability in NSW, and for the relocation of residents into safe
housing in the community with appropriate individualised support. Click
here to download the full PWD Media Release issued in relation to this case.
The Inquest has received a substantial amount of media coverage,
including the story Serious
issues at boarding house where six died: inquest which appeared in the
Sydney Morning Herald on 12 March and this story in the Inner West Courier on
15 March: Call
to reform Marrickville boarding houses. Temporary
Exemption to Age Discrimination Act granted by the Human Rights Commission
PWD was pleased to learn that Temporary Exemptions to the Age
Discrimination Act was granted by the Australian Human Rights Commission and
Anti-Discrimination Board to the Department of Family and Community Services,
Ageing Disability and Home Care (ADHC) to prevent people with disability
under the age of 18 from living in licensed boarding houses in NSW.
In a submission written in response to ADHC’s Application for
Exemption, PWD advised the Commission that it “fully supported” the
Application, and agreed that licensed boarding houses are not safe or suitable
places for persons under 18 years of age. In its
submission PWD stated that the relevant considerations in relation to the
Application were the rights outlined in the Convention on the Rights of the
Child and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with a Disability (CRPD).
PWD particularly noted Article 7 (children with disabilities) and Article 23
(respect for home and family) of the CRPD which specifically address the
rights of children with disability.
The Tenants Union of New South Wales also supports the Temporary
Exemption, expressing this view in their response to the Application and
arguing that boarding houses are not suitable places of accommodation for
minors. In its submission, the Tenants Union argued that “all too often,
(licensed boarding houses) reproduce the segregation, exploitation and abuse
of the large institutions they were meant to replace”, and that they believe
that there is no place in the future of our housing system for these
institutionalising places.
The temporary exemptions granted in both cases were subject to special
conditions, are outlined below: The ADB granted an exemption to
remain in force for one year (until 24 October 2012) subject to the following
condition: ·
ADHC
is required to advise the Anti-Discrimination Board of New South Wales, every
six months from the date of this Exemption Order, over the year period
specified in the order, of the number of persons under the age of 18 years
that are screened by the Screening Tool and deemed unsuitable to become
residents in a licensed residential centres in New South Wales. The AHRC also granted the exemption
for one year, specifying that ADHC has a period of time to devise a scheme to
ensure the improvement of conditions within licensed boarding houses. To this
end, ADHC must advise the Commission of the steps that it has taken during
the exemption period to ensure greater compliance with the YACS Act and YACS
Regulations and the improvement of conditions within licensed boarding houses
generally and the exemption is granted subject to the following conditions.
1.
Within
14 days of the date of conclusion of the exemption period, ADHC must advise
the Commission:
a)
of
any measures taken by the Applicant during the exemption period to ensure
that operators and proprietors of licensed boarding houses comply with the
requirements of the Youth and Community Services Act 1973 (YACS Act) and
Youth and Community Services Regulation 2010 (YACS Regulations); b)
of
any measures taken by the Applicant during the exemption period to reduce the
level of violence or abuse experienced by residents of licensed boarding
houses; c)
of
any measures taken by the Applicant during the exemption period to improve
the accommodation and services provided to residents of licensed boarding
houses; and d)
of any allegations of abuse, neglect,
misconduct or breach of the YACS Act or YACS Regulations within a licensed
boarding house. In relation to each alleged incident, the Applicant is
required to advise the Commission: what was alleged, in which licensed
boarding house the event is alleged to have taken place and what, if any,
action the Applicant took or is taking to address the alleged breach.
2. ADHC must maintain its Prioritisation and Allocations policy which provides that
children at risk of homelessness and some children at risk of harm are among
the Applicant’s ‘highest priorities, requiring an immediate response.’
Click
here to go to the Human Rights Commission Website to learn more about the
Temporary Examption. NSW
Disability Network Forum – Update
PWD is a member of the NSW
Disability Network Forum (DNF), which was established in June 2011 by the NSW
Government.
The membership of DNF is open to NSW: ·
State-wide
non-government non-provider organisations, representing people with all types
of impairment (cross-disability) and / or people with specific types of
impairment, as defined under the Disability
Discrimination Act 1992; ·
Specific
non-government advocacy organisations and information providers which are
committed to the purposes of DNF. The purpose of the NSW Disability
Network Forum (DNF) includes:
a) To
develop a better understanding by disability peak organisations in NSW of new
and emerging trends and developments affecting public policy and service
delivery for people with disability.
b) To
consider feedback from people with disability through Forum members and other
mechanisms, on the adequacy, scope, range, availability and quality of
disability service supports, mainstream sectors and the community at large.
c) To
advance debate and discussion on these issues with a view to influencing and
enhancing the policy development process and advising Government and others
on disability policy directions, or policies impacting on people with
disability, within NSW and nationally.
d) To make
representations with and on behalf of people with disability in NSW to
Government, and present a co-ordinated front in campaigning on issues of
significance for people with disability.
e) To work
together to promote a better understanding in the broader community of people
with disability.
f) To
develop and advance positions of common interest, understand where and why
differences occur and how those differences can be addressed
g) To
provide a safe place for robust discussion.
h) To work
collaboratively and represent combined voices in the interest of people with
disability.
i) To strengthen the role of peaks,
advocacy, information services both individually and as a collective.In December 2011, PWD joined other DNF members to
develop a submission to the National Disability Strategy Implementation Plan.
This submission was given to the NSW Government - Ageing, Disability and Home
Care (ADHC) as part of a NSW response, and also sent directly to the Hon
Jenny Macklin, Minister for Disability Reform, and Senator Jan McLucas,
Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities and Carers.
This submission is now available on the NCOSS website – click
here to download the submission.
In February 2012, the DNF received a
comprehensive briefing from Family Advocacy on the Supported Living Fund
seminars for prospective applicants across NSW. Members were provided
positive and constructive feedback on the presentation before roll out in
February. Click
here for more information on this session. PWD also presented a workshop
to the DNF on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
providing comprehensive information about CRPD, its development, importance
and application.
The NSW Disability Network Forum can
be contacted through the secretariat located at NCOSS. Christine Regan
is the Forum Coordinator, ph. 92112599 ext. 117 or email chris@ncoss.org.au or Val Kors (Wed – Fri) ph. 92112599 ext. 123 or email val@ncoss.org.au Auslan
world first for Survey Monkey
A world-first online survey using Survey
Monkey, written in English accompanied by videos of sign language
consultants translating each question into Auslan (Australian Sign Language)
has been created by Accessible Arts NSW.
“As part of the Deaf Arts Access
Project, Accessible Arts designed a survey to explore the experiences and
participation of artists and audience members who are deaf,” said Naomi
Malone, Project Officer at Accessible Arts, in a media release issued on 15
March 2012.
The Deaf Arts Access Project
examines the limited opportunities for people who are deaf who want to attend
and participate in the arts. It will culminate in a consultative Arts meeting
to be held at Riverside Theatres, Parramatta on at Saturday 12 May 2012 to
gather findings and devise strategies to improve access for people who are
deaf. The Deaf Arts Access Project Survey has now been online for six weeks
and has engaged approximately 60 people to date.
Please click here to take
part in the Deaf Arts Access Survey,
which is open until Sunday 1 April 2012. For more information, please contact
Naomi Malone at projects@aarts.net.au Participate
in 'Living in the City' - Research on the Built Environment
PWD is hosting a series
of focus group meetings in collaboration with a PhD research student at the
University of Sydney, Lesley Lewis, who wishes to recruit people to take part
in action research about the built environment here in Sydney. The
first of these focus groups will take place at the office of PWD, 52 Pitt
Street, Redfern, at 3pm on Friday 13 April 2012. There are still spaces
available for people who wish to participate. Lesley is looking for 10 to 20
people with disability who would like to be involved in a focus group
associated with this PhD research project. The focus group meetings will be
facilitated by Lesley, who would like to hear what you think
needs to change to make living in the city better, more comfortable, more
secure and more varied for people with disability. Lesley University of
Sydney project Supervisor is Dr Kurt Iveson, Senior
Lecturer at the School of Geosciences and the Associate Supervisor is
Professor Patricia O’Brien, Centre for Disability Studies, University of
Sydney.
Involvement in the focus
group is voluntary, with food and drinks being provided. Lesley is interested
to hear from people who would like to join the group as they meet once a
month for 10 to 12 months, to share ideas, make new friends and learn to
develop confidence and skills in expressing your opinion about matters that
are important to you.
The meeting room is on
the ground floor at the PWD office and is wheelchair accessible. Participants
are welcome to bring along a support person, family member or advocate to the
meetings, to make sure they are comfortable and relaxed, and to help with
communication if that is necessary.
People from PWD and
IDEAS will be in attendance at every meeting, to mentor the members of the
focus group and be there if participants need to talk about matters raised by
the group.
If you are interested in joining
these focus groups or for more information contact Gyongyi Horvath on one of
the numbers listed at the end of this E-Bulletin or email gyongyih@pwd.org.au,
or Diana Palmer, Manager-Advocacy at IDEAS on (02) 9211 1300 or email ideas@ideas.org.au NSW
Government Living Life My Way –
Launch of the final consultation stage
The NSW Minister for Disability
Services, the Hon Andrew Constance, will be hosting an event on Tuesday 24
April 2012 to launch the final stage of the NSW Government’s Living Life My Way Person Centred
Approaches consultations, and the discussion paper that will be the basis of
these consultations. People with
disability, their families and carers are invited to attend this launch.
The aim of the launch is to
highlight the upcoming consultations, which will seek the opinions of people
with disability, their families and carers on the proposed approach that has
been developed in response to feedback from the summit and the consultations
in 2011.This twelve-month consultation process began in July 2011 with the
Living Life My Way summit and continued with extensive statewide
consultations between August and December 2011.
The report on the outcomes of these
consultations is now available on the ADHC website – click
here to access the report.
The launch event will take place at
the Allphones (formerly Acer) Arena, Sydney Olympic
Park, Acer Arena, Sydney Olympic Park. Click
here for more information. Outsourcing
Community Service Delivery – Inquiry
The NSW Government is currently carrying out an
Inquiry to investigate and report on the contracting out of service delivery,
such as housing, disability and home care services from the Government to the
non-Government sector.
The Inquiry will focus on the extent to which
this process is appropriately managed, that probity and accountability
mechanisms are in place to monitor service providers and to ensure that organisations are delivering quality services to their
clients. The Inquiry will also consider strategies to assist local providers
to improve service delivery and to increase cost effectiveness.
The inquiry was established on 22 February 2012
and is being conducted by the NSW Legislative Assembly Community Services
Committee.
The Committee is currently calling for
submissions, the closing date for which is 27 April 2012.
NSW
Transport Long Term Transport Plan
As reported in PWD’s February
E-Bulletin, The NSW Government has
recently announced its plans for its State Long Term Transport Master Plan
with the release of a Discussion Paper
on 27 February 2012. Transport For NSW is seeking feedback on this plan.
There are a number of ways in which
people with disability can have input into the consultations including
attending forums, completing online feedback or making written submissions.
Click
here to see the list of the advertised dates and locations of regional
forums.
PWD will be having input into this
process in a number of ways: ·
Our
attendance at the Transport for NSW’s Sydney Consultation forum on 3 April;
as well as ·
Our
membership of the NSW Transport Access Advisory Committee.
We also plan to make a written
submission to this process in Mid-2012 when the draft NSW Long Term Transport
Master Plan will be released for comment.
If PWD Members have examples from
your own experience that you would like highlighted through PWD’s
representation at the Sydney forum or via the Advisory Committee contact Sam French, Advocacy Projects Manager on one of
the numbers listed at the end of this E-Bulletin or email samanthaf@pwd.org.au Focus Group
on ‘Transport for NSW Disability Action Plan’
PWD is hosting a focus
group meeting in collaboration with Transport for NSW to hear about some of
the key priorities for people with disability in accessing public transport
in NSW related to customer service. The discussion will focus on changes to
public transport services that would be helpful to people with disability,
including: information services; complaints handling; problems that exist for
people with disability moving between different forms of transport in a
single journey; and suggestions for improving the safety of people with
disability during their journey on public transport. The focus group
discussion will provide input from the perspective of people with disability
to the development of strategies and actions for the ‘Transport for NSW
Disability Action Plan’.
Please note that
physical access matters related to transport infrastructure will not be the
focus of this discussion as Transport NSW is addressing the inaccessibility
of some transport infrastructure through a 10 year funding program.
The focus group details
are: Date: Tuesday 24 April 2012
Time: 2pm – 4pm
Venue: PWD
Office, 52 Pitt Street, Redfern
The meeting room is on
the ground floor at the PWD office and is wheelchair accessible. Involvement
in the focus group is voluntary, with food and drinks being provided.
Places are limited so
those who are attending need to register their interest and advise us of any
participation and accessibility requirements by contacting Sam French,
Advocacy Projects Manager on one of the numbers listed at the end of this
E-Bulletin or email samanthaf@pwd.org.au
PWD is also a member of
the NSW Transport Access Advisory Committee, so if you are unable to
participate in the focus group, but would like to provide comments on this
and other transport matters, please forward your comments to Samantha French. Training
workshops for disability services
The NSW Ombudsman’s office recently
released two new training workshops specifically tailored for the disability
services sector: Handling
serious incidents in the disability sector and Implementing
a quality complaints management system in the disability sector.
Handling
serious incidents in the disability sector focuses on how to respond to serious incidents of abuse
and neglect that may arise in a disability service setting. Implementing
a quality complaints management system in the disability sector focuses
on the essential elements of a quality complaints management system. It is
tailored for the disability sector and based on current legislative and
industry requirements, quality assurance frameworks and the Stronger
Together 2 priorities for person-centred approaches to service delivery.
Both workshops form part of the NSW
Ombudsman’s training calendar for Feb-June 2012,
along with a range of other workshops developed for the community and
disability services sector.
Police
Disability Advisory Council reconvenes with new members
In a Media Release issued
on 1 March 2012, the NSW Police Force (NSWPF) announced the ten new members
of the NSWPF Disability Advisory Council (DAC).
The members are Leanne
Dowse, Paule Jarvis, Karen Jordan, David Kleinhelrer, Linda Maidens, Craig Maynard, Peter A
Simpson, Jordanna Smith, Mike Sprange,
and Steve Widders. The ten new members will attend
meetings, participate in working groups, provide on-call advice and assist
with community consultations over a three year term on issues affecting
people with a disability who are in contact with the criminal justice system.
NSWPF DAC meet for the first time on Wednesday 22
February 2012.
Further information
about the Disability Advisory Council will be available on the NSW Police
Force website or by contacting dac@police.nsw.gov.au
Click
here to read the full media release from the NSWPF. Study
exploring ‘transition experiences’ of adults with disability
A Northcott
study is exploring the ‘transition experiences’ of adults with disability
(aged 40–65 years) living in New South Wales.
The research team is
interested in collecting transition stories of people who have a disability.
It can be any kind of transition (for example, moving house, changing jobs,
retiring, changes due to getting older, etc.) and the person can have any
kind of disability that developed or existed before the person was 18 years
of age. The limitations are that the person should be aged between 40 – 65
years and he or she currently lives in New South Wales.
The researchers are
encouraging stories to be recorded online, using the project survey. Click here to access the survey and record your
experiences. A potential participant can also ask a proxy – such as a carer, relative, or friend - to complete the survey on
his or her behalf.
Story telling could be
conducted also via phone or a face to face interview. Potential participants
can call Dr Orit Ben-Harush at 0266805680 or email: orit.ben-harush@northcott.com.au to arrange a story telling via one of these options.
The results of the study
will be provided to the NSW Government Department of Ageing, Disability, and
Home Care (ADHC). Click
here for further information about the study from the Northcott
website. Researching
the Support Needs of People with Younger Onset Dementia and their Families
Alzheimer’s Australia
NSW and the Social Policy Research Centre (SPRC) are surveying people with
younger onset dementia and their families and carers in order to understand
their service and support requirements and identify appropriate service
models for them. This study is funded by the NSW Government - Ageing,
Disability and Home Care (ADHC).
There are separate
versions of the survey for people with younger onset dementia and their
families/carers, who are NSW residents only. These can be filled out online
or as a printed copy. Full instructions for completing the survey are on the
webpage provided. The surveys will be available until 10 April 2012.
Click
here to learn more about the survey from the SPRC website. For more
information about the research or a printed copy, please contact Jo-Ann Brown
at Alzheimer’s Australia NSW on jbrown@alznsw.asn.au or (02) 8875 4636. Nominate
for the NSW Disability Industry Innovation Awards
The NSW Disability Industry
Innovation Awards are an initiative of the State Government in partnership
with National Disability Services (NDS) NSW. They offer an opportunity to
recognise and reward excellence and innovation demonstrated by the people and
non-government community based organisations working in the disability
services sector. The Minister for Disability
Services, The Hon. Andrew Constance MP, launched the inaugural NSW Disability
Industry Innovation Awards at the NDS NSW Annual State Conference in February
2012. The awards are committed to
showcasing innovation and best practice in the services sector. The
nominations will be considered against transparent criteria through the
judging process. To ensure the quality and integrity of the awards, there may
not be a winner in every category, or there may be more than one winner. Each
nomination will be considered on its individual merit. Nominations close on
Friday 20 April 2012. If you would like to nominate
an organisation or individual for an NDS Industry Innovation Award or want to
learn more about the awards, click here to visit the NSW
Disability Industry Innovation Awards webpage. A number of
accessible versions of all material are available. Digital
Switchover Taskforce Update
As reported in previous
PWD E-bulletins, between 2010 and 2013, Australia is switching off the analog TV signals and converting to digital-only TV. The
next stage will commence on 5 June 2012 where areas of Southern and Central
NSW, ACT and Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area (MIA) will be converted.
Households that do not have a digital set-top-box or digital TV on that date
will no longer be able to watch free-to-air TV.
The Digital Switchover
Taskforce is aware that many people in the community, such as older persons,
people with disability or those with low incomes, may need particular
assistance to convert to digital TV.
The mySwitch
tool on the Digital Ready website, www.digitalready.gov.au
enables residents to find information about the digital TV services they
should expect to receive at their location and advice on how to get the best
digital TV reception, including information about local transmitters.
The Australian
Government is also providing practical and financial assistance to help
eligible households switch to digital TV. Two assistance schemes are
currently available; the ‘Household
Assistance Scheme’ and the ’Satellite
Subsidy Scheme’
For more information
about the switch to digital TV, and the two assistance schemes, visit www.digitalready.gov.au
or call the Digital Ready Information Line on 1800 20 10 13. |
Other
State and Territory News
Western
Australia: Draft Mental Health Bill 2011
PWD supports the concerns raised by
a number of organisations about the draft West Australian (WA) Mental Health
Bill 2011, which was launched on16 December 2011 and which includes the proposal
that children as young as 12 could consent to treatments such as
electroconvulsive therapy, psychosurgery and sterilisation without parental
permission.
In response to the release of the Draft Bill, PWD made
a brief submission addressing the issue of sterilisation raising our strong
objections to the non-therapeutic sterilisation of persons with disability
proposed by this Bill. Such measures we believe are a particularly egregious
form of human rights abuse, and one that impacts particularly on girls and
women with disability. As detailed in previous E-Bulletin editions we have
long called for comprehensive law reform to provide effective guarantees
against such abuse which is why we are highly concerned about the proposed
measures outlined in this WA Bill which allows for the sterilisation of
persons with mental illness including children.
PWD strongly believes that children with disability
have the same right as children without disability not to be sterilised and
to maintain their bodily integrity. In failing to develop legislation which
prohibits sterilisation of any child unless there is a serious threat to
heath or life, the Western Australian Government is continuing to deny girls
with disability their human rights and fundamental freedoms. The proposed
measures outlined in the draft Bill also represent clear breaches of
Australia’s obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
(CRC) and UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability (CRPD). Concerns relating to Australia’s compliance to CRC was
raised some four years ago by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child
which encouraged Australia to prohibit the sterilisation of children, with or
without disability.
PWD Organisational Member People
with Disabilities WA (PWDWA) also made a submission to the Mental Health
Commission, with the principal recommendation that Part 12, Division 3: Sterilisation Procedure be
removed from the Mental Health Bill (WA) 2011, a stance which PWD wholly
endorses.
Another PWD Organisational Member,
Women with Disabilities Australia (WWDA) wrote a letter to the Hon Helen
Morton MLC, WA Minister for Mental Health, also expressing concern at Part 12
of the Draft Bill, which they argued contravenes many of the human rights
instruments to which Australia is a signatory and, most critically, infringes
on the fundamental human rights of women and girls with disability to bodily
integrity. Click here to read
the WWDA submission.
WA's Commissioner for Children and
Young People also recommended an overhaul of draft laws, including that
electroconvulsive therapy and psychotherapy be banned on anyone under the age
of 18. Click
here to read a news story about the Commission’s submission.
Click here to read
more about PWD’s stance on sterilisation of people with disability.
Click here to read a news story on the
proposed Mental Health Bill – Morton
welcomes mental health debate – Sky News Online (published
22 March 2012). Western
Australia: News from WWDWA
Towards the end of 2011,
Women with Disabilities Western Australia (WWDWA) received a Disability
Support Group Development Grant from the Developmental Disability Council. Among other things, they will be using this
funding to develop a new website for WWDWA Inc., a new logo and professional
brochures and facilitate training for the WWDWA Management Committee. With
this funding they will also be able to hold Monthly Forums for the first half
of 2012. WWDWA will also now be able
to hire Sign Language interpreters for the Monthly Forums for Deaf and Hard
of Hearing women. As a largely unfunded organisation, WWDWA hasn't been able
to provide this essential service in the past, so they are excited that this
grant will enable them to provide it for the next few forums. WWDWA will also be using
some of the funding to have group chats by phone for women with disability
who are unable to get to the forums.
To learn more, please email womenwdwa@yahoo.com.au
or call on (08) 9244 7463 to register your interest. Queensland:
Breaking Into Law – Disability Education Options
Breaking
Into Law: Disability Education Options is a project which works with up to ten people with
physical disability referred to the Griffith Law School (GLS) by the Spinal
Injuries Association QLD (SIA). It aims to assist participants to enrol in a
program to work towards a law degree by adopting a three-prong approach: ·
students
gain an understanding of the potential of legal education, familiarity with
university life and may enrol on campus in the second semester of the year; ·
post
enrolment mentoring and peer support; ·
bursaries
to assist with extra costs of disability in education. There are only limited
places available in the program so interested people should email eo@spinal.com.au
and request an 'Expression of Interest' form if they wish to take part in the
project. Potential students must attend 2 preliminary workshops, which will
take place in the Brisbane area. This project is a
partnership between Griffith Law School & Employment Options section of
the Spinal Injuries Association (Qld).
For
more information, click here to visit their Facebook Site. Queensland:
QAI commends LNP on disability-related policies
In a media release issued
on 20 March 2012, Queensland Advocacy Incorporated (QAI) Director Mr Ken Wade
commended the Liberal National Party (LNP) on the disability-related policies
it announced on Saturday 18 March 2012, including its commitment to establish
the Public Advocate as a separate and autonomous statutory authority. ‘The Public Advocate is a
watchdog that protects Queensland’s most vulnerable citizens. A strengthened
statutory mandate is promising, but the devil’s in
the details’ said Mr Wade in the media release. |
National
news
National AusAID Mid-Term Review of ‘Development for All Strategy’
'Development for All:
Towards a disability-inclusive Australian aid program 2009-2014' sets out
practical approaches to guide the Australian aid program in meeting the needs
and priorities of people with disability.AusAID has
commissioned a mid-term review of its Strategy for disability-inclusive
development, Development
for All. The strategy focuses on achieving
three core outcomes:
And two enabling outcomes:
The strategy runs until 2014. The
purpose of this review is to identify what has been achieved so far and to
provide information to improve and refine the work undertaken under the
strategy for the remaining years and beyond. Click
here to read the Terms of reference for the review. Outcomes of the
review will be made publicly available to ensure what we learn helps inform
the work of other stakeholders.
AusAID is committed to facilitating a wide
and inclusive consultation process for the mid-term review which involves
consultations in Fiji, Samoa, Papua New Guinea, Thailand, Philippines and
Cambodia as well as public consultations in Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra.
In addition, AusAID
is calling for submissions from interested organisations and individuals to
contribute to the breadth of thinking and consideration in the review. Click
here to read the guidance for making contributions. Please note the
deadline for written submissions to the review is 30 April 2012.
PWD has participated in the AusAID consultations conducted as part of the review and
we will be submitting comments for the mid-term review. PWD Members wishing
to provide input can forward their comments to Sam
French, Advocacy Projects Manager on one of the numbers listed at the end of
this E-Bulletin or email samanthaf@pwd.org.au
National
Disability Insurance Scheme: Update
PWD continues its strong advocacy
for a strong and inclusive National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), in
which people with disability are at the forefront of the reforms.
As part of this advocacy, PWD has
signed on to be part of the National NDIS Rally, which will take place on 30
April 2012. This rally, which is being organised by the Every Australian Counts Campaign, will aim to be the biggest
rally of people with disability ever seen in Australia. Click here for
more information on the rally and how you can get involved. PWD will be
sending out more information via our website and social media sites as the
date for the rally approaches, offering members and supporters’ ways in which
they can get involved.
PWD was pleased on 15 March 2012
when Senator Rachel Siewert, Australian Greens
Whip, ask a number of questions to the Federal Senate on the issue of
inclusion and governance of the NDIS. PWD along with other key disability
stakeholder groups have growing concerns about the degree to which the direct
voice of people with disability is being heard in the NDIS reform process. The
Senator’s questions, included whether or not the government acknowledges
that” people with disability should be involved right from the beginning of
the process of the development of the NDIS?” and inquiring about what actions
the Australian government is taking to “ensure that people with disability
are intrinsically involved in all aspects of the development and
implementation of the NDIS, right from the beginning of the process?”
In response Senator Chris Evans gave
his assurance that people with disability “will be
centrally involved in the development of the scheme and its design” however
noted that he did not “have any specific briefing on the mechanisms for that
engagement” and would take that part of the question on notice. Senator Evans
also noted that “Minister Macklin is absolutely committed to working with
people with disability to make sure the reform serves their needs, because
that is what it is all about”.
Disability
Employment Services Transition Working Group
PWD recently participated in a
meeting of the Disability Employment Services (DES) Transition Working Group
(the Working Group), held in Sydney on 8 March. The DES Working Group is a
consultative forum that consists of representatives from the disability
consumer peak industry organisations, employment
services industry peak bodies, employment service providers and government
departments.
The Working Group provides advice to
the Government on strategies for the successful transition of participants
and providers that commenced in early November 2012, following the DES-ESS
2013-2015 purchasing process.
The Working Group reports back to
the DES Reference Group on the progress of transition arrangements developed
for implementation in early November 2012.
Proposed
National Reform Project: Domestic Violence and Women with Disability
The Australian Government has
recognised that significant work is needed to address violence against women
with disability in order to reduce the unacceptably high levels of
domestic/family violence and sexual assault, and the high levels of unmet
needs in terms of access to domestic violence, sexual assault and related
community support services for women with disability.
The First Action Plan (2010–2013) of
the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children
2010-2022, (the National Plan), includes two key ‘immediate national
initiatives’ specifically focused on women with disability.
They are to:
The Australian Government is
proposing to deliver a national reform project ‘Improving Service Delivery
for Women with Disability’, which will form one component of the Commonwealth
Government’s multi-layered approach to these initiatives.
The Australian Government (through
its Safety Taskforce) has proposed that Women with Disabilities Australia
(WWDA), be engaged to identify and build the evidence base to inform best
practice service delivery to address and prevent violence against women with
disability.
In early February 2012, PWD joined a
delegation from WWDA to meet with the Safety Taskforce and begin the process
of planning the national reform Project. The participants at the day long
Planning Forum were Annie Parkinson (WWDA); Sue Salthouse (WWDA) ;Margie Charlesworth (WWDA); Carolyn Frohmader
(WWDA); Keran Howe (Women With Disabilities
Victoria/WWDA); Donna Justo (WWDA/DV Prevention Centre Gold Coast); Therese
Sands (PWD/WWDA); Christina Ryan (WWDA/Advocacy for Inclusion); Fiona Smart,
Robyn MacDonald and Deborah Tkalcevic (all from the
FaHCSIA Safety Taskforce); and Cristina Ricci (Australian Human Rights
Commission). Cristina Ricci also facilitated the Planning Forum. Amy Blain,
newly appointed Program Manager of the Australian Women Against Violence
alliance (AWAVA), also attended a component of the Day.
Click here to read the WWDA
Newsletter which has more information on the planning day.
Launch of
First Peoples Disability Network (Australia)
On Friday 30 March 2012, the First
Peoples Disability Network (Australia) (FPDN) was officially launched at Yaama Dhiyaan in Chippendale,
Sydney.
The FPDN (Australia) is the new
national peak organisation representing Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islanders with disability, their families and carers. FPDN membership is made
up of existing state networks of Aboriginal and Torres Strait people living
in NSW, Queensland, Victoria and South Australia. As other networks in Western
Australia, the Northern Territory and Tasmania continue to build their
capacity they will achieve full membership status.
The FPDN performs Systemic Advocacy,
Capacity Building, Research, Education and Training/Community Development,
and Individual Advocacy.
The launch was celebrated with
traditional dancers, speeches and performances.
For more information on the FPDN,
contact Damian on email damiang@adnnsw.org.au,
telephone (02) 9519 5005 or at 202/3 Gladstone Street, Newtown NSW 2042. Deaf
Australia and Cinema Captioning
Deaf Australia, the national peak
organisation for Deaf people in Australia, has released a comprehensive
outline of their position with regards to the Federal Government’s Accessible
Cinema Rollout Plan.
Included in this position statement
is specific mention of Deaf Australia’s position on CaptiView,
a Closed Caption Viewing System for hearing impaired movie audiences. Deaf
Australia currently regards CaptiView as the best
technology available that works with closed caption systems (and audio
descriptions for people who are blind or vision impaired) on the market
today. This is despite some concerns from the Deaf community regarding the
suitability and functionality of CaptiView.
Deaf Australia has been working with
the Accessible Cinema Advisory Group (ACAG) to ensure the needs of Deaf
Australians are fully included and considered as this plan is rolled out.
Human
Rights Photo Competition
Have you ever wondered what human
rights in Australia look like today?
Budding photographers are being
invited by the Australian Human Rights Commission to use their cameras to
capture those things that remind people of the importance of living in a fair
and equal society, and then enter these photos in the Commission’s 2012 human
rights photo competition.
The competition has an under-18
category and a category for those 18 and over. Prizes for the winner of each
category are a Canon EOS-1100D Digital SLR Camera Single Kits, which will be
presented at the Commission’s Human Rights Awards Ceremony, to be held in
December 2012 in Sydney.
A selection of the best photos will
also be showcased on the Commission’s website and Flickr page.
Click here for
details on the competition guidelines and how to submit your photo. |
International
News
United
Nations Economic and Social Commission for the Asia Pacific (UN ESCAP) Regional
Preparatory Meeting on the New Asian and Pacific Decade, 2013-2022
PWD recently participated in the United Nations
Regional Preparatory Meeting on the New Asian and Pacific Decade, 2013-2022,
as part of a group of international ‘Civil Society Organisations’
(referred to as CSOs).
The meeting focused on reviewing the draft goals
and targets to be included in the “Incheon Strategy” for people with
disability in the Asia Pacific. The Incheon Strategy is an action framework
for the new Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons, which will run from
2013 to 2022. The meeting also promoted the Regional efforts to implement the
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) through the
‘Make the Right Real Campaign’ www.maketherightreal.net
The following 15 ‘Civil Society Organisations’ (CSOs), were invited to participate at the
Regional Preparatory Meeting.
·
Disabled Peoples’
International Asia-Pacific; ·
Inclusion International
Asia-Pacific; ·
World Blind Union; ·
World Federation of the
Deaf Regional Secretariat for Asia and the Pacific; ·
World Federation of the Deafblind Asia and the Pacific; ·
World Network of Users and
Survivors of Psychiatry Asia-Pacific; ·
Asia and Pacific
Disability Forum; ·
ASEAN Autism Network; ·
ASEAN Disability Forum; ·
Pacific Disability Forum; ·
South Asian Disability
Forum. ·
Asia-Pacific Development
Centre on Disability; ·
Community-based
Rehabilitation Asia-Pacific Network; ·
Digital Accessible
Information System Consortium; ·
Rehabilitation
International Asia-Pacific.
These CSOs were selected on the basis that they
are known to have expertise in participation in UNESCAP meetings and are
international organisations of persons with
disabilities (DPOs) or a network that represents the interests of persons
with disabilities.
PWD participated through its involvement with
Disabled People’s International and the Pacific Disability Forum. The 15
CSO’s were required to work collaboratively and provide a unified joint
statement on the draft Strategy presented at the meeting. The ‘CSO Joint
Statement’ formed the basis for input to the meeting discussions and greatly
influenced the revised draft text of the Incheon Strategy. Click
here for a copy of the CSO Joint Statement.
Some of the key areas in which the CSO Joint
Statement influenced the discussion and which were adopted by the meeting for
inclusion in the draft Incheon Strategy were:
·
reference to ‘under-represented
groups’, including specific reference to ‘Indigenous persons with
disability’; ·
additional goals and
targets regarding participation of people with disability in development
programs and disaster preparedness; ·
revised specific targets
regarding removal of barriers to employment in both private and public
sectors; ·
provision of supports to
enable independent living; ·
inclusion of targets and
actions at local level and for local agencies; ·
inclusion of ‘universal
access and design’ principles in creating accessible and enabling
environments; ·
specific targets regarding
the ratification of the CRPD and its Optional Protocol; and ·
additional goals and targets
regarding participation of people with disability in international
cooperation.
The ‘Incheon Strategy’ will be finalised at the ‘High Level Intergovernmental Meeting for the New Decade’, which will
be held in Incheon, Republic of Korea, 29 October to 2 November 2012.
PWD will continue to have input to the New Decade
of Persons with Disability in the Asia Pacific and strategies for
implementation of the CRPD in our region. For more information about the
Regional Preparatory Meeting go to UN-ESCAP Website www.unescap.org/sdd/
For more information about PWD’s participation at
the meeting and other side events, contact Samantha French, Advocacy Projects
Manager on one of the numbers listed at the end of this E-Bulletin or email samanthaf@pwd.org.au
The
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
(ESCAP)
The United Nations Economic and Social Commission
for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) is the regional arm of the United Nations,
playing a unique role as the only comprehensive intergovernmental forum for
countries and territories of the Asian and Pacific region. Established in
1947, ESCAP today has 53 members and nine associate members covering over 60
per cent of the world’s population (4.1 billion people).
ESCAP is the only United Nations regional entity
that has “convening authority” in the Asian and Pacific region. It is the only United Nations regional body
that has a mandate to adopt international treaties, agreements, resolutions
and decisions by member States.
ESCAP serves as the regional hub promoting
cooperation among member States to achieve inclusive and sustainable economic
and social development in the Asian and Pacific region. ESCAP provides the
strategic regional link between global, sub-regional and country-level
processes. Governments of the Asian and Pacific region, including Australia
meet annually at the ministerial level to review and discuss economic and
social issues and to set the regional development agenda. The ESCAP annual
session is the regional version of the United Nations General Assembly.
ESCAP is headquartered in Bangkok and has four
sub-regional offices in the Pacific (Suva, Fiji); North-East/East Asia
(Incheon, Republic of Korea); North/Central Asia (Almaty, Kazakhstan);
South/South-West Asia (New Delhi).
ESCAP also has five regional institutions in Beijing; Bogor,
Indonesia; Incheon, Republic of Korea; New Delhi; and Chiba, Japan.
ESCAP reports to the United Nations Economic and
Social Council (ECOSOC). UNESCAP
International Conference on Disability – Inclusive MDGs and Aid Effectiveness
PWD recently took part in the United Nations
Economic and Social Commission (UNESCAP) Conference on Disability-Inclusive Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and Aid Effectiveness,
which took place in Bangkok, Thailand, from 14–16 March 2012.
This conference was the second in a series of
global forums jointly organised by Leonard Cheshire
Disability and UNESCAP for Asia and the Pacific. Bringing together Disabled
People’s Organisations (DPOs) such as PWD and the
Pacific Disability Forum (PDF), as well as NGOs, UN agencies and academics,
the conference offered an opportunity to develop innovative ways to bring
disability into the mainstream of international development.
The conference addressed the following topics:
·
Review of international
and regional mandates on disability and aid effectiveness; ·
Challenges and good
practice in measuring the impact and quality of disability-inclusive
development, including implementation and monitoring of the MDGs; ·
Identifying ways to
implement disability-inclusive development effectively on the ground and at
the policy level.
To
access news, speeches, life stories, photos and exclusive interviews with
some of the world’s leading players in disability and development from the
conference, please visit http://unlcdcon.tumblr.com
For more information on PWD’s participation, contact Sam French,
Advocacy Projects Manager on one of the numbers listed at the end of this
E-Bulletin or email samanthaf@pwd.org.au WWDA
Board Member to advise on UNICEF’s 2013 'The State of the World’s Children'
publication
PWD congratulates Women with
Disabilities (WWDA) Board Member and Associate Professor, Helen Meekosha, on being accepted as a member of the Advisory
Board for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)’s 2013 edition of its
flagship publication, The State of the
World’s Children (SOWC). The 2013 edition will be on children with
disability.
UNICEF is the United Nations’ advocacy organisation for children, and is on the ground in over 150 countries and territories to help children survive and thrive, from early childhood through adolescence. UNICEF also works in emergency relief and on longer term development projects for children, and is the world’s largest provider of vaccines for developing countries.
UNICEF supports child health
and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all
boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation,
and HIV/AIDS.
Click here to read
more about UNICEF’s work with children with disability.
|
The
Inside Story
From the
President
Another month rolls around. I feel
they go by quicker than they used to, but of course, they don’t!
In big news this month, one of the
valued members of our Leadership Team, Therese Sands, went off on sabbatical
leave until January 2013. She is using this time to undertake a Masters in
Human Rights Law at the University of New South Wales. I wish her all the
best on behalf of the Board, Executive, Staff and our Members and look
forward to her return.
While Therese is away, Systemic
Advocacy Manager Sonya Price Kelly will be acting in her position as an
Executive Director. I wish Sonya all the best in this exciting new role.
This month I was yet again appalled
by news of the circumstances faced by many people with disability living in
licensed boarding houses. The inquest
which began earlier this month at Glebe Coroner’s Court into the deaths of
six people with disability at a licensed boarding house in Marrickville, once
again raised serious questions about the competence of ADHC to fulfil its
clear legislative responsibility to monitor licensed boarding houses and
ensure the human rights of residents and the questionable quality of care
these people receive from some services and medical practitioners. I was
hoping that following the publicity around boarding house reform that PWD
garnered in 2011 that action on this would be swift, but this has not been
the case. This Inquest provides even further evidence that this reform is
long overdue.
More has to be done to name and
shame those responsible for the standards in these establishments so they are
all shut down and the residents supported to moved to more suitable accommodation where they can
live a better quality of life free from abuse and neglect.
I personally am opposed to any form
of institutionalisation and I know the board and many of PWD’s members also
share this view, which is why our organisation spends so much time lobbying
for real reforms.
I look forward to hearing some more
positive news on this front in the coming year.
Jan
Daisley, PWD President
Tribute to
Kim Walker/Carol Pein
TV and radio personality and PWD
Disability Rights Defender and Associate Member Julie McCrossin
paid homage to disability activist Kim Walker in the March issue of the South
Sydney Herald.
In the article, Julie speaks about
her personal relationship with Kim, as well as reflects upon Kim’s life and
achievements in the disability rights sector.
To read Julie’s article, please
visit www.southsydneyherald.com.au
and visit page 10 of the March 2012 edition.
Click here to
read PWD’s tribute to Kim in E-Bulletin 74. Mardi Gras 2012
Despite the rain, downpours,
drizzle and showers, PWD presented a fantastic entry at the 2012 Mardi Gras, which
took place on Saturday 4 February.
PWD had over 50 people in the entry
this year, which included PWD staff and members, representatives from the
Cerebral Palsy Alliance and the Intellectual Disability Rights Service
(IDRS). PWD also proudly carried the banner from Touching Base, an
organisation which links sex workers with people with disability.
PWD’s entry was mentioned in the Sun
Herald on 5 February – Mardi
Gras Floats Another Hit Record for Kylie – and it was great to see that
our entry got picked out in front of everyone else’s to epitomise the spirit
of the evening.
To
see photos from the event, click here to visit the PWD Facebook album.
Thank you to everyone who came along
and in doing so raised disability as a key issue in the gender rights debate
– had we not been in that parade, there would have been one less voice in the
call for equal rights and equality.
Also a big thank you to PWD
Executive Director Matthew Bowden and Project Manager Emmie Hallett who did a
wonderful job organising our entry this year- it couldn’t have been done
without you!”
Daphnee
Cook, Communications and Membership Development Manager
|
PWD
Media Releases
16 March 2012: Six
deaths too many: Boarding house reform must happen NOW |
PWD
Training Opportunities
PWD is
currently reviewing its trainings on offer and making changes to its existing
training packages.
In the
2011/2012 financial year, PWD will no longer be issuing a training calendar
with fixed trainings but instead will be providing a training brochure
detailing the training options on offer. In addition, we will also be
marketing customised training packages that can be
adapted to meet the needs and interests of individual organisations
and/or services.
We will
continue to offer our 2-day Responding
to Sexual Assault training which aims to challenge myths surrounding
sexual assault and people with intellectual disability, build capacity of
staff to support victims of sexual assault, as well as decrease the
vulnerability of people with intellectual disability to this crime. Also
available is our 1-day Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
(CRPD) training which provides a discussion of the development of the CRPD,
the rights enshrined in it and the practicalities of implementing these
rights, as well as information about its available complaints process.
PWD will
continue to provide Disability Awareness training, however in a new, flexible
format with core and optional supplementary modules. Core modules will
provide a general introduction to disability awareness, exploring the concept
of disability, the myths and facts surrounding it, as well as respectful
language and communication. Supplementary modules will include customised components that incorporate information, case
scenarios and examples applicable to the context in which the training is
delivered.
PWD will
continue to focus on developing and delivering training in its expertise
areas of abuse and neglect as well as disability and human rights. In
addition, we remain open to discussing the development of specific trainings
based on interest.
Click here for further
information is available from our website.
Alternatively,
contact PWD Training phone (02) 9370 3100 or email
training@pwd.org.au
Return to Contents
|
Upcoming
Events
19
April 2012: Sydney, NSW How People with Intellectual
Disabilities and Their Families Are Building Better Communities, facilitated by John O’Brien and
Connie Lyle-O’Brien (US). Click
here for more information.
30
April – 1 Mary 2012: Canberra, ACT
4th National Disability Advocacy Conference, Advocating for Inclusion: Advocacy
strategies for achieving community living, full inclusion and participation
of people with disabilities. http://dana.org.au/presentations/
3
May 2012: Surry Hills, NSW
NCOSS Sector Development Conference 2012, The
Buck Stops with the Board. http://www.ncoss.org.au/content/view/6356/149/
18-19
May 2012: Wollongong, NSW
Australian Community Children’s Services conference, "Change and Leadership: Who is the
ringmaster". For more
information, Click here
for more information.
9-11
August 2012: Perth, WA 10th
Biennial ECIA Conference and 1st Asia-Pacific Early Intervention Conference ‘Pathways to Participation: Engagement and
choice for children’. http://www.eciaconference2012.com.au/
17-21
September 2012: New Delhi, India.
TRANSED 2012: The 13th International Conference on Mobility and Transport for
Elderly and Disabled People. http://www.transed2012.in/
|
About
PWD
People with Disability Australia Incorporated (PWD) is a national disability
rights and advocacy organisation. Our membership is people with disability
and organisations made up of people with disability. Individuals and
organisations committed to the disability rights movement can join PWD as
associate members. PWD was founded
in 1981, the International Year of Disabled People, to provide people with
disability with a voice of our own. We have a cross-disability focus and
represent the interests of people with all kinds of disability. As a
non-profit, non-government organisation we increasingly depends on membership
fees, public donations, bequests and fundraising activities to maintain our
commitment to improving the lives of people with disability. PWD is a
deductible gift recipient so donations of $2 or more are fully tax
deductible. Your tax
deductible donation will mean we can continue to maintain our services. If
you are interested and would like to support PWD please visit www.pwd.org.au/donations.html For information
about membership, contact PWD on email pwd@pwd.org.au
or one of the numbers listed at the end of this E-Bulletin. |
Privacy
statement
We are committed to
protecting your privacy. In doing so, we commit ourselves to conforming to
the Privacy Amendment
(Private Sector) Bill 2000, which came into effect in December
2001 and the National Privacy Principles issued by the Australian Privacy
Commissioner. This newsletter is distributed by email. You have provided us
with an email address. This email address will be used only for the purpose
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lists unless you specifically request that this be done. Your email address
will not be disclosed without your consent. You can have your email
address removed from the mailing list for this newsletter by sending an email
to pwd@pwd.org.au.
This newsletter contains links to websites. We cannot be held responsible for
the privacy practices (or lack thereof) or the content of other websites. |
Contact
us
Please note that PWD
publishes items contributed by other organisations at our discretion. While
we will assist where possible in the dissemination of information, we do not
take responsibility for the promotion or advertisement of events organised by
other organisations. If you would like to
receive PWD E-Bulletin
in an alternative format or have an enquiry, contact PWD by email pwd@pwd.org.au
or on one of the numbers listed below. People with Disability Australia Incorporated |
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