The Way Forward – A New Disability Policy Framework For Australia
Appendix E: Report of Disability Investment Group Consultations, 2008
The Disability Investment Group received information, advice and ideas on a range of topics from people with disability, their families and carers, and organisations involved in the disability sector. This prompted and informed a series of consultations which were held in Brisbane (27 October 2008), Sydney (29 October 2008), Perth (31 October 2008) and Melbourne (10 November 2008).
Consultations
The overwhelming message from the consultations was that individuals and families are not looking for handouts from the Government, but the removal of bureaucratic barriers that prevent them from accessing the services and assistance they need to be able to support themselves or a family member.
Key themes emerging from the consultation sessions included:
- challenge of securing permanent accommodation for people with disability, which reflects their changing needs across the life course;
- levers, such as tax incentives, which the Commonwealth Government could utilise to support and encourage investment in accommodation for people with disability and the private funding of aids and equipment;
- strategies to increase employment opportunities for people with disability and the importance of leadership, especially from the Commonwealth Government, in this area;
- importance of diversity and flexibility in disability services delivery;
- individual’s experiences with Special Disability Trusts and the need for the Commonwealth Government to endorse and take action on the Senate Committee’s Inquiry into Special Disability Trusts Report and recommendations;
- high and ongoing cost of home modifications and aids and equipment;
- importance of individualised support packages and barriers to the utilisation of these packages; and
- challenges experienced by individuals in relation to various Government disability employment services and support programs.
A list of those who attended the consultations and the key issues raised at each follows.
| Participant List | Representing |
|---|---|
| Mr Geoff McKeich Ms Diane McKeich Dr Alex Dowland |
Hope Australia - a not-for-profit organisation which has been established to provide home ownership to people with severe to profound intellectual disability. |
| Mr Ian O’Malley | Foresters Community Finance - a community finance institution providing community finance, social investment and education for the third and fourth sectors. |
| Dr Ben Lawson | Individual |
| Dr Amanda Mergler | Individual |
| Mr Jim Mergler | Individual |
Key issues raised
- The implications, for people with mild disability, of limited State and Territory Government disability funding and the prioritisation of people with complex needs and challenging behaviour.
- The importance of standardised data, across all jurisdictions, to enable accurate measurement of unmet need and the development of appropriate strategies to address the existing, future and unmet needs of people with disability.
- The compartmentalised nature of existing disability support and how it hinders the implementation of a holistic model, integrating housing and support services, providing individualised support packages.
- The need to extend access to the First Home Owners Grant to trusts for people with disability (in line with Recommendation 8 of the Senate Committee’s inquiry into Special Disability Trusts).
- The need for incentives, namely tax credits/deductions, to encourage and support organisations investing in accommodation projects for people with disability.
- The difficulties experienced by individuals seeking to transfer their support packages between jurisdictions and how this hampers their ability to gain and sustain employment.
- The importance of individualised support packages and how the potential loss of this support acts as a disincentive for some people to move from the Disability Support Pension to employment.
- The significance of diversity in the provision of support services and accommodation.
- The importance of flexibility in service delivery and the apparent lack of it in the delivery of services provided by ‘mega service providers’.
| Participant List | Representing |
|---|---|
| Ms Fiona Anderson Ms Mary-Lou Carter |
Association for Children with Disability NSW - provides information and support to parents and families who have a child or young adult with any type of disability or developmental delay across NSW. |
| Mrs Margaret Colebrook | Let us Hear - represents deaf and hearing impaired people between the ages of 21 and 65 years. |
| Ms Belinda Epstein-Frisch | Family Advocacy - assists families build capacity to self advocate, develop leaderships and provide information about disability matters. |
| Ms Rebecca Fletcher | Lorna Hodgkinson Sunshine Home - provides accommodation, community access and employment programs. |
| Mr John Jensen | House with No Steps - provides accommodation, respite care, employment and community programs. |
| Mr Patrick Maher | National Disability Services - an industry association representing over 600 disability service providers. |
| Mr Simon Schwab | Individual |
Key issues raised
- The cost of hearing aids to persons aged over 21 years, who are not in possession of specific concession cards, due to the lack of entitlement to subsidised aids, and the isolation and vulnerability experienced by those unable to afford the high cost.
- The need for the inclusion of accessibility standards, based on the Principles of Universal Design, in the national building code.
- The high cost of home modifications and the negative impact such modifications can have on the value of the house. The high cost of modification is particularly problematic in rental accommodation.
- The importance of aids and equipment in enabling people with disability to achieve their potential and the proposal that tax credits/deductions be provided on the cost of privately-funded aids and equipment.
- The need for leadership, from the Commonwealth Government, in the area of the employment of people with disability.
- The proposal that Governments should consider policies that support preferred procurement through organisations employing people with disability.
- The barriers faced by individuals seeking to transition from the Business Services program (FaHCSIA) to the Disability Employment Services (DEEWR).
| Participant List | Representing |
|---|---|
| Ms Phyllis Breheny | Individual |
| Mr Brian O’Hart | Individual |
| Mr Ray Walter | Individual |
| Mr Harry Weir | Planned Individual Networks – a not-for-profit organisation created by families to support families plan and create a secure future for their relative with a disability. |
Key issues raised
- The need for the Commonwealth Government to endorse and take action on the Senate Committee’s Report and recommendations on Special Disability Trusts (SDT).
- The lack of endorsement of SDTs by professional bodies/organisations such as public trustees and lawyers.
- The proposal that beneficiaries be able to contribute to their own trusts.
| Participant List | Representing |
|---|---|
| Mr Brian Broughton | Individual |
| Mr Stephen Gianni | Leadership Plus – community organisation that promotes people with disabilities as leaders in the community. |
| Ms Lyla O’Hara (via telecon) |
Individual |
Key issues raised
- The inability to have more than one beneficiary for a SDT and the proposal that this needs to be changed as often families have more than one dependent with a disability.
- The need to balance the streamlined development of housing for people with disability, without reducing opportunities for social entrepreneurial activities by families, community and church groups.
- The importance of developing leadership capacities of people with disability to enhance employment opportunities.
- The need to encourage the employment of people with disability and the proposal that this be done through the introduction of levies upon companies that do not meet a specific threshold. Funds collected would be redirected towards funding workplace modifications to support the employment of people with disability.
- The limitations of Medicare coverage for people with disability.
Correspondence
Key themes emerging from the submissions and correspondence sent to the Disability Investment Group (DIG) included:
- difficulties with and improvements for SDTs;
- concern about the unmet need for accommodation and support services and options to ensure secure housing for life;
- strategies to encouraging private investment and innovation and community financing;
- proposals for establishing disability trusts for developing capacity and advocacy;
- identification of barriers to meaningful community participation by people with disability;
- strategies for encouraging mainstream employment of people with disability;
- need for a common insurance scheme;
- need to engage corporations in the work of disability-based charities;
- concern about unmet need for access to early intervention across all disability support and services;
- ideas to build the leadership capacity of people with disability; and
- need for greater disability research and data.
Note: The views and opinions recorded in this paper are those expressed by individuals and representatives of a range of organisations who engaged with the DIG. They do not necessarily reflect those of the DIG or of the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs.
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