Submission No 223
INQUIRY INTO IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NATIONAL DISABILITY INSURANCE SCHEME AND THE PROVISION OF DISABILITY SERVICES IN NEW SOUTH WALES
Name: Ms Ya’el Frisch Date Received: 9 August 2018
9 August 2018
The Hon. Greg Donnelly, MLC Chair Portfolio Committee No.2 – Health and Community Services Parliament House Macquarie Street SYDNEY NSW 2000
By email: portfoliocommittee2@parliament.nsw.gov.au
Re: Inquiry into the implementation of the National Disability Insurance Scheme and the provision of disability services in New South Wales
Dear Mr Donnelly,
Thank you for the opportunity to respond to this inquiry.
I would like to make a short submission on the importance of continued funding of advocacy and representation in NSW.
In my personal life, advocacy has laid the foundation for possibility. I’m extremely fortunate to have grown-up in a family who were well connected with disability advocacy organisations.. This means my parents knew how to fight for me to be enrolled in a mainstream school, even though I have profound cerebral palsy. They knew who to talk to to make our neighbourhood and community more accessible, and how to link me into a program of personal care supports while I was still a younger person. As disability goes, I won the lottery.
My parents would not have known how to imagine and implement a positive future for me if not for disability advocacy. Advocates broke down the barriers and helped imagine what could be possible.
I now lead a full life as an adult in my own home, working in disability advocacy myself and receiving supports from the NDIS. Absolutely none of the aspects of my life would be possible without disability advocacy, past and present.
While the NDIS is transforming disability service provision across Australia, providing an inclusive society for people with disability remains the responsibility of the NSW Government. This is made clear in the Disability Inclusion Act 2014 (NSW), the National Disability Strategy 2010-20 and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons With Disability. It is important to note that only 10% of people with disability will be eligible for individual support packages under the NDIS.
Whether or not they are eligible for the NDIS, people with disability in NSW will need representation, independent advocacy and independent information to support their rights to have a say in NSW Government decision making processes, and access mainstream services on the same basis as other citizens. For example, they will need representation to ensure their views and concerns are heard in law and policy making processes; independent information or advocacy support with everyday issues, such as housing, education, employment; support with personal decision making and accessing professional supports; assistance in preventing and responding to violence and abuse; and capacity building to facilitate skills development and self-advocacy.
The NDIS will not decrease the need for advocacy. More than ever, as people experience more choice through the NDIS, they will need someone to stand by them, helping them understand their rights and gain meaningful control over their lives.
While the recent commitment of years transition is welcome, ongoing funding is needed to ensure people with disability have assistance to navigate mainstream systems, and that these mainstream systems continue to become more accessible and inclusive.
Yours sincerely
Ya’el Frisch