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Your submission
In sharing your experiences with us, you may find the following questions a useful starting point.
Please kindly see responses to all of the questions below
What issues have you experienced as a person with disability or a carer or family member of someone with a disability? Did you tell someone else about it? Was the issue resolved? Why or why not?
GROUP SUBMISSION
*15 service users of Multicultural Disability Advocacy Association (MDAA) of NSW under the Disability Royal Commission (DRC) service, consisting of people with disability and/or caring for someone who has a disability or frailty were consulted throughout June to July 2022
IDENTIFIED ISSUE- Human Rights Violation
People with disability have the same human rights as all people without disability to non discrimination, access, equality and equity of opportunities to be included and fully participate in society. Australia is one of the early signatory countries to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). The Convention recognises the barriers that people with disability may face.
Below are the main areas where protection of human rights must be demonstrated:
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Access to public infrastructure and amenities
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Access to information, communication and related services
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Access to public services such as education, healthcare and legal and judicial services
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Adequate standard of living, including food, clothing and housing
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In-home, residential and community support services
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Mobility aids and other assistive devices
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Standards and guidelines to ensure that private businesses provide inclusive and accessible facilities and services to the public
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- And capacity to make decisions or legal rights and recognition before the law The service users shared stories where their human rights were repeatedly violated in more than one area above. Many of them experience personal and systemic challenges such as barriers to navigating and accessing timely and appropriate support and services relating to housing and NDIS. support and/or referred them to the NDIS appeals team. The NDIS appeals team have a high volume of cases signifying that people with disability from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALO) and non-English speaking (NES) backgrounds were often assessed as not eligible for NDIS funding or were under-funded and under-supported.
Several service users have been put on the long waiting list for public housing or have experienced high levels of anxiety and risks of homelessness from the volatility of the private rental market resulting from the headlease set up with the social housing providers. A parent of a child with disability with specific high needs expressed frustration at not being listened to by the Department of Housing staff, when he was passed around and put on hold, and when he was told that the waiting list for an alternative housing was more than 10 years. Another person with vision impairment had to move rental properties several times within the last five years due to the unpredictability of the private rental market. He received housing support from a social housing provider under a headlease set up. He said that he felt anguish and torment because he spent a long time to learn how to move around the house each time.
Access to disability advocacy services such as MDAA is another basic human right issue. However, there are people with disability who put up with historical abuse and only belatedly discovered MDAA. High numbers of people with disability from CALO and NES backgrounds miss out on advocacy services because of language and cultural barriers. Long-term funding for disability advocacy services has also been insecure and unstable since the onset of the NDIS.
People not getting advocacy to guide them through the NDIS process can end up without disability support in place and gravitate towards the costly acute care system. The more
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vulnerable within an already marginalised group such as people with disability from CALO and NES backgrounds, newly arrived migrants, women with disability, and people with disability from lower socio-economic backgrounds are more likely to fall through the gaps if disability advocacy organisations become un-funded. Unmet demand becomes an equity issue, not just a human right issue.
RECOMMENDED ACTIONS
Long-term funding of advocacy services
It is indisputable that there is a necessity for disability advocacy services such as MDAA. Government recognition of the importance of disability advocacy should come with appropriate and long-term funding, that is, contracts that have a lifespan of several years rather than just one year. With short term contracts, staff tend to leave the organisation for more secure work which detrimentally impacts the organisation and people with disability.
Disability advocacy services such as MDAA needs to be adequately funded so that they can meet the advocacy needs of people with disability from CALO backgrounds in the whole of NSW. Clients can have a range of impairments and present with a variety of issues. Advocates are required to have an expertise on differing issues within limited resources. The organisational budget should be able to allow contracting out skill set that the organisation does not possess or adequate time to develop partnership with another organisation.
Recognition of complexity of issues faced by people with disability
Using disability advocacy organisations for case management ignores their real value in fulfilling individual and systemic advocacy and can have long-term negative impacts on people with disability. It must be acknowledged that advocacy for disadvantaged groups is a niche specialty.
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NDIS review
The whole NDIS system requires to be re-evaluated and held more accountable. People with disability, particularly those who experience multiple disadvantages, needs to be adequately funded and appropriately supported in a timely manner. Those who miss out on NDIS funded support often fall through the gaps where the wider community services system is unable to provide adequate and appropriate support. It is unacceptable that human rights are repeatedly violated when they are denied access to necessary services.
Public education
Different areas of the community, such as government and non-government agencies and local businesses, need to be educated on their responsibilities, particularly legal universal obligations to provide accessible and inclusive services. Everyone has a role to play in adhering to the human rights legislations.
Would you like to provide supporting material?• No
If you would like assistance to attaching your files, please contact the Royal Commission by calling 1800 517 199 or emailing DRCEnquiries@royalcommission.gov.au.
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