Welcome to the October edition of Summer Foundation Focus.
It’s a particularly busy time of year for us as we ramp up for our Annual Public Forum, which is being held on Thursday 2 November.
Summer Foundation Focus – October 2023
Source: The Conversation – Di Winkler | Photo: Lukas Coch
After more than four years and many traumatic stories, the disability royal commission’s final report was released this morning. Included in its 6,845 pages are 222 recommendations.
Hi my name is Frances.
I’m a mature woman with a disability who is trying to live my best possible life, which has included working and travelling around the world. This has enabled me to work and be involved in some amazing projects. I’m also a carer for someone with a psychosocial disability.
On this episode of Reasonable & Necessary, Dr George speaks with international expert on self-directed disability supports and citizenship, Dr Simon Duffy and NDIS participant and researcher Dr Mark Brown about their new report “Redesigning the NDIS”. The report highlights the need for a sustainable NDIS, built through co-design with reliable personal budgets and peer support at the centre. It was written to stimulate discussion and debate in the disability community about NDIS 2.0, 3.0 and beyond.
Meet Suzie – she has been living with a brain injury for 20 years. She writes about her experience and explains why it is important for people to understand brain injury.
Welcome to our latest newsletter.
It has been a busy few months at the Summer Foundation as we celebrate the launch of a new co-design project. The purpose of the project is to co-design resources to build the capacity of NDIS participants, providers and supporters so they can exercise better choice and control over their supports.
On this episode of Reasonable & Necessary, Dr George speaks with Mitchell Skipsey from the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) and NDIS participant and activist, Felice Vaiani, about NDIS appeals and what to do when your NDIS plan doesn’t meet your needs. This episode is full of lots of great advice, and important things to consider when appealing NDIS decisions.
You can also check out a new resource series created by the Housing Hub and PIAC teams on Challenging NDIS Decisions. These resources cover a range of interesting topics including how to request a review of an NDIS decision that you don’t agree with, how to apply to the AAT for an external review, how to find out the reasons behind an NDIS decision, how to request access to documents from the NDIS and how to ask for more time to apply to the AAT. You can access the resources here: www.housinghub.org.au/resources/article/challenging-ndis-decisions
You can download and listen to the audio version on SoundCloud, iTunes (Apple Podcasts) or Spotify.
Our UpSkill team have created 2 new workshops on the hospital and NDIS interface. These online workshops are partially subsidised and are suitable for people that have basic NDIS and health interface knowledge.
Source: The Courier Mail – Judith Kerr
A Logan man has had a groundbreaking victory against the National Disability Insurance Agency after it tried unsuccessfully to kick him out of his one-bedroom unit and force him into a share house to cut costs.
Welcome to the June issue of our bi-monthly newsletter.
Featuring news about recent significant developments in our work to ensure young people stuck in aged care, or at risk of entering aged care, can make an informed decision on where they want to live.
Tell us about yourself?
I’m almost 36, I have Cerebral Palsy. I enjoy doing diamond artwork, watching series on Netflix and I like to go shopping and meet friends for coffee. I’m a bit of a homebody sometimes.
Source: The Australian – Sarah Ison | Photo: Martin Ollman
The NDIS review is being urged by disability providers to reconsider eligibility criteria for the scheme and prioritise early intervention for autistic children to prevent “increased reliance” on the NDIS throughout their lives, as part of more than 700 submissions made to the review of the $40 billion scheme.
On this episode of Reasonable and Necessary, Dr George speaks with Professor Bruce Bonyhady AM and Ms Lisa Paul AO PSM in this exclusive first interview about the NDIS Review and what the NDIS might look like in the future.
To have your say on the NDIS Review visit www.ndisreview.gov.au
You can download and listen to the audio version on SoundCloud, iTunes (Apple Podcasts) or Spotify.
Source: Disability Support Guide –David McManus
Three disability advocacy groups — Synapse, Youngcare and the Summer Foundation — have penned a letter to National Disability Insurance Minister Bill Shorten, Aged Care Minister Anika Wells and Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth, to address growing concerns of young Australians living with disability being placed into aged care.
Source: The Australian – Sarah Ison | Photo: Martin Ollman
A coalition of disability organisations is warning the government is on track to fail its target of having no young disabled people in nursing homes by 2025 and has called for a clear plan to achieve the goal recommended by the Royal Commission into aged care.
On this episode of Reasonable and Necessary, Dr George speaks with Minister Bill Shorten about the 2023 NDIS budget to understand what the budget will mean for people with disabilities and our families. Is there a cap on the NDIS, will our funding packages be cut and will it be harder to get onto the NDIS? You will get the answers to these questions and more.
You can download and listen to the audio version on SoundCloud, iTunes (Apple Podcasts) or Spotify.
Source: The Conversation | Author: Di Winkler
Just over three years ago, then-Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the federal government would finally solve the issue of young people with disability having to live in nursing homes. The government developed a strategy and committed to getting all young people out of aged care facilities by 2025.
Meet Maha, who recently joined the NDIS. Maha shares her experience and why she chose to make a submission to the NDIS Review.
Welcome to our new-look bi-monthly newsletter – Summer Foundation Focus.
While we may have a new name for our newsletter, our focus very much remains the same. We exist to get young people with disability out of aged care and into appropriate homes.
On this episode of Reasonable and Necessary, Dr George speaks with NDIA General Manager Sam Bennett and NDIS guru Sam Paior about how to manage your NDIS funds efficiently, creatively and innovatively so you can get the best outcomes out of your plan. While we focus on self management, you don’t need to self manage to benefit from this episode. It will be relevant to you if you are plan managed and even if you are agency managed and want to have more control over your supports.
To learn more about self management you can visit:
https://www.ndis.gov.au/self-management
https://www.selfmanagerhub.org.au
You can download and listen to the audio version on SoundCloud, iTunes (Apple Podcasts) or Spotify.
Source: The Age – Henrietta Cook | Photo: Xavier Edwards and his father, Jase, in the Royal Children’s Hospital – Photographer: Wayne Taylor
Xavier Edwards has been stuck in hospital for 12 months and just wants to go home.
But while the quadriplegic teenager is ready to leave, a bureaucratic nightmare means there is no end in sight to his lengthy stay.
We first met Connor during the more than 2 years he waited to get the right SDA approval in his NDIS plan. Late last year Connor finally moved in to his own apartment.
Tell us about yourself
My name is Connor Brookhouse and I am 19 years old. My disability is called Friedreich’s Ataxia. I love animals and video games. I am now living independently in an apartment, but I was living at my mum’s house before I got SDA funding.
Source: The Australian – Sarah Ison
More than 10,000 younger people have died in residential aged care over the past decade, with new figures prompting calls for the government to implement ambitious timeframes to get people under 65 out of aged care and into suitable accommodation.
We first met Daniel almost a decade ago, when he lived in a nursing home. Last year, Daniel moved into his own SDA apartment.
Tell us about yourself
I’m 57 years old and have cerebral palsy. I’m a Richmond Tigers fan and in my earlier days was passionate about martial arts. I love spending time with my family, friends and, of course, my cats. I’m passionate about my advocacy work and hope it improves other people’s lives.
Source: The Conversation – Di Winkler
The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) was designed to be a market-based system that would shift power from government and providers to consumers.
The NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission’s Own Motion Inquiry report demonstrates that for the most vulnerable NDIS participants, there is still a power imbalance, with providers and workers still in charge.