-->
How the listen button works By clicking the Listen button the text will be read out in full. To stop this, click the button again. To listen to certain parts of the text, simply highlight the text to hear the audio. More information
A+
large
A−
small
invert
colour
Group 3
reset

Living Well – Summer Foundation Lived Experience Newsletter – October 2024

Welcome to the first instalment of Living Well – our new Summer Foundation Lived Experience newsletter.

Meet some of our lived experience contributors, and hear about what we have been working on.

CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO THIS NEWSLETTER

Meet Bridget

My name is Bridget Doyle and I am a casual employee with lived experience of disability for the Summer Foundation and have been working with them for 2 years on different projects.
Read More

Meet Paul

Paul works as a casual employee with the Summer Foundation and helped design this new newsletter. He shares a bit about his housing journey.
Read More

What we are working on

With funding from the NDIA Quality and Safeguards Commission, we are working with 12 NDIS participants and supporters to create resources for people in supported accommodation to enable feedback and make complaints.
Read More

Welcome to our September newsletter.

It’s a busy and exciting time for the Summer Foundation as we refocus our work on designing better housing and living solutions for Australians with disability who need access to 24/7 support.  

The Summer Foundation wants to set a new standard in housing and living supports that lifts expectations of what a good life and future look like for the more than 40,000 people with disability with high support needs. Young people in residential aged care will always be important to us, and are part of this group of people. 

You can read more about this here and we are looking forward to sharing more details about our new focus at the Summer Foundation Annual Public Forum on 17 October. 

The panel of housing and living experts for the Forum has been locked in. They will delve into the topic Fulfilling the NDIS promise in housing and living: Innovation starts today (read more here). We have almost 800 people registered to attend the Forum so far. It’s not too late to book your ticket for the hybrid online and in-person event here.

It is also a significant time of change for the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) with the retirement of the Minister for the NDIS, Bill Shorten, and the passing of the NDIS Amendment (Getting the NDIS Back on Track) Bill 2024. 

We pay tribute to Minister Shorten’s work in the creation of the NDIS and his dedication to improving the lives of people with disability. 

Read details about the legislative changes here and listen to Dr George’s Reasonable & Necessary podcasts discussing the issue.

I hope to see you at the Annual Public Forum at this pivotal time for our organisation and the disability sector.

Di Winkler CEO and Founder

Subscribe to our Summer Foundation Focus updates

View all articles in this issue

NDIS Amendment Bill is now law

The NDIS Amendment (Getting the NDIS Back on Track) Bill 2024 was passed by Parliament on 22 August 2024. The Bill has received Royal Assent and will come into effect on 3 October 2024.
Read More

Rallying for accessible housing

More than 40 people with disability and supporters rallied outside the NSW Parliament on 6 August calling on state leaders to end housing discrimination in NSW.
Read More

Source: The Conversation – Dr Dianne Winkler and Dr George Taleporos

You might think having a list of things that are “in” or “out” seems like a pragmatic way to contain the costs of the NDIS. But a lengthy government proposed list of exclusions could force people with disability to use more costly services. It might also exclude people from mainstream services and force them into segregated settings. This is contrary to the very intent of the NDIS – to promote the participation and inclusion of people with disability in the community.

In an article for The Conversation, Summer Foundation CEO, Dr Di Winkler and Dr George Taleporos argue that prescriptive lists can stymie independence and innovation.

Read the article

Read More

Source: ABC News – Sam Nichols

ABC News have reported on Building Better Homes rally against the NSW government, as we call for measures to ensure new residential dwellings in the state meet mandatory “Silver Level” Livable Housing Design standards.

“We deserve to have our government uphold our basic human rights as those who deserve housing,” Julie Charlton told the ABC. Julie is a wheelchair user who was born with spina bifida, and will attending the rally in Sydney’s CBD today.

In 2022, the National Construction Code introduced a mandatory standard in accessibility. However, NSW is one of two jurisdictions that has chosen not to opt in.

A new campaign has been launched to stop the New South Wales Government discriminating against people with disability and older Australians.

The NSW Government is one of only 2 state governments that have refused to sign up to mandatory accessibility standards for new houses.

Read the article

Building Better Homes is a coalition of peak bodies and agencies working to secure mandatory accessibility standards in new developments across Australia.

Read More

A new campaign has been launched to stop the New South Wales Government discriminating against people with disability and older Australians.

The NSW Government is one of only 2 state governments that have refused to sign up to mandatory accessibility standards for new houses.

Read More

This content is password protected. To view it please enter your password below:

We are pleased to welcome Chief Operating Officer, Jess McKay, to the Summer Foundation. Jess is a CPA qualified accountant and has close to 10 years’ experience as a COO. She comes to us with experience in the technology sector, as well as the aged care and not-for-profit sector. 

Read More

As part of the Summer Foundation-La Trobe University Research Programme, in recent months we have published several journal articles and reports, and presented at academic conferences. 

We’ve been looking at issues such as hospital discharge, accessible housing regulations, NDIA decision-making, support coordination, and the impact of living in SDA. 

Read More

Individualised living arrangements are as unique as a fingerprint – at this recorded webinar we discuss how they can work to give people the opportunity to live the way they want.

At this webinar, you hear from Ned, who recently moved out of his family home and is living with 2 supportive housemates. You learn about Ned’s home, his living arrangement and learn about how NDIS participants and their supporters can get started with their own unique arrangements. 

Many people with disability need support to live independently in the community, but don’t want to live in a group home. At this webinar you can build your understanding of individualised living, learn how the principles of person-centred planning together with the opportunities of the NDIS help create a way forward.

This webinar was delivered live on Monday 11 October 2021. 

About UpSkill: UpSkill is a Summer Foundation program that offers professional development to support coordinators and NDIS allied health professionals so people with complex needs can be supported by skilled professionals to live well in the community.  Find out more at: https://summerfoundation.org.au/project/upskill/ 

About Housing Hub: The Housing Hub is a website that lists over 1,500 accessible houses, apartments and other properties that may be suitable for people with disability to rent or buy.  It is an initiative of the Summer Foundation. 

About Bridge It: Bridge It Homes Connect  – creative paths to safe, connected homes for people living with disability.

About SDA Information Sessions are being delivered online around Queensland and Western Australia to assist housing providers gain a better understanding of housing options available to NDIS participants including Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA).

Read More

Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start writing!

The State Government recently changed its Hospital Visitor Directions to allow “a disability worker to enter or remain at a hospital for the purpose of providing a disability service to a patient with a disability”.

The change in policy came as a result of one of our storytellers, Sam Petersen working together with the Summer Foundation’s Policy Manager Dr George Taleporos, to drive change in this area.

Read More

The COVID-19 pandemic has made feeling and staying connected more important than ever before.

Our new Staying Connected web page is providing the opportunity for people with disability to share their stories.

You can visit the webpage to find out more here.

Summer Foundation storyteller Michelle has welcomed the opportunity to spend quality time with her family and to learn something new.

“COVID-19 hasn’t really impacted me in a bad way and has actually been a lovely opportunity to spend quality time with my family. I have really missed my support workers though,” Michelle said.

Read More

The publication earlier this year of Kim MacIntosh’s book “Full Circle – Overcoming Disability through Faith” is just the latest in an impressive list of life goals achieved by the Summer Foundation storyteller.

Read More

In 2009 Penny suffered a stroke. Four years later a motor vehicle accident caused further injury.

Through her NDIS plan Penny was funded for home and car modifications, support hours and equipment.

Her first plan increased her independence and social interactions – she says:[it was] a good package and opened up my world. I felt liberated.

However, at subsequent reviews items were removed. Penny’s informal supports had also broken down in the meantime and despite needing additional support hours, her package was reduced. Getting less support at home resulted in more frequent hospital admissions
for Penny.

Penny has been forced to pay for the community nursing and items not covered by health or disability funding out of her own pocket, which means less money for food and other essentials.

Penny has worked in the disability sector for a number of years, so is well informed and has a good understanding of the sector, but she too has had to work tirelessly to navigate the health and disability systems.

Penny will be speaking about her discharge experiences with the NDIS at the upcoming Annual Public Forum
on October 11.

The NDIS is still working out what is reasonable and necessary for people with disability and complex needs. Difficulty accessing appropriate health supports is one of the reasons young people are admitted to aged care.

So we were pleased with the decision by the Administrative Appeal Tribunal (AAT) in relation to Mazy v. the NDIA. Mazy requested the provision of care by a registered nurse to administer regular insulin, which was declined by the NDIS. After an internal review, Mazy took her case to the AAT. The AAT found that it was a reasonable and necessary support for a registered nurse to administer her insulin (in accordance with s 34(1) of the National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013 (Cth)). For details of the decision: http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/cases/cth/AATA/2018/3099.html

If you need access to nursing care to live well in the community you may want to print this decision to take to your planning meeting. Or, if your plan does not meet your needs, consider seeking advocacy support to request a review. To find an advocate see https://disabilityadvocacyfinder.dss.gov.au/disability/ndap/

Source: Sydney Morning Herald | Author/Editor: Rachel Lane

[button icon=”fa-laptop” text=”View online” link=”https://www.smh.com.au/money/super-and-retirement/how-the-ndis-helps-young-people-living-in-aged-care-20180223-p4z1fo.html”][/button]
[button icon=”fa-share” text=”share” link=”https://summerfoundation.org.au/how-the-ndis-helps-young-people-living-in-aged-care/”][/button] ‎