- Posted on 16 Aug 2021
- 43-minute read
UTS is proud to launch the Disability Research Network – driving interdisciplinary and evidence-based change to benefit society, led by people with lived experience
The federal government is looking to change NDIS eligibility and planning policies to make the process 'simpler, faster, and fairer.'
But rather than make the system fairer, it made it harder for people with disability to convey their needs, denied supports, and deepened inequalities across wealth and culture.
In this session, El Gibbs, Professor Simon Darcy, Dr George Taleporos, Fiona Given and Dr Linda Steele discuss what needs to happen for Australia’s NDIS systems and policies to promote a fair, inclusive, and thriving society.
If you are interested in hearing about future events, please contact events.socialjustice@uts.edu.au.
I want to stress that to make it simpler and fairer, we need to go back to basics and think 'what knowledge do people have about their needs?' Well, they're the experts. We know our needs better than anyone else. So what I want to put to the NDIS is an idea that sounds a bit radical, and that's the idea of self-assessment. George Taleporos
Disabled people are a mighty force. We have to fight all the time. When we fight together, we can really change things. There is a long, proud history of disabled people fighting their way out of institutions, fighting to have rights, fighting to be included, and I think that the NDIS under estimates us and it's at their peril. El Gibbs
In order to facilitate greater choice and control, we need to stop warehousing people into group homes and day programs and making them beholden to large disability services. This is effectively a continuation of the old system. All people with disability should be given the opportunity to live their own lives as opposed to clustering people together according to their needs. We should be accommodating their preferences. Fiona Given
Listen to and work with the disability community, read the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities to see what the NDIS Act signs up disability services and the NDIA to do. And listen and engage with what's coming out of the Disability Royal Commission. Dr Linda Steele
Speakers
El Gibbs is a disabled person, a disability advocate and an award-winning writer with a focus on disability and social issues. El works in communications and systemic advocacy, and is currently writing a book about the NDIS.
Professor Simon Darcy is a researcher at UTS Business School, and co-lead of the UTS Disability Network. His work examines accessibility and inclusive practice for people with disability, together with social impact and sustainability. He has a long history of involvement with the disability community in advocacy and on volunteer boards. As a person with a high level spinal cord injury and a power wheelchair user, he has an insider's perspective on how to empower people with disability to forge their own destiny.
Dr George Taleporos has more than 20 years’ experience in the disability field, focused on advocacy, human rights policy and practice, service development and management. He is the Policy Manager of the Summer Foundation, Chair of the Victorian Disability Advisory Council, a member of various high-level advisory bodies, and the host of the podcast Reasonable and Necessary.
Fiona Given is a Research Assistant at UTS. Fiona sits as a general member on the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal, and on the boards of Side by Side Advocacy and Assistive Technology Australia. Fiona completed her Arts/Law degree at Macquarie University in 2003.
Dr Linda Steele is a socio-legal researcher at UTS Faculty of Law, working at the intersections of disability, law and social justice. She has been researching disability law and social issues for over a decade, having previously been a solicitor with the Intellectual Disability Rights Service. Dr Steele is an academic leader of the UTS Disability Research Group and a co-convenor of the UTS Feminist Legal Research Group. Dr Steele is the author of Disability, Criminal Justice and Law.
This event is jointly hosted by UTS Centre for Social Justice & Inclusion and the Disability Research Network.