A newsletter for
people interested in issues relevant to people from NESB
with disability and their families and carers. Produced
by the Multicultural Disability Advocacy Association of
NSW (MDAA).
If you have any queries,
questions, comments or any other contributions please
contact us by email (mdaa@mdaa.org.au)
or phone (02) 9891 6400.
NEW at
MDAA
Commonwealth funding for a new individual advocacy service – south east Sydney
In April 2009 the Commonwealth Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs invited organisations to apply for new funding in the National Disability Advocacy Program within five regional and metropolitan areas across Australia.
We are pleased to announce that MDAA is one of the organisations which will share in over $500,000 of funding, to provide individual advocacy for people with disability living in south-eastern Sydney:
| Organisation |
State |
Local Government Area |
Multicultural Disability Advocacy Association of NSW |
NSW |
Botany, Randwick, Waverly, Woollahra, Rockdale, Hurstville, Kogarah and Canterbury |
People with Disabilities Australia Inc |
QLD |
Sunshine Coast Regional Council area |
Ethnic Disability Advocacy Centre |
WA |
Broome and Derby-West Kimberly Shires |
Uniting Care West
and Sussex Street Community Law Service |
WA |
Wanneroo, Joondalup and Stirling City Council areas |
Darwin Community Legal Service |
NT |
East Arnhem Shire |
MDAA will auspice the new service, South East Sydney Advocacy (SESA), which will be located in the Rockdale-Kogarah-Hurstville area. We expect SESA to start in February 2010.
Jobs at SESA
2 Individual Advocates – South East Sydney Advocacy (closing date 27 November 2009)
- Newly created opportunities for skilled individuals with a strong commitment to social justice
- Dynamic working environment in expanding organisation
- SACS Grade 3 with generous salary packaging
- Ongoing support, training and flexible working conditions
South East Sydney Advocacy is a newly established service, auspiced by the Multicultural Disability Advocacy Association, working with people with disability and their families.
Two permanent positions available, one full time (37.5 hrs/wk) and one part time (30 hrs/wk with the possibility of additional hours) depending on annual funding.
Applicants should have a commitment to social justice, demonstrated experience in advocacy, good communication and community development skills.
For an information package call Judith on (02) 9891 6400. Further enquires to Diana on (02) 9891 6400. Applicants must address the selection criteria in the job description. Applications close 27 November 2009.
MDAA is an EEO employer and an affirmative action policy applies to people from NESB with disability.
Joint Committee on Migration: Inquiry Migration Treatment of Disability
The Committee is holding a public hearing in Sydney on Thursday 12 November.
When: 9.30am to 4pm, Thursday 12 November
Where: Corinthian Room, Sydney Masonic Centre, 66 Goulburn St, Sydney.
We encourage everyone to attend the hearing, to show the Committee how important this issue is for the community. From 3.30pm the Committee has allocated 25 minutes for anyone to stand up and speak for up to 5 minutes, to tell their story or make a comment to the Committee. The full day’s program is available from the Committee’s website at http://www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/MIG/disability/hearings/Program03.pdf
MDAA made a submission to the Inquiry which should be available shortly from the Committee’s website at http://www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/mig/disability/subs.htm
We thank MDAA members, consumers, staff and other interested organisations for their contributions to our submission. Here is a summary of our submission and our recommendations.
Summary and Recommendations
This submission summarises the migration experiences of people from NESB with disability. It is based on the work of MDAA over the past 12 years. Our comments are informed by our individual advocacy with people from NESB with disability, their families and carers. Migration has been one of the top five matters requiring advocacy assistance each year since MDAA started in 1997.
MDAA’s experience is that although people from NESB with disability enrich our society and add to its diversity, there are major obstacles for us to get a visa to migrate to Australia. Potential migrants, offshore refugees and humanitarian applicants with disability are refused a visa if we are assessed as not meeting the health requirement in the Migration Act 1958, because we may cost the Australian community too much, or may prevent the access of Australian residents to health and community services.
In our experience these assessments of costs are based on unwarranted assumptions about the nature of disability and the likelihood of our use of health and community services. They take no account of our particular circumstances or the contributions we and our families can make to the economic and social well-being of the Australian community.
Australia’s discriminatory migration policies and practices separate families and put people’s lives on hold. In doing this they create inhumane and unnecessary barriers to resettlement. Family separation is extremely detrimental psychologically and financially.
The health requirement is legal only because the Migration Act is exempt from the Disability Discrimination Act 1992. Relevant reports by the Productivity Commission (2004) and the Australian National Audit Office (2007) confirm this. This discrimination ignores Australia’s international treaty obligations under several United Nations conventions, particularly the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) 2008; the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) 1989; and the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees 1951 and its Optional Protocol 1967.
Under these Conventions people with disability have the same rights as anyone else to seek Australia’s protection or to apply to migrate here. Under the CRPD their applications cannot be treated differently because they have a disability. It should be enough that the person meets the criteria for the particular visa they have applied for: skilled; family reunion; business; refugee or humanitarian.
In our view the health requirement in the Migration Act 1958 should be abolished. Regardless of human rights considerations, it is clear that administering the health requirement is not worth the cost. Fewer than 1% of all visa applicants are rejected because they fail the health requirement. In our opinion the funds used to administer the health requirement would be better spent on providing health and community services.
MDAA believes that a human rights framework which focuses on social inclusion is the best framework for assessing the contributions of potential migrants and offshore refugees with disability. This framework underpins the CRPD which emphasises the rights of people with disability to have the same kind of life as other people in the community. This puts the responsibility squarely on governments (including Australia’s) which have ratified the CRPD to remove the barriers standing in the way of people with disability participating fully in society.
Social inclusion requires communities, governments and policy makers to change their attitudes to people with disability. In migration law and policy this means eliminating discriminatory attitudes and legal provisions such as the health requirement which shut out applicants with disability.
Of the 25 countries with refugee resettlement programs Australia appears to be the only one with a requirement which, in practice, bars offshore refugees with a health condition or disability deemed to present a significant cost to the Australian community.
MDAA makes the following recommendations which, if adopted, would remove the current discriminatory practices in migration policy, promote the rights of people with disability and fulfil Australia’s international obligations.
Recommendation 1: Remove the exemption of the Migration Act 1958 from the Disability Discrimination Act 1992.
Recommendation 2: Abolish the health requirement in the Migration Act 1958.
Recommendation 3: Rescind the Australian Government’s reservation to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability and its Optional Protocol.
Recommendation 4: Make the necessary legislative and administrative changes to reflect Australia’s international treaty obligations.
Recommendation 5: Create a subclass for refugees with disability with a target of 10% of offshore refugee places, additional to the current resettlement places, and ensure that refugees with disability have access to information about this.
Recommendation 6: Review the Department of Immigration and Citizenship’s (DIAC) administrative procedures to ensure that they do not discriminate against people with disability.
Recommendation 7: Provide clear guidelines and administrative procedures for ministerial intervention.
Recommendation 8: Require DIAC to develop a disability action plan under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 including disability awareness training for DIAC staff.
'Raising kids together' DVD and Information Kit – award winner
This project, funded by DADHC, was a collaborative effort between MDAA, Information and Cultural Change (ICE) and Multicultural Health Communication Services (MHCS), to develop an information and resource kit for families from Afghanistan, Iraq and Sudan who have a child or young person with disability.
The Information Kit was launched on Monday 8 December 2008 and won the Government Award at the National Multicultural Marketing Awards in Sydney on 2 November 2009.
The Community Relations Commission of NSW has conducted the Awards for the past 20 years. They were presented this year at a dinner hosted by the NSW Minister for Citizenship and Fair Trading, Virginia Judge.
Congratulating the winners of the Government Award, the Chair of the Commission, Stepan Kerkyasharian said:
"The Department has taken a serious issue and employed state-of-the-art multicultural marketing techniques to deliver information and guidance, vital to the well-being of families from Sudan, Iraq and Afghanistan, who are already facing significant settlement challenges."
Part of the project was to produce a booklet and a DVD - Raising Kids together: Information for families who have a child or young person with a disability - in Arabic, Assyrian, Dari, Dinka and Juba Arabic.
The Department had solid partners in this project - the Multicultural Disability Advocacy Association, Information and Cultural Exchange (ICE) and the Multicultural Health Communication Service.
The first challenge was that many in the targeted group have only limited access to media and often limited literacy, even in their first language. Bi-lingual community workers were part of the project, taking part in face-to-face discussion to give reassurance and to overcome the challenges of limited literacy. They also spoke at community meetings.
Radio messages and interviews also backed up the face-to-face meetings as another means of overcoming the difficulties created by limited literacy.
While advertisements were placed in Arabic newspapers, editorial material was also published by English language suburban newspapers.
The DVD tells real life stories using a combination of drama and documentary styles to convey information relating to disability. It also employed storytelling techniques to deal with stigma, cultural taboos, discrimination, shame and isolation.
It also explores the sensitive issue of the impact that having a child with disability in a family can have on applications for permanent residence, as well as attitudes about disability.”
The Kit has the DVD and the information booklet in 6 languages: Arabic, Assyrian, Dari, Dinka, Juba Arabic and English.
You can order a kit by ringing MDAA on 1800 629 072 or 9891 6400.
Media Release
PAUL LYNCH MP
MINISTER FOR AGEING
MINISTER FOR DISABILITY SERVICES
MINISTER FOR ABORIGINAL AFFAIRS
6 November 2009
Disability kit wins national award
An information kit produced for families of children and young people with a disability from Afghanistan, Iraq and Sudan haswon a National Multicultural Marketing Award.
The kit, Raising kids together, was produced by the NSW Government in conjunction with the Multicultural Disability Advocacy Association of NSW, NSW Multicultural Health Communication Service and Information and Cultural Exchange.
Minister for Disability Services Paul Lynch said the kit had beaten entries in the Government Award section from departments across Australia.
He said that Raising kids together was an initiative of the Government's $1.3 billion Stronger Together program for the expansion of disability services.
“The kit has been extremely well received by community groups across NSW since it was launched last December,” Mr Lynch said.
The kit comprises an information booklet in English translated into Arabic, Assyrian, Dari, Juba Arabic and Dinka and a DVD with voice over in the five community languages.
Minister for Disability Services Paul Lynch said the kit described common disabilities such as Autism Spectrum Disorder, sensory disability, brain injury and the various forms of physical disability such as paraplegia, polio and arthritis.
“It also stresses the importance of people with a disability being able to fully participate in the community,” Mr Lynch said.
“As well as giving valuable advice on working with health professionals, the kit also lists several agencies and explains the various types of support they provide and shows how people with limited knowledge of English can access the Translating and Interpreter Service,” he said.
“It also contains important information on people’s rights and responsibilities when accessing disability services,” Mr Lynch said.
“When using the DVD families will be able to choose a voice-over version of the text in their own language,” he said.
MEDIA CONTACT: Andrew Williams 0408 602 936
CIWDA has moved
City Inner West Advocacy service has moved to Ultimo and is now co-located with IDEAS.
The new contact details for Individual Advocates Stephen and Mirela are:
phone: 9281 8699; 9281 4533
fax: 9211 1366
Suite 8, Level 1, 330 Wattle Street, Ultimo NSW 2007 (postal address and office street address)
State News
‘In Control Australia’– Forum on self-directed support
You are invited to an upcoming In Control Australia forum entitled How can Self Directed Support work in practice?
The forum will showcase the transformation of the disability service system in Victoria where all support packages have been streamlined into one program with one set of guidelines, one planning process and one funds approval process.
Speakers include:
- Lara Friedman: a person with disability managing her own support package
- Maureen McLeish: a parent getting direct payments on behalf of her daughter
- Lisa Minchin: Victorian Department of Human Services – on new opportunities
- Jim Burns: CEO Melba Support Service – on the impact on a large support service
- Peter Shergold: Centre for Social Impact UNSW – on the ethical and economic imperative for self directed support
- Judy Harwood: ADHC NSW – on initiatives in packaged support in NSW
People with disability and their families get more choice and flexibility including the ability to direct their own support with a financial intermediary taking care of legal and financial obligations.
The forum details:
Date: Tuesday 24 November 2009
Time: 10am sharp – 3.30pm (Registration from 9.30am)
Venue: Parliamentary Theatrette, NSW Parliament House, Macquarie St, Sydney.
RSVP: philippa@family-advocacy.com or (02) 9869 0866 by 17 November
Cost: $30 for staff of services or organisational representatives; $10 for people with disability and families, GST included
Lunch will be provided.
IDEAS NSW EXPO 2009 Access for All
IDEAS EXPO 2009 will be held at Merimbula RSL Club on 3 and 4 December 2009.
The Expo is the largest Disability Expo to be on the South coast and will showcase over 35 suppliers of equipment and major organisations that support people with disability, older people, their families and carers to live independent lives. People with disability and their supporters are able to visit the event free of charge to see the latest equipment available, learn about the latest disability issues and how they are being dealt with, and what services are available that they can access.
IDEAS Expo is an opportunity for IDEAS NSW to bring together some of the major providers of equipment and services in a regional location. This assists people with disability living in those areas to see the latest in the field without having to travel to a major metropolitan centre. “It is part of our services as an information provider” said Bob Gilholme. “We pride ourselves on bringing to the rural areas an event comparable to the major events held in metropolitan areas as we believe people with disability are entitled to this information where they live, rather than having to travel to the major cities to access it.
3 December is International Day for people with disability. It is a day of celebration of disAbility and IDEAS NSW is pleased to convene this expo at this time to support and promote the rights of people with disability. The theme for this years expo is Access for all. Access for all is an important goal in the rights of people with disability to be part of a community and supports the rights of people with disability to be included in the mainstream activities of the community. As such, a theme throughout the expo will be the addition of sporting demonstrations and activities that will show and support the ability of people with disabillty to be included in everyday activities of the rest of the community. “
In addition to the expo itself a series of workshops will be held. Run by the leading peak advocacy organisations these workshops are an opportunity for people living in the south eastern part of NSW to gain first hand knowledge on how to deal with issues they face in their own communities on a daily basis.
The team at IDEAS NSW looks forward to welcoming people at the event. For further information please contact the IDEAS | Disability Info Line on Freecall 1800 02 9904.
For further information please contact: Diana Palmer 02 6947 3377
Contact:
Toll Free: 1800 029 904
Web: www.ideas.org.au |
Administration:
PO Box 786
TUMUT NSW 2720
ABN: 73 877 964 532 |
Metro Office:
Suite 8, Level 1, 330 Wattle Street
Ultimo NSW 2007
Phone: (02) 9211 1300
Fax: (02) 9211 1366
Email: ideasmetro@ideas.org.au |
Regional Office:
81 Capper Street
TUMUT NSW 2720
Telephone: (02) 6947 3377
Facsimile: (02) 6947 3723
Email: ideasregional@ideas.org.au |
IDEAS NSW – Job Vacancy
Advocacy Development Officer
This role will assist with the development and maintenance of IDEAS NSW Disability Advocacy Brokerage program being conducted in the Illawarra, South West Sydney, and Southern Highlands. The program objective is to meet the needs of people with disability who require assistance to protect their human, legal and service-user rights through the provision of information and referral to advocacy service providers for high quality advocacy services.
Do you:
- Have experience in planning, implementing and evaluating community development and self advocacy strategies?
- Have qualifications in an appropriate field of expertise or equivalent experience, preferably in Disability, Advocacy and/or Workplace Training?
- A strong commitment to the rights of people with disability, and their inclusion in Australian society?
- Want to work flexible hours (Part-time 28 hours per week) SACS Award Grade 3, with a generous salary sacrifice option.
To apply for the position you MUST obtain an employment package and address the full selection criteria. Packages are available by contacting Michael Cerrone (02) 9211 1300 or MichaelCerrone@ideas.org.au
Applications close 23 November 2009.
Commonwealth News
Diversity in Health 2010 Conference
The right to health will be a key point of debate at next year’s Diversity in Health 2010 Conference. The conference, a premier event on the Australian health calendar, will explore ways to reduce health inequities for migrant and refugee communities.
Mr Demos Krouskos, chair of the conference advisory group, said: “While health is highly valued in our country, there is an anomaly between the rights we think we have and the rights provided for in the Australian environment. This identifies a vulnerability in health planning and service delivery, especially for disadvantaged populations.”
Diversity in Health 2010 will feature three broad themes.
- Right to Health will debate key policy directions such as health literacy, health disparities and preventative health.
- Cultural Integrity in Service Delivery will consider ways to tailor services to the cultural and linguistic needs of clients.
- Modern Multiculturalism will explore how multiculturalism can be reframed to ensure a more integrated community.
Speakers and papers are being sought from fields such as disability, aged care, sexual health, mental health, refugee health, language services, arts and culture, problem gambling, chronic illness and many others.
Health practitioners, community service providers, academics and government agencies are all invited to participate.
The call for papers for Diversity in Health 2010 opens on 10 November 2009. For more information visit www.diversityinhealth.com.au.
News from across the World: International
2010 Pacific Rim International Conference on Disabilities – call for papers
Planning for the 2010 Pacific Rim International Conference on Disabilities is underway.
When: Monday and Tuesday, 12 and 13 April 2010
Where: Convention Center Honolulu, Hawaii.
Proposal abstracts are due: by Friday, 18 December 2009
There are four topic areas outlined below. There are many other topic areas described on the website www.pacrim.hawaii.edu
1. Disability Studies and Disability Culture
Global Approaches to Disability Studies and Disability Culture
Disability Studies and Disability Culture approach disability from various points of view: social and cultural interpretations include socio-cultural, historical, political and rights-based perspectives.
Where is ‘disability studies’ at the present, how is it evolving and what will it look like in the immediate and distant future?
Conference organisers in Hawaii welcome proposals in any area of Disability Studies and Disability Culture, including:
- Current developments and national and global approaches in Disability Studies programs
- Historical and contemporary perspectives about Disability Studies
- Present and future impacts of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on Disability Studies and Disability Culture
- The role of the Internet and technology - including social networking, distance learning and online research tools - on Disability Studies research and dissemination
- The intersections, including integration and collaboration, between Disability Studies and Universal Design for Learning principles
- The ways in which Disability Culture has informed Disability Studies
For more information, contact: Megan Conway, mconway@hawaii.edu, 808-956-6166; Steve Brown, sebrown@hawaii.edu, 808-956-0996; Norma Jean Stodden, nstodden@hawaii.edu, 808-956-4454; or Kelly Roberts, robertsk@hawaii.edu.
2. Independent Living
Multicultural and Multiregional Approaches
“The true meaning of independence is that it is a concept and value which applies to every living human being. If people with disabilities, in our own quest for equality, convey this message into meaningful political, social, economic, and cultural action then we will have the immense pleasure of positively impacting every phase of human activity.”
Steven E. Brown “Independent Living: Theory and Practice” (1994)
Living with disability is a fact of life that almost everyone in every society, culture and location will experience, either personally, or through family or friends. This year, this topic area will focus on the meaning and practice of independent living in an increasingly diverse world.
Conference organisers encourage international submissions addressing your culture, cultural settings and/or country specific or regional contexts, including the Pacific models of independent living. They would like to hear about:
- Multicultural approaches to independent living
- Pacific Islander experiences of independent living
- 21st century visions of living independently
- Action plans for making independent living a reality
- Cross cultural comparisons of independent living and disability experiences
- How can the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities be used to advance independent living
- Barriers, including civil rights, employment or education, to achieving independent living
- Critical areas of concern and potential solutions in the independent living movement within cultural and global contexts
For questions or more information, please contact the topic leaders: Steve Brown, sebrown@hawaii.edu, 808-956-0996; Lillian Gonzales Brown, eccentriclil@gmail.com; Lydia Igitol, clicnmi2005@yahoo.com; and Yevgeniy Tetyukhin, yevgenitet@hotmail.com.
3. Youth Advocacy
Youth Leadership and Empowerment
“Nothing About Us, Without Us.” These words echo through the mouths of many a disability rights advocate. As the first wave of disability advocates makes various transitions, young people have an opportunity to continue the dialogue for equality and justice and formulate an action plan. The Youth Leadership and Empowerment topic area is seeking proposals written and targeted for young people.
Conference organisers look forward to your proposals in the following areas:
- Youth leadership models: Experiences, successes, and best practices
- Non-profit sector: Youth-driven programming, organizational capacity building, fundraising and development
- Support systems: Best practices in mentoring and peer support
- Cultural and international perspectives on youth leadership and empowerment
- Youth action plans: Strategies for economic justice, political and social inclusion, meaningful employment opportunities, and access to a quality education
Organisers encourage creative contributions that steer away from the traditional paper presentations, as the target age range for this strand is age 13-30. Consider dialogues, conversations, and workshops that direct youth in a process, bringing forth issues in your community to begin an international dialogue and networking experience that can only be found at the Pacific Rim International Conference on Disabilities.
For questions or more information, please contact the topic leaders: Nathan Say, nesay@hawaii.edu 808-957-3041; and Steven Brown, sebrown@hawaii.edu, 808-956-0996.
4. Disability Rights
Dual focus on Children’s Rights and Poverty Alleviation
Implicit in many of the topic areas this year is the question, “How do we ensure the well-being of our children and young people?” The healthy development of children is crucial to the future well-being of any society, and yet worldwide, children with disabilities encounter numerous external challenges which hinder their ability to be full participants. Many of these challenges are clear violations of basic human rights, which have been clearly defined in a number of UN conventions.
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and the Optional Protocol came into force on May 3, 2008. They aim to ensure that persons with disabilities enjoy full human rights on an equal basis. The CRPD gives specific attention to the rights of the child. Meanwhile, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) is now celebrating 20 years and has been ratified by 193 nation-states. As in other prominent UN human rights conventions, the UNCRC reflects our collective ethical and moral impulses and our commitment to provide the world’s children with disabilities with the life each human being deserves.
The Disability Rights topic team is putting the spotlight on children with disabilities, engaging participants in deliberating as to how we might promote a child’s well being through rights-based approaches.
The team are seeking proposals which address the following:
- How the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities can be used to advance the rights of the child with disabilities
- Proposals as to how State Parties can, or could, take measures to ensure the “full enjoyment by children with disabilities of human rights and fundamental freedoms on an equal basis with other children”
- Rights-based approaches in ensuring early prevention, quality care, early intervention and inclusive primary education of children with disabilities
- Rights-based approaches in meeting the needs of poor and minority children with disabilities and children who are at risk of debilitating diseases
- Best practices for operationalizing international human rights norms and standards into equitable policy and advocacy initiatives for children with disabilities
- Best case examples of advocacy, campaigns, policies, and initiatives in protecting children with disabilities during war and the protecting children before and during war so that a war-related disability is not acquired
The team are also seeking proposals in the following areas:
- Presentations that address poverty reduction strategies, policies and best practices in international, national, regional and community settings
- Human rights perspectives on how poverty and disability reinforce each other to perpetuate systematic inequalities
- Advocacy campaigns and strategies towards implementing the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- Presentations which utilize rights based approaches in securing the economic, social, cultural, and political well being of persons with disabilities.
For questions or more information, please contact the topic leader: Robert Stodden, stodden@hawaii.edu; Steve Brown sebrown@hawaii.edu; Charmaine Crockett, cccrocke@hawaii.edu.
The conference organisers encourage imaginative approaches to these and other issues you may want to suggest and welcome submissions in all presentation formats. Please read the criteria for each format.
You may submit proposals online (http://www.pacrim.hawaii.edu/submissions/) or send your proposals via email to prcall@hawaii.edu.
For general questions about the Call for Proposals or the Conference 2010, please contact Charmaine Crockett at cccrocke@hawaii.edu.
Some sobering facts
- According to UNICEF, 30% of street youths are disabled.
- Mortality for children with disabilities may be as high as 80% in countries where under-five mortality as a whole has decreased below 20%, says the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development, adding that in some cases it seems as if children are being “weeded out”.
- 90% of children with disabilities in developing countries do not attend school, says UNESCO.
- Research indicates that violence against children with disabilities occurs at annual rates at least 1.7 times greater than for their non-disabled peers.
- For every child killed in warfare, three are injured and permanently disabled.
- Women and girls with disabilities are particularly vulnerable to abuse. A small 2004 survey in Orissa, India, found that virtually all of the women and girls with disabilities were beaten at home.
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