Brett Holland
Which of the following statements best describes you?
- I’m a person with disability
- I’m a parent / guardian or other family member of a person with disability
- I’m a researcher or academic
During the first stage of consultations we heard that the vision and the six outcome areas under the current Strategy are still the right ones. Do you have any comments on the vision and outcome areas being proposed for the new Strategy?
Economic security: all persons experiencing disability should have access to a health care card for discounted medicines under the pbs. It is a great strain on family finances when living on a reduced income and having to pay full price for scripts until the Medicare safety net is reached. This occurs to “reward” people who have worked all their life and supported their family by paying thousands of dollars per year for income protection insurance.
Rights protection: life insurance companies cannot be allowed to continue to deny people access to their services just because they are in hospital and cannot communicate (in coma) and cannot fill in a form due to being unable to read or write. AIA refused to advise my wife that she could get a QCAT order so she could start the claim. AIA refused to even start a claim on the phone when I awoke, and couldn’t read or write.
Learning and support: schools and education authorities can no longer be allowed to suspend students due to behaviours inherent in their disability, and cannot deny access to grades just because a student experiences disability.
Education systems need to provide all necessary supports to students in mainstream settings instead of “main dumping” without putting support systems in place.
What do you think about the guiding principles proposed here?
Universal Design principles need to be applied to systems, not just physical structures.
What is your view on the proposal for the new Strategy to have a stronger emphasis on improving community attitudes across all outcome areas?
I support this.
All public managers (school Principals, Hospital management etc) should have KPI that addresses inclusion goals and be held accountabl for meeting them.
How do you think that clearly outlining what each government is responsible for could make it easier for people with disability to access the supports and services they need?
It would stop the buck passing between levels of government and could address border issues for those accessing services across state borders.
What kind of information on the Strategy’s progress should governments make available to the public and how often should this information be made available?
Non-identifying information should be available at the local level. For example, the information from schools provided under the NCCD. Parents and students should have access to this information on a local level.
What do you think of the proposal to have Targeted Action Plans that focus on making improvements in specific areas within a defined period of time (for example within one, two or three years)?
These targets should include management accountability through their performance reviews (of managers).
How could the proposed Engagement Plan ensure people with disability, and the disability community, are involved in the delivery and monitoring of the next Strategy?
Needs to be regular lie to reviews, as was being done through the DSS client evaluations.