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Disability care watchdog has issued just one fine despite 8000 complaints

By bobb |

Rob Harris

Just one fine has been issued and only one provider banned by the disability watchdog despite more than 8000 complaints being lodged in the past two years.

The scandal-plagued disability sector will get $22 billion from the federal government this financial year, but an independent review found the system left vulnerable people open to harm and neglect.

Government appoints independent assessors to make the NDIS 'fair and consistent'

By bobb |

Caitlin Fitzsimmons

The government is appointing independent assessors to review everyone on the National Disability Insurance Scheme to ensure the funding is fairly distributed and not just given to "those who can pay the most for a report".

There are concerns in the government that wealthier people are getting a bigger share of the taxpayer funding that covers therapy, equipment and other costs of disability, while those in greater need are potentially missing out.

Schools must prepare for 50 per cent rise in students with disabilities: report

By bobb |

Jordan Baker

The number of students with disabilities in the public education system is predicted to grow by 50 per cent in the decade to 2027, and they will need twice as many specialist teachers and thousands more support classrooms.

Six new special needs schools will also have to be built every year if diagnosis and enrolment rates continue and policy settings do not change, modelling by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) for the NSW Department of Education found.

No next term for nine-year-old autistic boy after school blocks return

By bobb |

Adam Carey

At just nine years old, grade 3 student Thomas Brown might be the youngest child ejected from a Victorian school in years.

Thomas has level-two autism spectrum disorder and has had repeated run-ins with another boy at his school, St Leonard’s College, a non-government school in Brighton East. The school ruled this week that he should not return in term four.

Concern in Australia's disability community NDIS assessment reforms could lead to self-harm

By bobb |

Evan Young

This article contains references to suicide.

Disability advocates are concerned new reforms announced to NDIS eligibility decision making could have disastrous consequences.

There is concern in Australia's disability community that an overhaul of the National Disability Insurance Scheme could make it harder for people to access the program and lead to instances of self harm, including suicide.

Australians will now get more help to access the Disability Support Pension

By bobb |

Many autistic people indicate to us that they experience difficulty accessing the Disability Support Pension (DSP). Maybe, a new service will help.

A new online resource has been established to help people navigate the sometimes complex process of accessing the Disability Support Pension.

By Jarni Blakkarly

Natasha Thomson says for the two-and-a-half years it took her to get on the Disability Support Pension (DSP), it felt like every aspect of her life was being scrutinised.

‘Life was a battle until my child was diagnosed with a lesser-known form of autism’

By bobb |

By Claudia Tanner

Pathological demand avoidance (PDA) – characterised by avoiding everyday demands and expectations to an extreme extent – is increasingly, but not universally, accepted as a profile that is seen in some autistic people.

When Francesca Manca’s son Simon was diagnosed with autism, she felt some relief that this would mean she would get the right support for him.

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