Media Release

People with disability, and their organisations, across Australia are calling for urgent action, again, to keep us safe during the current COVID-19 pandemic.

Over 70 national, state and territory disability organisations have come together to urge the National Cabinet to take the urgent action we need to keep people with disability free of the COVID-19 virus.

Today, we are releasing our letter to the National Cabinet, with the ten vital points for action. We are hearing more and more each day from people with disability who are being directly impacted by the virus, and the measures taken to deal with it.

Australians with disability represent some of the most excluded of all Australians in relation to the impacts of coronavirus. Our needs remain largely and are rarely if ever, mentioned in any press conference, media release or government conversation about coronavirus.

At the same time, many people with disability are particularly at risk from COVID-19, because of barriers that exist to our inclusion, and our need for ongoing support.

We are deeply concerned by the lack of specific and targeted measures from all levels of Australian Governments to proactively protect and support people with disability, their families, carers and support persons from the impact of COVID19.

We believe that each of the following list needs to be urgently addressed now, to safeguard the lives of people with disability.

• Guarantee continuity of supports for all people with disability.
• Expand criteria for COVID19 testing to include people with disability and their support persons.
• Urgently improve information and communications to be inclusive of all people with disability.
• Take measures to remove the barriers to adequate healthcare for people with disability.
• Include recipients of the Disability Support Pension (DSP) in the Coronavirus Supplement of $550 per fortnight.
• Urgently define what constitutes an ‘essential service’ for people with disability.
• Ensure effective measures are in place to recognise and respond to violence, abuse, exploitation and neglect of people with disability.
• Prevent discrimination of students with disability in the provision of education.
• Ensure the human rights of people with disability in congregate settings are upheld.
• Adequately resource Disabled Peoples Organisations (DPOs) and Disability Representative Organisations (DROs) to enable support of, and advocacy for, people with disability.

Read the full open letter here.

Organisations endorsing the open letter:

• First Peoples Disability Network
• Women with Disabilities Australia
• People with Disability Australia
• National Ethnic Disability Alliance
• Children and Young People with Disability Australia
• Australian Federation of Disability Organisations
• Disability Advocacy Network Australia
• Deaf Australia
• Autism Aspergers Advocacy Australia
• Deafblind Australia
• Deafness Forum of Australia
• Brain Injury Australia
• Inclusion Australia
• Blind Citizens Australia
• Down Syndrome Australia
• Physical Disability Australia
• Every Australian Counts
• Disability Resources Centre Advocacy
• Ideas
• Disability Justice Australia
• Enhanced Lifestyles
• National Mental Health Consumer and Carer Forum
• Imagine More
• Advocacy Western Australia
• Midland Information Debt and Legal Advocacy Service
• Melbourne East Disability Advocacy
• Queensland Advocacy Incorporated
• Family Advocacy
• Grampians Disability Advocacy
• Syndromes Without A Name
• Advocacy Tasmania
• Southwest Advocacy Association
• Victorian Rural Advocacy Network
• Assert 4 All
• Colac Otway Region Advocacy Service
• Disability Information and Advocacy Service
• Gipplsland Disability Advocacy
• Community Resource Unit
• AED Legal Centre
• ANTaR
• Centre of Research Excellence in Disability and Health
• People with Disabilities Western Australia
• Association for Children with Disability Tasmania
• Association for Children with a Disability Victoria
• All Means All
• Queensland Collective for Inclusive Education
• Southern Disability Advocacy
• Rights Information and Advocacy Centre
• Regional Disability Advocacy Service
• Youth Disability Advocacy Service
• National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services
• Spinal Cord Injuries Australia
• Barwon Disability Resource Council
• North East Citizen Advocacy
• Julia Farr Youth
• Leadership Plus
• VALID
• Women with Disabilities Victoria
• Citizens Advocacy Perth West
• Speakout Advocacy
• Developmental Disability WA
• Women with Disabilities ACT
• Council for Intellectual Disability
• Citizen Advocacy Sunbury
• South Australian Council on Intellectual Disability
• Parent to Parent Queensland
• People with Disabilities ACT
• Aspergers Victoria
• Disability Advocacy and Complaints Service of South Australia
• Disability Advocacy Victoria

More information:

El Gibbs

Director, Media and Communications, People with Disability Australia

0408 682 867

media@pwd.org.au

To view the full open letter (PDF)

To view the full open letter (Word)

To view the full open letter (Plain English)

To view the full open letter (Easy Read)

The open letter is available as Auslan here.