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Welfare-to-Work Reforms & Industrial Relations - Update
New WWDA Project - Advancement through Advocacy for Women With Disabilities
WomenSpeak Conference Sydney (11-12 November 2005)
WWDA Telecommunications Working Party - Update
Women With Disabilities Australian Capital Territory (WWDACT) - Inclusion Innovators
Review of the National Disability Advocacy Program (NDAP)
Annie Parkinson, a long-standing member of WWDA, and WWDA's Vice-President for 2003-04, has over 30 years experience in activism in the women's movement, and the gay and lesbian rights movement. She was involved in the development of the ground-breaking publication 'I Always Wanted to be a Tapdancer', a book of stories of women with disabilities published in the late eighties. She has worked as a research assistant in the disability field, and in the 1990s, co-founded an organisation called Access Plus, a group that addressed issues which particularly affected queers with disabilities. She has been actively involved in the establishment and management of several organisations, and has been a member of a number of management committees. Annie has most recently joined the management committee of a small SAAP funded housing organisation which offers short-to-medium term housing for women who have experienced sexual abuse.
Sue Salthouse has worked in the area of social justice since 1996, playing an active role in systemic advocacy for women with disabilities. Sue runs her own Consultancy company which specializes in a range of work in the disability sector - social research, government and non government policy advisor, conference facilitation, project development and management, TAFE teaching, and individual advocacy. Sue is a research and policy consultant to WWDA, coordinator of WWDA's Telecommunications Working Group, and WWDA spokesperson on Industrial Relations and Employment. She has also undertaken a number of research and advocacy projects for WWDA covering a wide range of issues of concern to disabled women. Sue is a representative for WWDA and as a WWDA-affiliate, for the Australian Federation of Disability Organisations, on a wide range of Advisory Groups. She regularly presents papers for WWDA at Conferences and other forums. Sue also convenes Women With Disabilities ACT (a WWDA-affiliate organisation).
Helen Meekosha is Associate Professor in the School of Social Work, University of New South Wales, Australia. She worked as a community development worker for 17 years in the UK and Australia prior to her appointment at UNSW. Her research interests cross boundaries of race, ethnicity, disability and gender. In 1996 she was instrumental in establishing The Social Relations of Disability Research Network, a group of interdisciplinary scholars interested in Disability Studies. Later she went on to be a founding member of the Disability Studies and Research Institute (DsaRI). Helen has written and spoken extensively, from a feminist and a disability perspective on citizenship, human rights, social movements, the media and the body, communications and multiculturalism. Active in the disability movement for 20 years, she has been involved with Women with Disabilities Australia since it inception over a decade ago and as President in 2001 accepted the Australian Human Rights Award in the community category. She is an Overseas Consultative Editor of Disability and Society, on the JORSEN International Advisory, a member of the International Advisory Editorial Board of the Encyclopaedia of Disability 2006 (Sage), and an editor of Volume 4. In June 2005 she was the Noted Scholar in feminist disability studies at the University of British Columbia.
Kate has a keen interest in disability policy and is an enthusiastic campaigner for the rights of women with disabilities. Kate has worked as a Policy & Research Officer for WWDA and has also worked in disability policy with the Commonwealth Government. As a qualified scientist, Kate has also worked at the Australian Museum and taught at the Australian Defence Force. Kate has undertaken a number of representative roles on behalf of WWDA including being the WWDA rep on the Board of the Australian Disability Studies and Research Institute (DSARI).
Pamela lives in Corryong in North East Victoria and has been involved with WWDA for many years, having held positions of Secretary and Treasurer of the Management Committee. Pamela has been involved with several advocacy and disability related groups including the Victorian Women with Disabilities Network, Towong Shire Community Access Committee and the Hume Region DHS Disability Advisory Committee. She is also actively involved with numerous other community organisations in her local area. Pamela has worked in part time paid employment as an outreach employment counsellor with a disability employment agency.
Lina has extensive experience in working as a social worker in the disability field and is well known as a feminist disabled writer and keynote speaker. Her professional career has included carer support; service development in the areas of women's health programs, women's employment services, mentoring and peer support programs, and life coaching. Lina has her own Consultancy company which specializes in community development work, social work, and research particularly in the disability field. Lina has particular interest and experience in stress management for women and the study of psychotherapy, mind mastery and relaxation techniques.
As explained by Ambassador Don McKay in his covering letter to the Chair's Text, although there has been general agreement that disabled women are at a particular disadvantage and their situation needs to be appropriately covered by the Convention, there is no consensus as to how that will be achieved; ie: whether there needs to be a separate Article dealing with women with disabilities, or whether this could be covered in other parts of the draft convention. This fundamental issue needs to be resolved at the next Ad Hoc Committee meeting in January 2006.
In late November 2005, Women With Disabilities Australia (WWDA) provided a written submission to the Commonwealth Government's (through the Department of Family and Community Services and the Attorney Generals Department) request for comments on the 'Chairman's Text for a Comprehensive and Integral International Convention to Promote and Protect the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities'. Due to the short time frame, WWDA's submission was necessarily brief and focused explicitly on provisional Article 6 - Women With Disabilities.
Despite the position of disabled women in Australia, the Australian Government decided at the last Ad Hoc meeting, that it would not support an Interpretive article on women with disability in the Comprehensive and Integral International Convention to Promote and Protect the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities. Women With Disabilities Australia (WWDA) does not support the Australian Government's position on this issue.
WWDA's Submission strongly recommends that the Australian Government heed and represent the views and aspirations of disabled women in Australia by supporting the inclusion of an Interpretive Article on Women With Disabilities in the Comprehensive and Integral International Convention to Promote and Protect the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities.
A copy of WWDA's Submission to the Australian Government on the on the 'Chairman's Text for a Comprehensive and Integral International Convention to Promote and Protect the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities' is now available on WWDA's website. Go to: http://www.wwda.org.au/unconvsub3.htm
If anyone would like a copy of the Submission emailed to them, please contact the WWDA Office via email on: wwda@wwda.org.au
WWDA's submission called for the government to make a number of changes which (in summary) WWDA believes would have enabled more meaningful educational opportunities to be taken up by women with disabilities on the NewStart Allowance (NSA); have enabled assessment of work capability to be more in line with that currently applying to women on the Disability Support Pension (DSP); have made some adjustments to reduce the Effective Marginal Tax Rates (EMTRs) which will reduce take-home pay to ridiculously low levels once income earned reaches the $200 mark; and for a radical review of the distances job seekers with disabilities will be required to travel to a work place.
It is worth noting that all Senators, across all parties, referred to the findings of the NATSEM Reports relevant to the impact of the proposed changes on single parents (Report #1) and on people with disabilities (Report #2) on many occasions during the course of the hearings. The WWDA Submission to the Senate Inquiry is available on the WWDA website. Go to: http://www.wwda.org.au/w2wsen.htm Copies can also be obtained by contacting the WWDA Office.
The Hansard transcript of the day's proceedings is available on application to WWDA. The Committee report (28 November 2005) is available from the Parliament House website. Go to: http://www.aph.gov.au/Senate/committee/clac_ctte/welfare_to_work/report/index.htm.
Women with disabilities continue to be one of the most marginalised groups within Australia. They experience discrimination on the grounds of both disability and gender. In order to improve the status of women with disabilities, it is necessary to advocate at a systemic level on their behalf.
Since its inception WWDA has worked extensively in systemic advocacy, and has made substantial gains in recognition of the low status of women. This has resulted in a constant inflow of requests for women with disabilities to fill representative roles on advisory bodies on a wide range of government and non-government bodies. WWDA has a core group of qualified, experienced members who undertake representational and systemic advocacy work. However, the requests and opportunities for representation far exceed WWDA's capacity to provide skilled representatives. In addition, a reasonable proportion of new members express interest in taking an active role in the organisation. WWDA's rapid growth as an organisation has meant in practice that there has been insufficient resources to undertake the necessary capacity building initiatives to support and strengthen the systemic advocacy work of the organisation. WWDA therefore needs to enhance its capacity to recruit and support its representatives, and empower them to take on leadership roles both within WWDA and in the wider community.
The overall aim and long term goal of the project is to improve the status of women with disabilities through systemic advocacy. The major objective of the Project is: 'to enhance WWDA's capacity to promote the participation of women with disabilities in all aspects of social, economic, political and cultural life.' Specifically, the Project will:
WWDA will keep members informed of the progress of the Project through our regular Monthly Update Bulletins and through the WWDA Discussion List (wwda-discuss). A detailed Project Plan will be developed and will be made available to WWDA members and other interested parties.
WWDA submitted a proposal to the Domestic and Family Violence and Sexual Assault funding program in late December 2005. There is a dearth of information and educational resources about domestic violence which are accessible to women with disabilities. Through its diverse and broad membership, WWDA has identified an urgent need to undertake this Project, which will focus on the development and production of a Resource Manual on Violence Against Women With Disabilities. This Manual will be developed in alternative formats in order to ensure accessibility for all women with disabilities, and will be developed in consultation with the members of WWDA and other key stakeholders. WWDA's proposal has been developed in response to the expressed needs of women with disabilities in Australia, and the lack of information that is available to this group. The Project will be national in scope and has international applicability.
It is anticipated that successful applicants will be announced in February 2006. WWDA will keep members updated on the outcome.
The Global Fund for Women is a grant-making organization supporting women's human rights organizations around the world working to address critical issues such as gaining independence, increasing girls access to education, and stopping violence against women. The Global Fund makes grants to seed, strengthen and link women's rights groups based outside the United States working to address human rights issues. The Global Fund for Women is based in San Francisco USA. In January 2006, WWDA submitted an application for funding to the Global Fund for Women to support WWDA's work and assist with the capacity building initiatives of our organization. It can take between 6-12 months for Applications to be considered, so we will keep members informed of the progress.
The Office for Women (Commonwealth Department of Family & Community Services) has responsibility for monitoring Australia's obligations under CEDAW, including preparation of Australia's report under the Convention (required every four years) and providing advice on new developments relating to CEDAW. Progress with implementation of the Convention is monitored by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women primarily through considering the reports of state parties. Australia's Combined Fourth and Fifth Reports on Implementing the United Nation's Convention Against the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women ('Women in Australia') has been submitted to the Committee and will be reported on at the thirty-fourth session at United Nations Headquarters in New York on 30 January 2006. During this session the Committee will provide feedback to the reporting countries recognizing their progress in implementing the Convention's provisions, as well as highlighting concerns and proposing recommendations on how to address challenges in applying the Convention more widely and consistently.
As well as the Australian Government reporting on its implementation of CEDAW, there is also a 'Shadow Report' submitted. This Report entitled 'Australian NGO Shadow Report on the Implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)', brings to the United Nations the voices of over 1000 women in Australia, from more than 60 consultations. The Report is the culmination of a two year project conducted by the Women's Rights Action Network of Australia (WRANA). The NGO Shadow Report identifies seven key areas of concern for women in Australia, including: Violence Against Women; Leadership and Political Participation; Law and Justice; Housing and Utilities; Health; Education; Economic Security and Employment. WWDA participated in the WRANA consultations and provided reference material to inform the research for the Shadow Report.
The Australian NGO Shadow Report contains a number of specific references to the plight of disabled women in Australia and makes explicit recommendations within the seven key areas of concern as they relate to women with disabilities. For example, the Report calls on the CEDAW Committee to 'Assert to the Australian Attorney-Generals that any uniform approach to the sterilisation and reproductive rights of women and girls with disability should prohibit sterilisation of girls with disability under the age of 18 years unless there is a serious threat to life or health, and prohibit sterilisation of women with disability in the absence of informed consent unless there is a serious threat to life or health.'
In December 2006, WWDA formally endorsed the Australian NGO Shadow Report, along with over 100 other organizations.
A copy of the Australian NGO Shadow Report can be accessed via the WRANA website. Go to:http://www.wrana.org.au/
The Australian Government's Report Combined Fourth and Fifth Reports on Implementing CEDAW 'Women in Australia' is available from the Office for Women (OFW) website. Go to: http://www.ofw.facs.gov.au/international/womens_human_rights/index.htm
Alternatively, if anyone would like a copy of these Reports emailed to them, please contact the WWDA Office at wwda@wwda.org.au.
In response to this work by the Access for All Alliance, the Human Rights & Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) and the Royal College of General Practitioners (RACGP) have agreed to conduct a national meeting of 'interested parties' to help identify the best ways of ensuring a broad availability of couches. The purpose of the meeting is to focus on a number of questions:
In a letter to the Access for All Alliance (December 2004), the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing (on behalf of the Minister for Health, Tony Abbott) stated (in part):
'You may be interested to know that the Government supports the accreditation process for general practice and provides financial incentives for practices to participate, including funding through the Practice Incentives Program (PIP). Practices must be accredited or working towards accreditation against the RACGP Standards for General Practices to participate in the Program. Practices that participate in the PIP receive an annual flagfall payment for joining the Program as well as funding for their participation in a number of other initiatives. In 2003-04, practices received a total of $40million or around $8,600 per practice for this component. This is effectively a payment for undertaking the accreditation process. Part of the purpose of this payment is to offset costs that practices incur in becoming accredited, including practice equipment costs. This recognizes that disincentives to become accredited should be minimized where possible.'
The meeting will take place on February 15 2006 at HREOC in Sydney. Women With Disabilities Australia (WWDA) will be represented at the meeting by Helen Meekosha; Sheila King and Annie Parkinson. WWDA will report back to members on the outcomes of the meeting in forthcoming editions of the WWDA Update Bulletin.
From August 9-27, 2006, MIUSA will host the Third International Women's Institute on Leadership and Disability (WILD 2006) in Eugene, Oregon, USA. MIUSA will select 30 disabled women who are new and emerging leaders from around the world, to come together for an intensive leadership training program to strengthen skills, exchange wisdom and strategies, increase international understanding and improve the lives of women and girls with disabilities around the world.
Young women with disabilities (age 20 - 30), women from rural areas and/or indigenous women with disabilities are especially encouraged to apply. MIUSA is also looking for women with disabilities who are first time visitors to the USA and have NOT participated in a MIUSA WILD program.
Interactive workshops and seminars will focus on:
Workshop participants will live with local homestay families, offering opportunities for cultural exchange and development of intercultural relationships. WILD participants will be responsible to raise funds for roundtrip airplane tickets from home countries to Eugene, Oregon and a program fee, which will cover most food and lodging.
Applications will be accepted from November 21, 2005 to March 31, 2006. Copies of the Application Forms can be obtained from Women With Disabilities Australia (WWDA) via email at: wwda@wwda.org.au or from Mobility International USA via email at: womenleaders@miusa.org
For more information, contact:
Mobility International USA: WILD 2006
Email: womenleaders@miusa.org
Key issues are that:
The next steps will involve more in-depth discussion with relevant ACIF Industry members. The full report on the Forum is available from WWDA.
On 21 December 2005, WWDA received a comprehensive answer, pointing out that there is a charge per transaction to the Service Provider which sets up such a system, and that this is a major reason for Telstra rejecting the WWDA proposal. However, the Telstra Payment can be used in a similar manner at Post Offices (and Telstra Shop fronts). It was further explained that Telstra does allow a reasonable latitude for late payment before fees are charged or letters of demand sent when the customer is using one of the Access for Everyone payment options. Telstra also has in place a Direct Debit by phone option which allows customers to set up their details and then make payments at any time. In this way customers can avoid the scenario of a regular Direct Debit putting their account in debt when the debit date coincides with a time when the account balance is not sufficient to cover the charge.
You can view all the Access for Everyone initiatives online at: http://www.telstra.com.au/accessforeveryone/index.htm.
The proposal raised immediate concerns amongst the hearing impaired, as they have already experienced a prolonged loss of access to many telecommunication services when digital mobile phones replaced the analogue ones. Telstra is working with various individuals and organisations to ensure that the new network provides excellent service, allowing SMS, MMS (photo/video transmission), video message bank, and video calling/AUSLAN. The new system will therefore offer enhanced services.
The project was funded with an Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Innovation Grant, and had a community inclusion component, in that a fitness class for women with disabilities was run concurrently with a similar class for able bodied women in the 55-60+ year old age group. In the former class, the 15-20 participants had individual fitness programs using a range of simple equipment including weights and dynabands. A team of volunteers provided the one-on-one assistance where it was needed. In the second class, one instructor was sufficient for group exercises. At the conclusion of classes the two groups integrated for a healthy soup lunch, eaten while listening to a guest speaker. Topics ranged from money management to massage. At first interaction was stilted. Many of the women with disabilities had endured considerable periods of social isolation, whereas many of the able bodied women had never had friends with disabilities and were at a loss as to how to 'break the ice' and interact.
The success of the project was such that the Australian Capital Territory Women's Centre for Health Matters (WCHM) decided to change the focus of the work it does, and develop programs which target marginalised groups of women. For its part, the YWCA invited Louise Bannister to train as a fitness instructor and join their staff in 2006. Enthusiasm and talent as a motivator are more important that the ability to actually do the exercises. Louise will graduate from the Australian Institute of Fitness in April, and intends to complete an additional month's course to qualify as a personal trainer.
The success of our integrated fitness program has us inspired. But the degree of unmet need in the community is huge. We are currently brainstorming ways of how to make such programs sustainable and independent of Grant funding - a challenge not yet solved. However our innovation was also a source of inspiration to the judging panel of the ACT Inclusion Awards. We were thrilled when we won the 'Best Community Project' from a field of 16 nominees, and even more pleased to win the overall prize (from a field of more than 40 nominees), the 'ACT Chief Minister's Inclusion Award for 2005'.
In 2006, the WWDACT-WCHM-YWCA team aims to expand our program to other locations and make each one sustainable. This will mean working collaboratively with a number of other organisations and businesses, so that the 'inclusion' message spreads further afield. Of course the Awards in themselves are not essential, but until barriers to full participation in community no longer exist, they are an incentive we intend to use to encourage others - individuals, organisations, businesses, governments instrumentalities, to change to a more inclusive way of operating.
The 'Giving Australia' Report shows that the giving of money, goods and services by individuals and business in 2004 reached an estimated $11 billion (excluding the amount donated to the Tsunami appeals. This giving comprised of $7.7 billion from individuals and $3.3 billion from businesses. The Report found that the USA generates more than twice the level of giving than Australia.
A copy of the full Report can be obtained via the Prime Minister's Community Business Partnership Website. Go to: http://www.partnerships.gov.au/index.shtml. As at January 19 2006, there was only a PDF version of the Report available, however WWDA has requested that the Department provide accessible versions of the Report on its website.
WESNET's recent report, 'Women's Refuges, Shelters, Outreach & Support Services in Australia: from Sydney squat to complex services challenging domestic & family violence', provides an assessment of the progress that has been made in expanding accommodation and support options available to women experiencing, or escaping, domestic violence and what options or directions might be pursued in the future. The research documented in this report measured progress through a national survey of services; a survey of 'key informants' from all States and Territories; special data analysis by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare; consultations with women in each State and Territory; and visits to services. The emerging picture, as a result of this 2003 survey of 137 crisis accommodation, outreach, information, support and advocacy services is of complex domestic and family violence services, responding to high demand.
The Report is available via the WESNET Website. At this stage, only a PDF version of the full Report is available, although an HTML version of the Executive Summary is provided. For more information about the Report, or WESNET, you can contact:
Women's Services Network (WESNET)
PO Box 1579 Canberra City ACT 2601
Phone 02) 6247 1616 Fax 02) 6247 1616
Email: wesnet@wesnet.org.au
Web: www.wesnet.org.au
Copies of the NEDA Strategic Plan can be obtained by contacting:
NEDA
PO Box 381, Harris Park NSW 2150
Ph: (02) 9687 8933 TTY: (02) 9687 6325
Fax: (02) 9635 5355
Email: office@neda.org.au
Web: www.neda.org.au
For more information, you can contact the Conference organisers:
ACQ Conference + Event Management
PO Box 995, Indooroopilly QLD 4068
Ph: 07 3725 5588 Fax: 07 3715 8166
Email: events@acqi.org.au
Web: www.acqconferences.com.au
For more information, you can contact:
Social Enterprise Partnerships
2 Elm Street, North Melbourne VIC 3051
Ph: 03 9326 4481 Fax: 03 9326 8030
Email - vic@partnerships.org.au
Web: http://www.partnerships.org.au/index.htm
The Australian Government has recently announced another Review of the National Disability Advocacy Program. Social Options Australia has been appointed by the Commonwealth Department of Families and Communities to undertake an independent evaluation of the National Disability Advocacy Program. The purpose of the evaluation is to assess the current way in which the Program operates against its stated goal and objectives. The areas to be evaluated are the extent to which the individual organisations funded through the NDAP provide their services effectively; use of measures and indicators to assess and maintain performance standards; and the funding system. The Consultants undertaking the Review will be undertaking a limited consultation process, which will consist of focus groups and written submissions. Closing date for written submissions is 28 February 2006.
For more information on the Review, the dates and venues of focus groups, along with key questions for the evaluation, can be obtained by contacting:
Joan Mantziavas
NDAP Submissions Coordinator
Social Options Australia
Ph: (08) 8177 2061
Fax: (08) 8357 5254
Email: joan@soa.com.au
Women With Disabilities - Still 'At A Loss' - By Sue Salthouse (November 2005)
Paper written and presented by Sue Salthouse on behalf of WWDA at the 'What Women Want'
Workshop - A Workshop to Examine the Legislation to Enact the Federal Government's Proposal
for Reform of Industrial Relations and its Welfare-to-Work Strategy; Friday 11 November 2005, Canberra.
http://www.wwda.org.au/w2wnov05.htm
'Perfect in My Imperfection' - By Lina Pane (November 2005)
Paper written by Lina Pane, who has expertise in the disability field as a leader, community
development worker, social worker, researcher and published disabled feminist writer and speaker.
Lina is actively involved with Women with Disabilities Australia (WWDA) as a member of the management committee.
Go to:
http://www.wwda.org.au/perfect.htm
'The Puppetry of Poverty' - By Sue Salthouse (November 2005)
A Paper written and presented by Sue Salthouse on behalf of Women With Disabilities Australia (WWDA)
at the 'Fair Go Going Gone? Public Policy and the Re-framing of Values' Conference; Melbourne, November 2005.
Go to: http://www.wwda.org.au/perfect.htm
'Jumping through Hoops' - Welfare and Industrial Relations Reform implications for women with
disabilities - By Sue Salthouse (July 2005)
A Paper written and presented by Sue Salthouse on behalf of Women With Disabilities
Australia (WWDA) at the 'What Women Want' Workshop - A Workshop on the Effect of the
Federal Government's Recent Policy Changes on Women of Working Age. July 2005, Canberra.
Go to: http://www.wwda.org.au/w2wjuly05.htm
WWDA Submission to the Australian Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee on the
Employment and Workplace Relations Legislation Amendment (Welfare to Work and other Measures)
Bill 2005 and the Family and Community Services Legislation Amendment (Welfare to Work) Bill
2005 (November 2005).
Go to: http://www.wwda.org.au/w2wsen.htm
WWDA Submission to the Australian Government on the on the 'Chairman's Text for a
Comprehensive and Integral International Convention to Promote and Protect the Rights and
Dignity of Persons with Disabilities'(November 2005)
Go to: http://www.wwda.org.au/unconvsub3.htm
WWDA Submission to the Commonwealth Government's 'Review of the Commonwealth Disability Strategy' - Stage
Two (September 2005)
Go to: http://www.wwda.org.au/cdssub2.htm
WWDA Information and Referral Directory
The WWDA Information and Referral Directory is being regularly updated and expanded. It contains an
extensive amount of information about services and organizations across a wide range of issue areas.
Just some examples of what you can find include:
And much, much more.
Go to: http://www.wwda.org.au/portmain.htm
This site was developed by Carolyn Frohmader for Women With Disabilities Australia.