The Inclusive Communities Fund’s investment in community capacity is an important initiative to drive disability inclusion.
However, CYDA is deeply concerned that consultation on the Fund is occurring alongside significant cuts to NDIS Social, Civic and Community Participation.
With the NDIS reforms expected to result in many children and young people losing or being excluded from access to the Scheme, it is vital that supports outside the NDIS are carefully designed to meet their needs.
Of the estimated 241,000 participants expected to be removed from NDIS, 64 per cent are aged 18 or under.
In CYDA’s submission, we call on governments to:
- Prioritise funds for co-design and delivery of programs in ways that make sure children and young people with disability are included and kept safe from harm
- Use person-centred, rights-based, sustainable criteria to determine suitable activities for the Fund
- Expand Local Government Associations (LGA) Disability Action Plans to include youth mentors
- Embed rights-based approach in organisational governance structures and implement evaluation frameworks at the outset of the program
You can download the PDF and Word versions of our full submission using the buttons above.