The promises in Labor’s Disability Plan provide welcome initiatives for children and young people with disability.
Children and Young People with Disability Australia (CYDA), the national representative organisation for children and young people with disability is calling on all parties in the upcoming election to make commitments to increase equity for children and young people with disability.
Welcome promises from Labor include:
- Committing to improve the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), including reviewing the NDIS design, operation and sustainability and the promise to bring forward a planned review of the scheme.
- A commitment to co-design changes to the NDIS with people with disability
- Increasing the number of people with disability on the National Disability Insurance Agency senior executive and Board
- Building evidence with $15 million over three years for a National Disability Research Partnership and consider the need for a National Disability Data Asset.
- Funding for a Disability Employment Centre for Excellence
- Doubling existing support for individual and systemic advocacy with an additional $10 million over four years
- Creating central coordination for disability across the Australian Government
Mary Sayers, CYDA CEO said these announcements provide Labor’s commitment to improving the NDIS, continuing the bi-partisan support for the scheme. There are a range of other initiatives that will benefit people with disability, including central coordination for disability, which was shown to be lacking by the Disability Royal Commission during the COVID pandemic.
Quotes attributable to Mary Sayers, CEO, Children and Young People with Disability Australia.
“The majority of NDIS participants are aged under 25 years, and we hope all parties make similar commitments and continue to invest in improving the NDIS”
“The NDIS is currently extremely difficult to navigate for children and young people with disability and their families, with many struggling to access and juggle the complexity of the scheme. These announcements to streamline the NDIS, based on co-design are welcome”
“Young people with disability are one of the most disadvantaged cohorts in the labour market because of the barriers they face. We welcome commitment for a Disability Employment Centre for Excellence to build the capacity of employment services to better support young people with disability, who consistently tell us these services are not meeting their needs and letting them down”.
“While there is a commitment for a National Autism Strategy, what is missing is a National Plan for Inclusive Education that covers all disability groups. Children and young people with disability are routinely excluded in their education, through suspensions, expulsions and gatekeeping where they are told they are not welcome at their local school. We will be looking for all parties in their education announcements to commit to a National Plan for Inclusive Education”.
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Media contact: Mary Sayers (she/her) Chief Executive Officer Contact: 0407 126 351 or Email: [email protected]
