Category Indigenous

Cultural divide that locks Indigenous people out of key NDIS supports

0 Comments read Disability, Indigenous, NDIS
Kurranulla Aboriginal Corporation NDIS youth group clients. Photo Credit: © Kurranulla Aboriginal Corporation

By Neena Bhandari

Sydney, 20.06.2022 (Hireup): For most Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with disability, the NDIS remains riddled with hurdles that make getting on to the scheme and navigating it difficult.

That’s according to Indigenous disability service providers, including Shanelle Beazley, sector development coordinator at Kurranulla Aboriginal Corporation, which services the Sutherland and St. George areas in New South Wales. She says the NDIS requires sufficient evidence to be satisfied the person needs disability support. For most Indigenous people, getting that evidence is the most challenging part of navigating this scheme.

“Most Aboriginal families have sufficient paperwork acknowledging their disability, such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) or psycho-social disabilities — bi-polar or schizophrenia, but they lack documentation detailing its impact on their everyday lives to satisfy the NDIS,” Beazley adds.

Continue reading →

Challenges providers face in delivering disability supports to remote Indigenous communities

0 Comments read Disability, Health & Science, Indigenous, NDIS
William Tatipata, co-founder and owner of XtremeCARE Australia, with Charlie Kris, an NDIS participant, on Thursday Island in Torres Strait. Photo Credit: © XtremeCARE Australia

By Neena Bhandari

Sydney, 27.05.22 (HireUp): Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are twice as likely to experience disability, and more likely to experience increased barriers to accessing disability supports compared to non-indigenous Australians. In this first of the three articles, Indigenous service providers share the many challenges they face in delivering disability services and supports to their communities in remote, regional and rural areas.

“Many people in rural and remote Indigenous communities still do not know about the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) and its role and functions in disability care,” says William Tatipata, Managing Director of Xtremecare Australia, an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander disability service. “We begin with making them aware of the scheme [how to apply and obtain a disability assessment] and then educating them on the supports and services the scheme offers.”

Tatipata says, “Our people are confused around what services and supports are covered by ‘health’ and what falls under the NDIS. If a diabetic person requires a new diabetes monitor, for example, it is covered by ‘health’. But if the participant’s motor skills are impaired, the NDIS will fund the monitor following a functionality assessment by an occupational therapist.”

Continue reading →

“Aboriginal people need to know that the person making life-changing decisions is listening”

0 Comments read Disability, Health & Science, Indigenous, NDIS
Wayne Wright. Photo Credit: Supplied WW

By Neena Bhandari

Sydney, 10.01.2022 (Hireup): Aboriginal people, especially those living in regional towns, face additional barriers in accessing disability supports and services that suit their needs. Wayne Wright, of Kamilaroi and Wiradjuri descent, shares his experience of living in Orange (NSW) with mitochondrial autosomal dominant optic atrophy (DOA), an inherited optic neuropathy, that has rendered him legally blind and also impacted his hearing and nervous system.

The disease, which he inherited from the maternal side of his family, began to have an impact on his daily life around the age of 16. Determined, he pursued his father’s occupation and drove heavy machinery in the Top End for nearly two decades until his condition began to worsen.

“At 39, my driving license was revoked. I was compelled to choose a different career so I enrolled in a community service course at TAFE. It has opened a rewarding career pathway, but because I only have 20/13 vision and can’t hear properly, I cop a lot of abuse in the community on a daily basis. This has been emotionally draining and detrimental to my mental health”, says Wright.

Continue reading →