For Indigenous people – Is the NDIS lost in translation?

07/07/2022 0 Comments read Disability, Indigenous, NDIS

Joseph Archibald, Manager Aboriginal Service Development at Windaan, which services the Gumbaynggirr, Dunghutti and Birpai Nations that covers the mid-north coast of NSW. Photo Credit: ©Windaan

By Neena Bhandari

Sydney, 07.07.2022 (Hireup News): For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with a disability, there are multiple obstacles when trying to access the right NDIS supports. That’s according to Joseph Archibald, Manager Aboriginal Service Development at Windaan, who says a lack of trust and understanding of the scheme, along with the scarcity of culturally appropriate services, are the main barriers.

“For example, a family has had three members on NDIS plans for the past three years, but they haven’t utilised a single dollar from any of the plans. They don’t have a trusted relationship with any of the services within the community, where they live, so they don’t reach out to them,” says Archibald. “When they have reached out to services, the conversation isn’t translated or articulated in a way they can relate to, so no progress is made.”

Windaan services the Gumbaynggirr, Dunghutti and Birpai Nations that covers the mid-north coast of NSW, providing services in remote, regional and interstate locations.

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Challenges providers face in delivering disability supports to remote Indigenous communities

29/05/2022 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.”

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

10/01/2022 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.

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