Queensland Advocacy Incorporated (Q A I) is an independent, community-based systems and legal advocacy organisation for people with disability in Queensland, Australia.
Our newsletter for August 2020 includes updates from the month on our latest systemic work around the NDIS, including COVID-19 restrictions, our upcoming webinar on alternatives to SIL arrangements for NDIS participants and a snapshot of our NDIS Appeals Support Program.
Click the button below to view the newsletter.
The NDIA have announced the creation of the Participant First Initiative. They want to work with NDIS participants, their nominees, their carers or people with disability who are not NDIS participants to help shape and reform the NDIS.
There are three levels of engagement available depending on how involved you want to be.
HAVE YOUR SAY!
You can find more information on the Initiative as well as the form to register your interest, on the NDIS website here.
The Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) “has joined over 20 major organisations in the disability community in calling on the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) to make public the details of appeal cases it is settling with scheme participants, to promote transparency, accountability, and an overall fairer system.”
QAI has made a submission on the Disability Services and Other Legislation (Worker Screening) Amendment Bill 2020 (QLD) to the Committee Secretary of the Health, Communities, Disability Services and Domestic and Family Violence Prevention Committee.
Below are the Recommendations QAI made to the Committee.
You can read the full submission here.
QAI has released a Position Paper on Supported Independent Living (SIL) arrangements. The below Position Statement is an extract from the paper.
You can read the full document here.
The following position statement is based on the values, beliefs and aspirations that Australians with disability can have a good but ordinary life when they have personal power, control and are
supported to exercise their autonomy and rights as other citizens.
QAI made a submission to the Disability Royal Commission on Group Homes and our concerns for the vulnerable people who live in them.
Below is a short excerpt fromt he submissions introduction followed by links to the full submission and all its attachments.
This submission focuses on the experiences of vulnerable people with disability who do not have the opportunity or voice to express their own wants and wishes directly. Many of the people are often forgotten in places that do not feel like a home, are unsuitable for them and give rise to a series of physical, emotional, and/or sexual abuses that infringe or remove basic human rights. The passage of the Human Rights Act 2019 (Qld), which commenced operated from 1 January 2020, provides, for the first time in Queensland,
You can read the full submission here.
List of attachments submitted:
Attachment A QAI Position Paper A Home of One’s Own
Attachment B QAI Report Legislation and Life
Attachment C OPA Upholding the right to life and health A review of the deaths in care
Attachment D CCQ Deaths in care – Final Expert Report
Attachment E QAI Submission to DSS Thin Markets Project
Attachment F QAI Submission to JSC Inquiry NDIS Workforce
Attachment G QAI Submission to JSC Inquiry SIL
Attachment H Submission to DRC Issues Emergency Planning and Response submission
QAI made a submission to the Disability Royal Commission on Emergency Planning and Response in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and the impacts the restrictions which were put in place had on people with disability.
You can read the full submission here.
Below is a brief excerpt from the submission:
The federal and state governments have implemented never seen before measures to slow the spread of COVID19 (Coronavirus) through the community. These restrictions, whilst necessary, have significant impact on people with disability and cause further disruption and disadvantage to our lives.
QAI and other disability advocacy organisations believe that people with disability have not been properly considered by government decision makers during this process and that more immediate consultation needs to be held with our community so that appropriate support measures can be put in place before further trauma is caused. Systems and processes also need to be clarified so that people with disability also can feedback their experiences during this time.
Our newsletter for May 2020 includes updates from the month on our funding, latest systemic work and a snapshot of our NDIS Decision Support advocacy.
Click the button below to view the newsletter.
19 May 2020
Leading disability advocacy organisation and community legal centre Queensland Advocacy Incorporated (QAI) has welcomed the allocation of further funding by the Queensland Attorney- General, Yvette D’Ath, to support QAI to continue its vital work.
“In continuing to maintain QAI’s core services funding, the Government has recognised the value of the work of this sector, and the value of the work of our centre. We are gratified that we can continue to perform our essential work advocating for the rights and lives of the most vulnerable people with disability in Queensland,” QAI Director Michelle O’Flynn said today. “QAI’s Human Rights Legal Service, our Mental Health Legal Service and our Justice Support Program are all viable by virtue of funding by the Department of Justice and Attorney-General. These services provide vital advocacy to promote, protect and defend the fundamental human rights of very vulnerable Queenslanders.”
The provision of five-year funding certainty is a welcome relief. “Having guaranteed funding for the next five years will be instrumental in assisting us to continue to provide timely, quality advocacy support for vulnerable Queenslanders,” Emma Phillips, Deputy Director and Principal Solicitor of QAI, said today. “Particularly during these uncertain times, we are grateful to be able to provide ongoing advocacy support for our clients and certainty of continued employment for our valued staff.”
QAI also welcomed the recent announcement by the Federal Government of an additional $63 million funding for the Australian legal assistance sector, in response to the increased legal need resulting from the CoVID19 pandemic.
“We are grateful that both levels of government have recognised the importance of providing funding support and certainty for this sector and responded accordingly,” Ms Phillips said. “While very welcome, we note that the funding for this sector remains insufficient in the face of the high levels of need we see every day. There remains an urgent, unmet need for advocacy across a range of areas. We call on the State and Federal Government to further invest in this sector. We know that the provision of advocacy support for marginalised and disempowered Queenslanders is a key safeguard in preventing the escalation of problems and helping to protect people from further vulnerability, such as homelessness.”
Contact: Emma Phillips, Deputy Director and Principal Solicitor, QAI
Phone: (07) 3844 4200
