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Queensland Advocacy Incorporated

Queensland Advocacy Incorporated (Q A I) is an independent, community-based systems and legal advocacy organisation for people with disability in Queensland, Australia.

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  • Home
    • Latest News
    • Events
  • About Q A I
    • About us
    • Contact
    • Our people
    • Membership
    • Opportunities
    • Support us
    • Funding & acknowledgments
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Testimonials
  • Systems Advocacy
    • All Submissions
    • Submissions to the DRC
  • Individual Advocacy
    • Human Rights Legal Service
    • Mental Health Legal Service
    • Justice Support Program
    • NDIS Appeals Support
    • NDIS Decision Support Pilot
    • Disability Royal Commission
    • Education Advocacy Service
    • Social Work Service
  • Resources
    • Organisational documents
    • Legal information and guides
    • Media
    • Papers and presentations

National Disability Strategy – QAI Submission to DSS

Last month, the Department of Social Services commenced the second phase of consultations seeking feedback on a Position Paper to develop a new National Disability Strategy.

QAI made several recommendations:
QAI recommends: 1. The addition of the word ‘all’ before ‘people with disability’ in the proposed vision for the Strategy, so that it aims to achieve ‘An inclusive Australian society that enables all people with disability to fulfil their potential as equal members of the community’.

2. The inclusion of a person-centred approach to the ‘Involve and engage’ guiding principle, where policy processes engage with and listen to people with disability at all stages, people with disability are provided accessible information and opportunities for feedback and where implementation is person-centred and takes into account the needs and wishes of individuals.

3. The removal of ‘where possible’ in relation to the ‘Design universally’ guiding principle, removing any ambiguity and ensuring it is a minimum standard of practice.

4. The return to the previous Strategy’s order of outcome areas, with ‘economic security’ listed as the third not first policy domain.

5. Accept and adopt proposals for a federal Human Rights Act to extend the human rights protections now afforded to all Queenslanders to every single Australian, removing disparities in access to justice between state and territory jurisdictions and ensuring a coherent approach to implementation of the Strategy and Australia’s obligations under the CRPD.

6. Adoption of the Senate Committee’s recommendation that the government develop best practice guidelines for consultation with people with disability.

7. The development of a multi-layered plan to address community attitudes at the personal, organisation and government levels.

8. The development of mandatory disability action plans in all jurisdictions.
9. The creation of an Office of Disability Strategy to act as a coordinating agency for the Strategy under the auspice of the Disability Reform Council. Ensure the Office of Disability Strategy can integrate the key findings from the Disability Royal Commission into the Strategy over the coming years.

10. Further clarification regarding the interface between the NDIS and mainstream services. Update the current publicly available information to ensure the content is easy to understand, including the development of Easy Read versions.

11. Widening the scope of the Strategy to encompass non-government entities. For example, place greater emphasis on addressing media bias toward people with disability, seek to remove barriers to employment created by employers, continued and increased funding for individual disability advocacy services and community legal services, and working to ensure the dominance of the social model of disability and the supported decision-making model in the health setting. 12. Biannual, mandatory reporting by all levels of governments regarding progress against an outcomes framework to be developed in consultation with people with disability. QAI considers the International Day of People with Disability a suitable milestone on which to report progress. QAI further recommends that governments be required to issue ‘statements of compatibility’ when creating new policies, to signify compliance with the Strategy’s vision and guidance principles.

13. Consultation of people with disability on the development of all Targeted Action Plans, with clarification as to whether state and territory jurisdictions will have tailored targets under the outcomes framework to reflect varying levels of progress under the six domains. Regular program evaluations to become mandatory for states and territories. Collaboration with non-government entities to develop industry specific Targeted Action Plans is also recommended.

14. The employment of people with disability at all levels of government decision-making to ensure people with disability are actively involved in the delivery of the Strategy. A well-funded and

image of Senator Ann Ruston on tv screen
The current National Disability Strategy was the first ever commitment by all Australian governments

well-resourced disability advocacy sector is integral to this.

Read all the submission here

  • 2 Nov, 2020
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  • By Admin
  • Latest news, Submissions
Qld train

Disability Standards for Accessible Public Transport Submission by QAI

The Guardian online recently reported that in the UK, buses and taxis will lead a self-driving public transport push.1 All very high-tech but not a word on how people will hail, alight or access these buses and taxis. Direct assistance at boarding / alighting will not be possible unless the units are crewed with a customer service operator — which begs the question of making them driverless.

Regrettably, these innovations are streaking ahead of the legal framework that requires their accessibility. Innovation brings wonderful benefits to people with and without disabilities alike, but at times the innovators appear to have no clue about accessibility. If there is no regulatory framework the innovators all too often come up with exclusionary designs, and then at great expense have to retrofit those designs for access.

QAI’s primary concern about the DSAPT (‘the Standards’) is that they do not require transport providers to include people with disability in the planning and design process from the beginning. Part of the reason for this lies in the essentially voluntary participation in and compliance with the Standards. There are few repercussions for transport providers that do not comply.

Click here to read the full submission

  • 17 Dec, 2018
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Australian Legacies of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights – 70 years on

A public forum on Human Rights Day

EVENT DETAILS

Monday 10 December 2018 10:00am – 3:00pm

Ballarat Technology Park Central

110 Lydiard St South Federation University, School of Mines Ballarat (SMB) Campus Ballarat, Victoria 3350

DESCRIPTION

Seventy years ago, on 10 December 1948, world leaders came to together to sign the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It has ever since shaped the delivery of community services in Australia, providing a common vocabulary and framework for understanding the role of citizens and individuals in shaping our legal and community sector systems.

Australia played a prominent role in shaping the Declaration, through the efforts of Colonel William Roy Hodgson, who was part of the eight person group – along with Eleanor Roosevelt – that drafted the original Declaration.

For this public session on World Human Rights Day we return to Hodgson’s place of education, the former School of Mines in Ballarat, now Federation University Australia, to remember and acknowledge the leadership role that Australia has played historically in championing human rights.

This is not the story of one man, however. The session will provide a platform for exploring the various ways in which the concept and operation of ‘human rights’ are playing out in Australian society.

With sessions focussing on contemporary law, disabilities, education and children’s rights, join community advocates, researchers, community sector, legal professionals, and citizens in discussing and planning for a future that honours the legacy of rights.

A collaboration between Australian Lawyers for Human Rights and the Collaborative Research Centre in Australian History, at Federation University Australia.

#HumanRights70 #StandUpForHumanRights

PROGRAM

1. Legacies of Human Rights – Australia and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights – 70 years ago today

  • Professor Andrew Hope, Dean, School of Arts, Federation University
  • Professor Keir Reeves, Director, Collaborative Research Centre in Australian History, Federation University

2. Human Rights in Australia today

  • Australian Lawyers for Human Rights (ALHR)
  • Keynote Speaker tbc

3. Human Rights of People with Disabilities: from conventions to practice – how far have we travelled?

  • Dr Marg Camilleri (Federation University). Justice responses to disability
  • Dr Rachel Hale (Federation University). Upholding human rights principles in the oversight of disability and correctional services

4. Education and access – in discussion with students, teachers and advocates

  • Dr Verity Archer (Federation University)
  • Joanne Humphries (Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare)
  • Rhiannon Smith (Federation University, and Department of Health and Human Services)

5. Rights, children, and records – institutional Care and Human Rights

  • Assoc. Prof. Jacqueline Wilson (Federation University)
  • Frank Golding (Vice-President, Care Leavers’ Australasia Network)
  • Assoc. Prof. Joanne Evans (Monash University)
  • More to be confirmed

6. Advocacy, reform and next steps for Human Rights in Australia

  • Emma Phillips, Australian Lawyers for Human Rights (ALHR)

Federation University’s Technology Park Central is a fully accessible venue. If you have any disability access or support requirements in order for you to participate in this event, please contact CRCAH@federation.edu.au

For any questions please contact CRCAH@federation.edu.au

Federation University’s SMB Campus is in the Ballarat Central Business District, at the end of Lydiard St South. It is within walking distance of the Ballarat Railway Station, follow this link for a map of the route from the Station. Street parking is available in surrounding areas, or in the nearby Central Square Carpar

For more information please visit Eventbrite and/or facebook.

  • 16 Nov, 2018
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Inquiry into the Future of Petitioning in the House

Submission by QAI: Inquiry into the future of petitioning in the House

  • 8 Nov, 2018
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Minister Bailey- What about our trains?

Open Letter to Transport and Main Roads Minister Bailey


NB: We are frustrated. Minister Bailey has not responded to our request for a timetable for making the new NGR trains accessible. They need revised braile signage, grabrails, widened corridors, accessible toilets, middle-of-train-guards etc etc


16 May 2018

Dear Minister,

RE: Scheduling date for NGR access rectification

On 27 September 2017, Queensland Rail (‘QR’) and Transport and Main Roads (‘TMR’) made a joint application to the Australian Human Rights Commission for temporary exemptions under s 55 of the DDA and s 33A.1 of the Transport Standards in relation to the New Generation Rollingstock (‘NGR’) Train Project.[1] In the application, QR/TMR included a detailed rectification timetable.

The rectification work proposed at page 6 of the Queensland/TMR exemption application includes:

(i) Reconfiguration of the unisex accessible toilet module to meet dimensions and improve functionality in line with DSAPT

(ii) (ii) Dividing the NGR fleet of 75 trains in two, including:

a. An Interurban fleet of 35 trains (two unisex accessible toilet modules per six-car train) – adding a second unisex accessible toilet module to the MA car, so that allocated spaces in both the MB and MA have a DSAPT-compliant access path to a toilet module
b. A suburban fleet of 40 trains (no toilets) – remove the unisex accessible toilet module from the MB car

(iii) Reconfigure seating and allocated spaces in both accessible cars to meet access path width requirements between the assisted boarding door and accessible facilities

(iv) Other changes, including:
a. additional priority seating in new locations,
b. revised train signage (wording and braille),
c. additional grab/handrails and
d. additional accessible buttons and controls where appropriate to maximise functionality.
I am writing to seek your commitment to a commencement date for the NGR rectification process. The Queensland Government’s decision to run non-compliant conveyances[2] is a disappointment to people with disabilities and contrary to the intent of the Queensland Rail Accessibility Action Plan 2014. We ask you to restore the faith of people with disabilities by restating your commitment to accessibility and an NGR rectification timetable.
***
In addition, we have consulted with a number of people with disabilities about their NGR experiences, and give you the following NGR feedback:
• NGR trains lack an on-board guard stationed in the middle of the train.
A middle guard can better assist people who have mobility impairments (for example, people with vision impairment, using wheelchairs, the elderly, parents with prams) to board and alight. This is a particular necessity at platforms with no staff on duty. Employing on-platform help for the life of the trains is costly and less effective.

• Defective on-board technology limits communication between passengers at the emergency help-point and the on-board guard.
More than once, passengers attempting to use the help-point have been unable to communicate with the guard.

• Braille sign positioning
Designers have placed some of the braille signage awkwardly. For example, at the on-board help-point some of the braille is below adult waist height, and below where it is on the older trains. Consistency of position on all conveyances is critical for people with vision impairments.

• Console position
The microphone on the help-point console only works if the speaker’s mouth is directly adjacent to it; again, this is not vision-impairment friendly, and could have been avoided had TMR consulted with people who have a full range of relevant impairments.

• Not fully accessible stations
Almost half of Queensland Rail’s train stations are not fully accessible, leaving many people with mobility impairments, with prams or injured unable to travel by train.

  • 4 Jul, 2018
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  • By Nick Collyer
  • Latest news

Human Rights Commission – Historic Decision Today on New Queensland Trains

290318 Summary of Decision QR & TMR

  • 29 Mar, 2018
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  • By Nick Collyer
  • Latest news
Lightbulb on chalk board with thought bubbles around it

Ensuring a Strong Future for Supported Employment

Submission by Queensland Advocacy Incorporated

 

Department of Social Services
 

Link: QAI submission – the future of supported employment

  • 15 Mar, 2018
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  • By Admin
  • Submissions
chalkboard with thought bubble and light bulb sitting in thought bubble

General Issues around the Implementation and Performance of the NDIS

General Issues around the Implementation and Performance of the NATIONAL DISABILITY INSURANCE SCHEME

Supplementary Submission by Queensland Advocacy Incorporated

 

General Issues around the Implementation and Performance of the NDIS

  • 15 Mar, 2018
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Our Systemic Advocacy

 

 

 

 

Check out our campaigns and other systemic work to implement your rights and make Australia a better place for people with disabilities in 2018.

 



 

  • 14 Mar, 2018
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  • By Nick Collyer
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Trains Exemption

QAI submission to the Australian Human Rights Commission opposing the Queensland Government’s application for temporary exemptions from the Disability Standards for Accessible Public Transport.

  • 30 Jan, 2018
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  • By Nick Collyer
  • Submissions
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  • Event Date: 10/10/2019


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