Powerd NewsWrap 17th December 2025

Speaker 1  0:00  
Welcome to a Vision Australia radio podcast. Love our podcasts. Why not listen to us live? Tune in anywhere, anytime, ask your smart device to play Vision Australia radio, or visit va radio.org

Speaker 2  0:21  
on the Vision Australia and reading radio networks. This is the Powerd news rap.

Sam Rickard  0:26  
G'day, I'm Sam Ricard. It's the 17th of December, 2025 we're reading articles from the Powerd dot media website, and of course, joining me is the sensational, amazing reporter who gave us these things. Well, I'm in a positive mood today. G'day, Emma,

Emma Myers  0:43  
hello, Sam. You are very positive today. How are you?

Sam Rickard  0:47  
I am pretty good, but I could tell last week when we were talking about the first article we were covering that Well, you were bemused. You might say about what was going on, just

Emma Myers  1:01  
a little bit. Yeah. I mean, it's kind of going backwards to what the NDIS said that they were going to do, isn't it, you know, more person centered, but yet they've gone ahead and said that they're going to become more computer generated.

Sam Rickard  1:21  
This never goes well for government. They tend to rely a lot on these systems, and mistakes happen. And really stupid mistakes tend to happen as well. I mean, AI is not perfect by a long chalk, no.

Emma Myers  1:35  
And the thing is, well, I can appreciate that AI has kind of come a long way in the last five years. I would never want to rely on it to dictate my life and what I can and can't do well.

Sam Rickard  1:52  
The aspect as well being that they'll make it harder for individuals to change the proposed plans as well. That sort of rings alarm bells to me as well.

Emma Myers  2:04  
Yeah. And the thing is, like, as they say, like once the AI generator spits out your plan, it can't be rectified. You've then got to go through the whole process again, which, you know, it's still going to be a three hour interview to summarize your lifestyle, which is difficult for anyone. So having to go through that again and again just to get what you need will be downright painful. That's I dare to say

Sam Rickard  2:41  
so I believe the government has been on the front foot as far as this goes. They've been giving you heaps of information and bringing spokespeople forward.

Emma Myers  2:49  
Oh yeah, loads. You know how they are. They love to tell us everything that's going on.

Sam Rickard  2:55  
So you've been deafened by the silence basically regarding this, which would indicate to me that maybe we haven't heard the last about this story.

Emma Myers  3:02  
We definitely haven't heard the last of it.

Sam Rickard  3:05  
Well, I can see this also working against the government's interests in the fact that people might end up with things that they don't want on their plans, and therefore more money is wasted as well as getting less less things. So I mean, you know, the AI might sort of suddenly spit out and give me a new wheelchair, for example, and it's like, well, that it's made them obviously made a mistake there. Anyway, we will now cross to Helen rice with the news

Speaker 2  3:31  
many Australians who rely on the National Disability Insurance Scheme, the NDIS could now have their NDIS plans computer generated with human involvement in Assessment Decision Making set to be dramatically reduced, according to an exclusive report by the Guardian Australia, funding and support plans will be generated by a computer program and staff will have no discretion to amend them under a major overhaul of the NDIS to be rolled out next year. The Guardian publication reads representatives from more than 10 disability advocacy organizations have released a joint statement calling for transparency on computer generated NDIS plans people cannot meaningfully challenge a decision if they cannot see or understand how it was made. When this opacity is combined with weaker review rights participants face the real risk of being unable to contest flawed assumptions. Powerd media spoke with University of New South Wales social science Senior Lecturer Dr Georgia van toon, who says she's concerned about what the changes will mean for NDIS participants when the results of that assessment tool are being used as the basis of automated calculations that can often result in budgets that are misaligned with people's real needs. The Senior Lecturer argues that people could have their budgets unjustly cut due to the new computer generated process. This shift to a more automated approach is about bringing plans and bringing budgets under control. Control. The government has been quite open about that, and part of that is removing human discretion and seeding decision making to algorithms. Dr van toon went on to claim that the NDIS is moving towards a system where participants may provide evidence about what they need, but there is no guarantee it will be used to inform the final automated budget calculation. It's very concerning and really goes against the principles that the NDIS stands for, principles of personalisation and self directed support. The Senior Lecturer argues that people could have their budgets unjustly cut due to the new computer generated process. Dr van toon went on to claim that the NDIS is moving towards a system where participants may provide evidence about what they need, but there's no guarantee it will be used to inform the final automated budget calculation. We are going from a space where the art has a role in ordering that additional funds be allocated to the total funding amount given to a participant, to a model in which that is not a question before the tribunal, University of New South Wales, social science Senior Lecturer Dr van toon is urging those in charge of the NDIS to rethink its assessment process, suggesting the solution lies in engaging with the disability community and their Close knowledge of the issues within the NDIS, its NDIS, trying to achieve increased autonomy choice and control, and to place the power of support and decision making back in the hands of people with disability. And I think right now, it risks real lack of trust in the disability community, in terms of trust in the NDIS and its ability to achieve its goals. Powerd media will keep you updated as this story unfolds.

Sam Rickard  6:47  
So you may be wondering why we spell the name of the website. The way we do that is because P, O, W, E, R, E, D, dot media is a completely different website. If you want Media Management, by all means, go to that website if you want us, go to P, O, W, E, R, D, dot media. Now back to the show on

Speaker 2  7:12  
Wednesday, the third of December, the experiences of the disability community were once again showcased across the globe as it observed the International Day of People with disability, the IDP WD an annual event focusing on how society can strive for inclusivity through the removal of barriers for people with disability. Since 1992 the IDP WD has been utilized as an opportunity to be part of creating an inclusive and diverse community for the 5.5 million people with disability in Australia, according to the website, James Parr is a model content creator, educator and disability advocate, having lost his leg in 2019 as a result of bone cancer, as one of this year's ambassadors for the International Day of People with Disabilities. Mr. Parr says he has always advocated for the disability community, even prior to becoming a part of it, I worked in special education for four years with children. I was also an advocate then and just wanting them to be happy and to be well within society as best they could. I was working with other people that would stereotype them, and I think that also gave me the fuel and insight to that. Mr. Parr remembers waking up from having his leg amputated feeling like the same person he was before the surgery. However, the content creator says he was instantly treated differently. There were times when I felt like an outcast purely because of the way people treated me. People's attitudes had changed within 24 hours, and that really shocked me. Mr. Parr believes the difference in treatment was due to misrepresentation, the wrong narrative being shared around people with disability, how disability is defined and narrated within Media in Australia. And I think for me, I had to unlearn what disability meant to be comfortable with it. When asked what the International Day of People with Disabilities means to him, Mr. Parr boasted the notion of Amplifying Voices from within the disability community. It's just a really great way to showcase people with a disability, and also to be able to start the conversation and continue that conversation, not only with the ambassadors, but really with the whole of Australia. Marie Jenner, a short statured woman, joins Mr. Parr as another ambassador for the International Day of People with Disabilities, a woman of many talents. Ms Jenner, volunteers with the advocacy organization short stature people of Australia, while working as an access coordinator for accessible arts New South Wales, and also facilitates disability inclusion awareness programs in primary schools. Ms Jenner says the programs educate children about valuing different abilities and experiences. It's creating that awareness of invisible and visible disabilities, encouraging them to be allies for one another and. Be champions for change. When I was younger, it was awkward. It was much more challenging. I had to break a lot of barriers and challenge people's thinking very early on on her appointment as an International Day of People with Disabilities, Ambassador ms Jenner said she was honored to be chosen. Everybody has the right to an education, seek a career and have those experiences just like everyone else does. It's really important. This is a government driven initiative through via the United Nations, and that's where the type of programs that I facilitate in schools, which we need more of, will build a more inclusive world for future generations. The Advocate says, if you'd like to know more about the International Day of People with Disabilities and how you can take part next year, go to www.idpwd.com.au and this address will be available in the podcast notes for the show. And now back to you, Emma and Sam.

Sam Rickard  10:56  
Thank you, Helen. So anyway, let's talk about the two people that you talk to because they sound like really interesting people.

Emma Myers  11:02  
Yeah, they were, they were quite fascinating. And the as you can imagine, they both had a lot to say. First off is James Parr, who really does it all. He models, he creates content. He's an advocate, and he's also an educator. So here's the full package, really.

Sam Rickard  11:24  
He said something that sort of, I liked a lot in that often when I'm asking people with an acquired disability, I will, I'll say, What did you know about the disability community before you became one of us, basically, and that's kind of, because it always fascinates me sometimes, when somebody comes into our world, as opposed to being born into it like we have been.

Emma Myers  11:48  
Yeah, you're right, and that's what stuck with me as well, because he worked in special education prior to his accident, and so he was already aware of the challenges faced by kids with disability, and so he would see other people stereotype them, and so that just, I guess, fueled his drive To be an advocate prior to acquiring its disability.

Sam Rickard  12:22  
So the other person you spoke to is someone of short stature, and this is a disability that I think gets a lot of, I would say real unfair treatment,

Emma Myers  12:35  
yes, and so I'd spoken to numerous people who are members of of the short statute community. And one thing that's that stuck with me was a woman who said that dwarfism is one of the last vast scenes of acceptable harassment.

Sam Rickard  12:57  
And so much like the previous person you spoke to, she it's all about the kids.

Emma Myers  13:01  
Yeah, it is. So she facilitates disability inclusion awareness programs and in primary school, so she'll actually go into schools and just talk to the kids about difference and valuing difference,

Sam Rickard  13:18  
and with such a positive end that is essentially us for the year. We'll be back in the next two weeks to well wrap things up with a few special episodes, one talking a little bit about well Emma, and one also talking about the starts of this show back way, way, way, way back in May, so until next year, when we do when we have new stories again. Bye to all.

Speaker 2  13:52  
You can find these articles and more by going to Powerd spelt, P, O, W, E, R, D, dot media, along with the podcast of this show, the Powerd news rap was brought to you by disability media Australia. This show was produced by Sam Rickard in the Adelaide studios of Vision Australia radio.