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With the election just around the corner, Powerd Media spoke with Labor MP Amanda Rishworth, Minister of Social Services and the National Disability Insurance Scheme, to discuss the disability community’s main concerns.
Those with physical disabilities pay more for newer accommodations due to being unable to consider rentals which aren't as accessible. Is there a way to make housing affordability more accessible for renters with disability?
Look from the Commonwealth's perspective, a couple of things. Firstly, we've already increased rent assistance significantly for those that may be on a pension or a payment. We've also talked about how we elevate and increase the accessibility of housing stock we are building.
Through the Australia Future Housing Fund we've made sure that we have a minimum silver standard, and that will be investing in an affordable housing, in social housing, making sure that is at a minimum silver standard. We've also talked about things such as on www.realestate.com.au, ensuring that there is more descriptors on when you're searching for rental accommodation that you're able to get more accessibility information. That's something that was discussed and committed to in our focus on Australia's Disability Strategy.
Choice in housing is important and that's why Supported Independent Living within the NDIS has been a real game changer for so many people when it comes to housing options.
My focus when it comes to the NDIS is to really make sure that we are putting choice and control back at the centre but also building a more inclusive Australia outside the NDIS in mainstream systems.
How are we going to do that? Like we've been doing everything in this last term, it has been through working with people with disabilities.
I think improving inclusion outside the NDIS gives much more, across all systems, much more choice and control supporting people when it comes to their employment goals.
We are looking at having both a flexible and intensive option for work, so building the relationship between the disability employment service provider and the participants so that it's built on respect and a relationship.
Inclusive Employment Australia will actually work with people on their career plan, on their jobs plan. This is a real change in how we deliver employment services for people with disability.
There was a lot of consultation and the voices of people with disability were at the centre of that. We are very much committed as we continue to look at what more can be done to support people with disability. That's why we've doubled the funding for disability. We looked at all different ways people can contribute as well, and that's really important. Not just co-designing, while very important, but making sure that people with disabilities voices are heard outside the normal consultation mechanisms and co-design mechanisms as well.
And speaking of co-design, how do you make sure the community covers the wide range of diversity of disability in the co-design committees?
We saw with the Disability Royal Commission, when we went out and broadly consulted on some of the recommendations, there were differing views within the disability communities suggesting a homogenous view would be incorrect. So firstly, we've got to prioritise, and that's certainly what we are doing in the NDIS is there's a lot of reform going is underway. Rather than having everyone chase their tail, actually providing, in the first instance, very accessible information. And as I said in the Autism Strategy, we actually engaged a social enterprise providing that information in a really understandable way.
Easy to understand, easy format is important. Also, to work to identify critical aspects of reform and making sure that we are deeply discussing. I'm really pleased that the NDIA as a result of the discussions we've had will focus their co-design groups on areas that are of most interest to people with disability. They're the areas that people with disability have said they're interested in focusing on. That will include navigation assessment, budgeting, the participant pathway experience, and participating safeguarding. That's making sure that the areas that people with disability are most interested in having an input are the priority areas of co-design as well, and getting those to match up. It is getting the right information, making sure we are listening along the way. It’s also the monitoring aspect is really important, that people with a disability are part of the feedback loop.
You can co-design in the first instance, but I've made this point a couple of times with some of the things we've built, whether it's the national disability data asset, there needs to be ongoing governance where people with disability are involved, and building that in is really important as well.
People with Disability Australia want to know how Labor will act on the findings from the Disability Royal Commission, especially when the campaign has failed to even mention them.
Look, I have to say as the minister responsible for leading the work that across government, we've taken our response to the Disability Royal Commission incredibly seriously.
We didn't wait until the Royal Commission to actually bring in the Disability Services and Inclusion Act, and that was to put a Human Rights Framework around the governance of supports outside the NDIS. That was brought in to strengthen the safeguarding arrangements, and was something that was looked at addressing many of the concerns that appeared in the Royal Commission. We will continue to get make progress on this. There's 130 recommendations that we've agreed in principle or agreed to that we need to work through.
We’ll be releasing the accessible information and communication associated plan of Australia's Disability Strategy. This was a really important aspect that was raised. We will continue consultation on reforming the Disability Discrimination Act. Inclusive Employment Australia will start that directly responds to removing the eight hour restriction. Anyone that had a capacity of less than eight hours was not able to access that support. We want to get rid of that. Anyone that wants to access Disability Employment Services and the new program should be able to do that.
We have amended legislation to move immigration barriers for child visa applicants. We've amended the National Disability Insurance Scheme to ensure that the National Disability Insurance Agency Board includes One First Nation. So there has been a lot of work going on. There will be continue to be a lot of work going on.
And I have to say that we are completely committed to not only working on what the Commonwealth needs, which is over 16 different ministers. 16 different ministers have responsibility across the Commonwealth, but many of these are joint recommendations as well. And we are very committed to working with states and territories to also get this done.
This election sees baby boomers outweighed by younger voters. Have you found any election policies rather than a particularly well with younger voters with disability?
I have to say that younger voters with disability are talking about many of the same issues that other young people are talking about, how to get secure housing, how to get education.
One of the policies that's been very popular across the board has been fee free TAFE. This has been popular particularly with young people that may have had barriers and they were a little bit worried about taking the plunge into TAFE, especially if they had to pay for it.
I've met a lot of people that have taken up the opportunity of TAFE because it has been fee free and are thriving. I met a number of people in particular with some mental health issues that weren't so sure if they would be able to get it to work.
They've taken the plunge and it's working really well for them, and they are gaining qualifications, which then allows them to choose a new career path, and that's included people with disabilities and young people with other barriers. So I have to say, fee free TAFE has resonated very well.
And of course, being able to see a bulk bill doctor, whether that's at an urgent care clinic, whether it's at their regular GP and also the walk-in Medicare mental health clinics. If you're at a point where you're feeling very distressed and need to see someone, it doesn't make sense that you have to walk into emergency, so having a dedicated walk-in mental health clinic for for themselves or for their loved ones really has been very popular as well as the expansion of Headspace in many places.
Some of the policies that have been really quite popular with young people. And also of course issues around making sure, or the many policies around investing in affordable homes, whether that's rental or whether that is buying a place They've been very popular with younger people as well.