Deaf Australia is always a hive of activity, busy with all sorts of tasks; working hard to make life better for Deaf people. Read more here about what we’ve been up to lately.

Date, Location, # participants

Tuesday 9 April 2013, Geelong Vic (Melissa Lowrie), 25
Wednesday 1 May 2013, Gosford NSW (with DSNSW), 30
Monday 6 May 2013, Burnie Tas, 14
Tuesday 7 May 2013, Hobart Tas, 15
Tuesday 7 May 2013, Launceston Tas, 14
Thursday 16 May 2013, Mackay Qld, 4
Friday 17 May 2013, Townsville Qld, 8
Saturday 18 May 2013, Mareeba Qld, 7
Saturday 18 May 2013, Cairns Qld , 16
Thursday 23 May 2013, Melbourne Vic, 5
Monday 27 May 2013, Sydney NSW, 4
Thursday 6 June 2013, Darwin NT, 5
Tuesday 11 June 2013, Bendigo Vic, 2
Wednesday 12 June 2013, Ballarat Vic, 6
Wednesday 19 June 2013, Perth WA, 50
Wednesday 19 June 2013, Perth WA, 25
Saturday 22 June 2013, Adelaide SA, 45
Thursday 27 June 2013, Brisbane, 65
Total number of participants, , 340
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Captioning Working Group
The Working Group will meet again on 22 August.
Cinema Captioning
Cathy Clark represented Deaf Australia at the ACAG meeting on 30th July.
Qld Civil and Administrative Tribunal Hearing on Deaf people and jury service
Our Office Administrator Gaye Lyons, in a personal capacity, filed a complaint against the Queensland Government for discrimination in refusing to allow her to do jury service. The case was heard at the Qld Civil and Administrative Tribunal on 4-6 June. Another staff member and I went along on 5 June to offer support to Gaye, and Gaye and I were then interviewed by Channel 10 TV news. It was on the news that night. The decision on the case has not yet been handed down.
Deaf Jurors research project
We agreed some time ago to be a partner to a research project (an extension of an earlier project led by Jemina Napier at Macquarie University) and the project is now going ahead. It will involve several universities but is led by University of Sydney. Our role is to have a representative on the reference group and help identify Deaf research participants. The first meeting will be in August.
Census
In May I sent a letter to the Deaf Society of NSW supporting their submission to change the Census question about language used at home.
Royal Commission into Child Sex Abuse
I met with one of the Commissioners and the Commission secretary on 3 July to discuss how best to ensure that Deaf people know about the Commission, can access it and tell their stories to the Commission. They were very open to information and suggestions and I expect to have more follow up discussions with them.
DETE Auslan Short Courses
Deaf Australia has had an agreement with the Queensland Department of Education, Training and Employment (DETE) to provide Auslan classes for Queensland School staff since January 2009. The provision of these classes had to go to tender again because there is a time limit on how long such an agreement can be. We submitted a tender offer and await the outcome. So all DETE Auslan Short Courses had to stop and there have been no classes since the end of June.
Disability Rights Research Collaboration Roundtable
The University of Sydney and People with Disabilities Australia are collaborating on a new initiative – the Disability Rights Research Collaboration As part of this project they will seek to build links with Disable People’s Organisations working to improve the recognition of rights for people with disability in Australia and the Asia Pacific.
They are hosting a roundtable on Political Participation, Inclusion and Decision Making on 9 August to explore how political participation and decision making for people with disability can be thought about in new ways. I will make a short presentation at the roundtable.
Captioning on free to air TV multichannels
The Department for Broadband Communications and the Digital Economy sent us a letter with two proposals for increasing captioning on free to air TV multichannels. We sent a letter rejecting both proposals, saying that we want 100% captioning between 6am and midnight on all multichannels within three years. (The main channels – ABC, SBS, 7,9,10 must have 100% captioning between 6am and midnight by June 2014).
ALRC inquiry into legal barriers for people with disabilities
The Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) is doing an Inquiry into Legal Barriers for People with Disabilities. It appears that they will consult with organisations like Deaf Australia and will also develop discussion papers for us to respond to. The inquiry was announced on 24 July. [/accordion] [accordion title=”Key Priority 4: Organisational stability and growth” active=”no”] Information Management
We have done an analysis of our members and stakeholders survey and will put the results on our blog.
Partnerships
State Branches:
Deaf Australia’s board and I and the Deaf Victoria board and Manager had a meeting, followed by dinner together when our board had a meeting in Melbourne on 25-26 May.
We have received a copy of a letter that SA Deaf community have sent to Australia Federation of Deaf Societies requesting help with preventing the sale of the 262 building and their problems with DeafCanDo. Deaf Australia’s board will discuss this at their meeting on 11 August.
Deaf Children Australia
Ann Darwin and I met with DCA on 24 May.
AFDO
I attended the AFDO members meeting in Sydney 28 and 29 May.
National forum for peaks
The Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA), which funds Deaf Australia and other peak disability organisations, has requested that AFDO organise a national forum for peak disability organisations. AFDO is continuing to work on trying to set up this forum and I attended a planning meeting by teleconference on 4 July. It has become apparent that FaHCSIA wants this forum to review how the disability peak sector and funding is structured in the future.
Everyone’s funding is under threat including ours.
One of the peak organisations has sent to the Minister a proposal to withdraw direct funding from a number of organisations, including Deaf Australia, and for Deaf people to be included in a cross disability organisation or an organisation for people with sensory disability.
The proposal is included for discussion at our next Board meeting, and I have been working on a document that sets out some thoughts for the review.
This forum will happen on 18 and 19 September.
I believe that Deaf people need representation from an organisation that specifically focuses on Deaf people, culture and issues, and being absorbed into a wider organisation would not be appropriate for the Deaf Community.
We all need to be fully aware of what is going on and ready to get involved with this process in a meaningful way, in order to have a strong presence and protect our members’ rights for the type of representation that best suits them now and into the future.
You can help us show that Deaf people need their own representative organisation by becoming a member of Deaf Australia and telling us what you need us to advocate for on your behalf and encouraging your friends and family to do the same.
AFDS
Deaf Australia’s board and I attended a meeting with some of the CEOs and board members of the Deaf Societies on 25 May. We discussed how we might better work together in positive ways.
WFD
Deaf Australia will host meetings of the new WFD Oceania Region in Sydney on Tuesday 15 October (afternoon) and Wednesday 16 October (morning), as well as the WFD Ordinary Members meeting in the afternoon on 16 October. Peter Davies has very kindly offered to help us with the arrangements for the meetings.
We will also share an information booth with the WFD at the WFD Conference and the International Deaf Festival in October in Sydney in October.
ASLIA
Ann Darwin and I met with Paul Heuston and Teresa Cumpston-Bird on 24 May. Ann Darwin and Paul Heuston signed a Memorandum of Agreement between Deaf Australia and ASLIA.
Capacity building
4Senses
The State Library of Queensland approached us and the 4Senses team and offered to host a special 4Senses event at the library, as the final event in an extended program they have had running for several months that is about Brisbane’s band culture. It will be a special 4Senses event on Friday night 15 November. Ticket numbers will be limited so be sure to buy your tickets early. [/accordion] [/accordion_set]

Election information in Auslan.

The federal election has now been announced for 7 September 2013 and all Australians have until 8pm on Monday 12 August to enrol to vote or update their enrolment details.
In preparation for the election, the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) has produced an AUSLAN guide to enrolling and voting.
This AUSLAN video guide is hosted on YouTube and provides easy instructions and information for people who use Auslan as their preferred language.
Don’t miss out on having your say! Watch the video and make sure you are enrolled by the due date.
For more information, visit the AEC website: www.aec.gov.au

Sydney-sider Mr Colin Allen, currently World Federation of the Deaf President, was elected to the position of Second Vice-Chair of the International Disability Alliance (IDA) Board in July this year, and will be part of the organisation’s work in promoting human rights internationally.

“We are proud to congratulate Mr Allen on this appointment,” said Deaf Australia President Ann Darwin, “He does excellent work in promoting Deaf rights with WFD and it is great to see an Australian Deaf person in another pivotal role on the world stage.”
The IDA, established in 1999, is a network of global and regional disabled people’s organisations (DPOs). It aims to promote the human rights of persons with disabilities as a united organisation of persons with disabilities utilising the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and other human rights instruments. The IDA participates as representatives of representative organisations of persons with disabilities at the national, regional and international levels.
The IDA, along with member organisations around the world, provides a voice to people living with a disability. There are many Disabled People’s Organisations worldwide, and although they represent over one billion people, they are the most frequently overlooked minority group.
The United Nations system both in New York and Geneva acknowledges the IDA’s unique composition as a network of the foremost international disability rights organisations and as the most authoritative representative voice of persons with disabilities.

The launch of DisabilityCare Australia, the national disability insurance scheme, is just around the corner, and a lot of hard work is going into ensuring that everything is ready for 1 July.

Last week the Prime Minister and Victorian Premier announced Geelong as the location of the head office of DisabilityCare Australia. This is great news for Geelong and another step towards the full rollout of the scheme by 2019.
Once DisabilityCare Australia is fully rolled out, it will support around 460,000 people with significant and permanent disability. It is being rolled out gradually over the next few years because it’s a big change to the current system and the Government needs to make sure everyone is properly supported to make the transition into the scheme.
The launch of DisabilityCare in selected sites across the country will allow the Government to evaluate the operation of the scheme throughout the implementation process, and learn from it so they can make improvements before the full roll out.
The Government is establishing a separate division of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) to conduct independent reviews of decisions made by DisabilityCare Australia. This will make sure that people who request an independent review will be seen by AAT members experienced in considering DisabilityCare decisions and working with people with disability.
Some people seeking an AAT review may want support while going through the review process. The Government has also provided $860,000 in 2013-14 to support people through the AAT external review process.
They will also fund specific National Disability Advocacy Program providers in launch sites to provide support persons to assist applicants seeking an AAT review of DisabilityCare Australia decisions.
Jenny Macklin and Amanda Rishworth explained that the Government is completely reforming the system, and they want to build a scheme that stands the test of time.

As part of the starting period of the NDIS, the Government will do an evaluation of the DisabilityCare launch.

The National Institute of Labour Studies at Flinders University of South Australia will carry out the research independently, starting in 2013 and finishing in 2016.
The evaluation will assess the impact of DisabilityCare Australia on people with disability, their families and carers, and the disability sector.
Evaluation findings will be used for planning and improving the rollout of DisabilityCare Australia. It will also be used when making policies for people with disability in a broad range of policy areas.
The Flinders University team will consult with key stakeholders including people with disability, their families and carers, state and territory governments, and disability sector representatives.
The evaluation will consider:

• how DisabilityCare Australia impacts people with disability, their families and carers, and the disability sector and workforce
• the impact of DisabilityCare Australia on selected mainstream services (including access to mainstream services for people with disability)
• high-level implementation processes, focusing on elements of DisabilityCare Australia which contribute to positive or negative outcomes.

As part of the Deaf Education Summit, Deaf Australia encouraged delegates and presenters to tell us their hopes, frustrations, goals and dreams related to their experiences with the deaf education and early intervention systems.

We were overwhelmed with parents, Deaf community members, Deaf educators and summit participants who wanted to tell their story on camera.
Please watch this video and share it with your colleagues, friends, schools, service providers and whoever else you think needs to know more about the real life experiences of people who use the system.

Do you know someone who should be recognised for their outstanding work to improve the lives of people with disability?

Nominations are now open for the 2013 National Disability Awards.
The Awards are held each year as part of the International Day of People with Disability celebrations. They honour and recognise the outstanding achievements of individuals, teams and organisations that have improved the lives of people with disability, and contribute to increased recognition of equality and human rights for all Australians.
There are nine Award categories:

• Lifetime Achievement Award in Disability
• Emerging Leaders Award in Disability
• Excellence in Accessible Communities Award
• Excellence in Improving Social Participation Award
• Excellence in Advocacy & Rights Promotion Award
• Excellence in Improving Employment Opportunities Award
• Excellence in Improving Personal and Community Support Award
• Excellence in Improving Education Outcomes Award
• Excellence in Improving Health Outcomes Award.

Please spread the word among your own networks, and nominate a person or organisation you think has done a great job in improving conditions for Deaf people in Australia.
Nominations close 5PM AEST Friday 28 June 2013. Nominate now!
For more information or assistance, please visit www.idpwd.com.au, email [email protected] or phone 1800 672 682 (TTY users please phone 1800 555 677 and ask for 1800 672 682).

After being unwillingly excluded from jury duty in 2012, Queensland resident Gaye Lyons has brought a discrimination case against the Queensland government to fight for her right to serve as a juror.

Plaintiff, Ms Gaye Lyons

Early bird registrations are now open for the DisabilityCare Australia Conference: My Choice, My Control, My Future.

Join speakers such as the Minister for Disability Reform, Jenny Macklin MP, Professor Emeritus Ron McCallum AO and Disability Commissioner Graeme Innes, as well as other high-profile speakers from across the country and the world.
The conference will bring together more than 1,000 Australians to discuss DisabilityCare Australia, the national disability insurance scheme.
The conference will provide a forum for people to share their unique experiences with disability, find out about the DisabilityCare, how it will work and how governments will help people and service providers transition to this new system of support.
The conference will also offer a premiere look at the Practical Design Fund projects, an initiative that delivers practical solutions and innovative ways to assist people with disability, their families and carers, as well as service providers, to get ready for DisabilityCare Australia.
The conference will include a dinner on the Sunday evening where delegates can network, share your experience and hear more about DisabilityCare Australia.

Registration Fees:

Early Bird (closes 7 June 2013) $250
Dinner Ticket $80
Standard $300
Dinner Ticket $80
Pension Card Holders* $30
Dinner $20
*Individuals registering for the conference who have a pensioner concession card are entitled to register at the concession rate.
For further information and to register for the Conference, please visit www.ndis.gov.au.