2. Access to services
Access to services:
Disability Discrimination Act 1992 makes it against the law to discriminate against an
individual who have a disability.
These individuals have equal rights in the following:
Employment
Education
Access to public transport
Access to goods and services
Accommodation
Clubs and sports
Government laws and programs
Some organisations include:
ACE National Network (employment opportunities)
Blind Citizens Australia
Brain Injury Australia
Deafness Forum of Australia
For more examples refer to page 44
The Disabled require access to employment, transport, appropriate housing, recreational
pursuits and specialised health care and educational services.
3. Education
-About 1 in 12 children aged 0-14 suffered from a disability in 2003,
97% of children attended school, 89% attended mainstream schools and 9% special
schools.
-Schools provide special education classes within mainstream schools for students with:
Severe intellectual
Physical disabilities
Hearing impairment
Language disorders
-The school should adjust teaching programs, physical resources and staffing to cater for
the needs of any disabled students enrolled.
-Depending on the severity of the disability, a student may be better catered for in such a
school in our area such as ‘’Mater Dei’’ and ‘’Beverley Park’’ due to their specialized
environment and equipment.
4. Employment
-Centerlink provides a range of services for job seekers
with a disability, including disability employment
services and wage subsiders.
-The Disability Employment Network also provides
employment services to disables job seekers.
-Disability employment and rehabilitation providers help
both people with a moderate to severe disability and job
seekers who have difficulty in gaining and retaining
employment without rehabilitation or ongoing support.
5. Financial Support
Disability Support Payment is from the Federal Government through Centrelink is a
primary source of financial support for people of working age with a disability
Disability Support Pension-
o People aged 16 to pension age who are unable to work 15 hrs or more per
week as a result of their disability.
Mobility Allowance-
o Income supplement for people aged 16 or over to assist with transport costs,
relating to employment or training.
Sickness Allowance-
o People aged 21 to pension age who are temporarily unable to work or study
full time due to disability, illness or injury and have either full time work or
full time study to return to.
Carer Payment-
o Payment for someone who looks after a person with disabilities or serious
medical conditions and is unable to gain full time employment.
6. Health & Housing
Health:
Specialised health care services for different forms of disability are needed to best
provide for the individual nature of each. Some profoundly disabled individuals require
specialist nursing and care. Many disabled people will require speech therapy,
physiotherapy and diversional therapy in order to maximise their communication and
physical movement potential.
One significant health care need for the disabled population is the provision of suitable
aids and equipment. Disabled people Disabled people may require may require many
aids such as: toilet aids, reading, shower, writing, speech, meal and medical aids.
Housing:
Public housing is an important resource for people with a disability. The proportion of
public housing tenants with a disability has increased in recent years.
The Home and Community Care Program (HACC) aims to increase independence and
prevent residential care needs for the disabled. The HACC provides assistance with
transport, meals, nursing and home maintenance.
7. Security & Safety
If someone is unable to earn a living independently people may require additional costs for even
the most basic of living.
In society aspects have been added to ensure a little more acceptance through the use of-
Wheelchair ramps/facilities
Disabled parking
Specialised transport; in taxis, buses
Security accounts for that in the home life; this sense of security may partially come from the
person but could be from a carer who will cater and fill the roles-
• Accompanying disabled people during daily activities
• Assisting in movement
• Prepares/presents food and fluids
• Arranges social activities
• Performs housekeeping tasks
• Assists in personal hygiene/dressing
• May do shopping and run errands
• Safety is much the same as security in that it provides a person with a sense of belonging and
free from worry as a result of feeling out of place or in harms way. Safety can be seen in many
aspects of personal life- as in confidentiality in the processes needed in health care and/or
emotional care.
