The disability royal commission’s final report makes 222 recommendations, including ensuring people with disability are considered in national housing and homelessness plans.
Alan Morris, University of Technology Sydney et Jan Idle, University of Technology Sydney
A serious disability is one of the most common reasons people apply for social housing. The long wait for a suitable home just adds to the daily challenges they face.
Being stuck in hospital means NDIS participants lose the gains made in rehabilitation as well as condition, confidence and social connection. Specialist housing is ready and waiting.
Successful housing projects for people living with disabilities have inviting communal spaces, private individual dwellings, commercial opportunities for residents and on-site support.
We interviewed people living with disability before and after they moved into purpose-built housing that fosters independence. The change for them was profound and cost-saving.
We surveyed people with disability and carers after a major flood in the Northern Rivers area of New South Wales area. Some of the stories were shocking.
In a study of people receiving community care, home modifications liberated them to live at home safely and independently. Hours of care were cut by 42% and quality of life improved by 40%.
As governments start to return to a new normal, people with disabilities in care facilities are still in serious danger of being left behind during the coronavirus pandemic.
Around 6,000 Australians aged under 65 still live in nursing homes, cut off from their families and peers, with inadequate support for their disabilities.
The NDIS has started to reduce the admissions of young people with disabilities to aged care facilities, but more than 6,000 are still waiting for more suitable accommodation.
The NDIS is allowing for Specialist Disability Accommodation for 28,000 people, with 17,500 already in such housing. The potential demand for this life-changing supported housing is even greater.
The NDIS has the resources and mandate to develop a mature market that delivers suitable housing for people with high disability needs, including the more than 6,200 young people now in aged care.
New rules offer the possibility of an inclusive Australian society that enables people with the highest disability-related support needs to have equal access to mainstream services including housing.
Today’s violence and prejudice against people with disabilities goes back to the practice of institutionalization, which started in Europe and the United States a century ago.
Thousands of young people with disability who end up in nursing homes lead lives of isolation and boredom. Better and smarter housing finance and support options are at last being developed.
As the NDIS roll-out begins, Australia faces a housing shortfall affecting up to 122,000 participants. Developing smart technology and design offers more independent living for people with disability.
Associate Professor, Rehabilitation, Ageing and Independent Living Research Centre and Occupational Therapy Department, School of Primary and Allied Healthcare, Monash University