Shared ownership schemes can unlock access to suitable housing, although these are less common in Australia than overseas. And most are not specifically tailored for people with disability.
This was the year of the health review, the NDIS, and Zika virus.
Images sourced from one.aap.com.au
Health spent a lot of time in the spotlight in 2016. Medicare was a major issue in Australia’s federal election and numerous government reviews into health were announced and reported.
As the tackle that injured rugby league player Alex McKinnon shows, spinal cord injury can take place in a split-second.
AAP/Paul Miller
The roll out of the NDIS means disability service providers and the people they employ are exposed to more market forces and this could result in protection for workers.
Rhonda Galbally and Bruce Bonyhady were both instrumental in the creation of the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
Alan Porritt and Julian Smith (AAP)
The NDIS’s aspiration of providing user choice and control represents considerable challenges to disability service providers.
The individual centred NDIS model can help service providers ensure their dealings with Indigenous Australians are culturally appropriate.
Barbara Dieu/Flickr
The NDIS provides an opportunity to address the shortfalls of the former institutionalised service system, some of which uniquely impact Indigenous Australians.
Homeless people are more likely to miss out on NDIS support.
Derek Midgley/Flickr
Many people eligible for the NDIS are likely to miss out on its benefits. These groups include people who don’t think they have a disability and those who don’t know about the NDIS and how to apply.
The NDIS poses many more challenges to parents with children newly diagnosed with developmental delay.
from shutterstock.com
Informal early support through intervention programs helps parents understand their child’s newly diagnosed disability. But what will happen when, under the NDIS, these services no longer exist?
Choice and control reflect the first principle of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with a Disability.
from www.shutterstock.com
Society hasn’t always seen people with disabilities as having the same rights at everyone else. So how did we get to the NDIS, which offers people with disabilities with choice and control?
The NDIS brings seismic changes to disability support in Australia.
from shutterstock.com
The National Disability Insurance Scheme has been heralded as the most significant reform since Medicare. So what is it again, how will it work and how can you apply to get funding?
Paul, of Mediterranean Foods on Sydney Rd, Brunswick, with a bowl of Italian marzipan fruit.
Andrew Jakubowicz
Multicultural issues may not decide the election. But the multicultural voting makeup of many marginal electorates will play a critical part in who wins these seats.
Look in Scott Morrison’s show bag and the contents are sparse for most voters.
Mick Tsikas/AAP
The Turnbull government has promised company tax cuts to stimulate investment and action to prevent middle-income earners moving into a higher tax bracket, in a budget that will launch its election campaign.
Living in supported smart technology homes is liberating for young people with disability who would otherwise be trapped in unsuitable nursing homes.
Fred Kroh/Summer Foundation
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.
Before the NDIS is rolled out nationally, some major planning problems must be solved.
Photographee.eu/Shutterstock
The greatest beneficiaries of the NDIS will be those with the highest physical and medical support needs. They shouldn’t be turned away for knocking on the wrong door.
Greater choice and control leads to better outcomes and more efficient use of funding.
Federico Rostagno/Shutterstock
Would politicians have the courage to stand up to backlash if people with disability use their care money to pay for overseas holidays, sex workers, internet dating, or tickets to sporting events?
Despite the signing of agreements with NSW and Victoria to roll out the NDIS, many people with disability will still need much better supported housing options.
AAP/Lukas Coch
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.
Most Australians have embraced the idea of having a national disability scheme.
Anjan Chatterjee/Flickr
Two years into the trial of the National Disability Insurance Scheme, it’s time to step back and address the problems we’ve discovered so far – rather than withdrawing from the scheme prematurely.
Associate Professor, Rehabilitation, Ageing and Independent Living Research Centre and Occupational Therapy Department, School of Primary and Allied Healthcare, Monash University
Professor of Social Inclusion - UTS Business School - Centres for Business and Social innovation, and Business Intelligence and Data Analytics, University of Technology Sydney