The WWDACT E-Bulletin, Issue 17/18 is out now. View this e-Bulletin in your browser here. Fill out the form here to subscribe.

Message from the Chair

Dear Members and Colleagues,
 
I look forward to seeing many people from the Aged and Disability sectors at the Accessible Housing Consultation on 15 October at the National Convention Centre. At long last here is an opportunity to tell the Australian Building Codes Board, the Disability Ministers’ Council and the Building Ministers’ Forum that we need to legislate to make all new build houses accessible. More information on how to make a booking is below.
 
The recent announcement of the Royal Commission into Aged Care was a disappointment in the disability sector. This is not because a Royal Commission into Aged Care is not warranted, but because we have been calling for a Royal Commission into the Violence, Abuse and Neglect of People with Disability for many years. A Disability Royal Commission was also the foremost recommendation of the Senate Standing Committee on Community Affairs Inquiry into violence against people with disabilities in 2015. So we fully support the Royal Commission into Aged Care and fully support that it includes Young people in Nursing Homes. But we are clear that a separate Royal Commission into the prevalence of violence against people with disabilities is still urgently needed. The violence must stop.
 
There are many more ACT updates in the INVOLVE September newsletter from the ACT Office for Disability here.  
 
Regards,
Sue Salthouse
Chair, WWDACT