Thursday 12 December, 2024
I am very pleased to share with you that today, the Federal Government made a series of funding announcements for a number of projects led by disability organisations and partnerships, including DANA.
DANA, together with our partners Inclusion Australia, Alliance 20 and Melbourne Disability Institute, are proud to have received four years’ funding for our Disability Dialogue project.
Led by people with disability, the Disability Dialogue is about using our lived experience to help identify and prioritise disability reform projects. For the first time, we don’t wait to be asked to participate in consultation—for the first time, it’s the other way around. This is a unique new approach, and it’s already working.
The pilot project last year – the Housing Blueprint – quickly began generating strong results, demonstrating that this was a new model that, with the right investment, could work well in the long term.
Now that the Disability Dialogue has received the longer-term funding it needs to continue, it holds immense potential. We are excited for the future and committed to continuing to put people with disability at the forefront of decision-making in this space.
The Disability Dialogue will help create real change on many levels. It’s already building the capacity and skills of people with disability and amplifying the voice of those most marginalised—including First Nations people and people with an intellectual disability. It’s creating strong partnerships that are being built to last and developing practical solutions to long-standing problems. Our hope is that, over time, it will also help shape the next generation of sector leaders.
See the Disability Dialogue website here: https://disabilitydialogue.com.au/
There will be significant opportunities for DANA members to participate in the Dialogue, including by supporting the most marginalised people with disability to have their voices heard. In 2025, much more information will be out about how this will work and how to get involved.