Transcript:

Hi everyone. It’s great to be back with you again. This week I want to talk to you a bit about firstly about the National Centre for Disability Advocacy, which does an enormous amount to, support and develop the advocacy sector. This week they held a sector forum on outcomes reporting. The insights that they gathered will help inform government as planning progresses for the new Individual Disability Advocacy Program or IDAP.

We see outcomes reporting as a really important opportunity to clearly demonstrate the impact and value of advocacy in people’s lives. When we can show what advocacy achieves, we strengthen the case for sustainable, effective supports for people with disability. So it’s really important. Now they also recently convened a manager’s peer network meeting and these happen regularly.

They’re really important forums for the sector to share experiences and raise questions. At this meeting, we identified some areas where further clarity or support might be needed in relation to the IDAP process as it evolves.

Now, last week, the Disability Dialogue hosted a discussion about education, and it was specifically looking at the later years of high school and pathways into higher education, which, of course is a really challenging transition for anyone, but especially, for people with disability. We heard examples from community of what is not working well for students with disability, and also some great examples of what is working well.

The next event is going to be about relationships and intimacy, and that will be held later this month. So if you’d like to register to join that conversation, you can do that at the Disability Dialogue website.

I also wanted to acknowledge that yesterday was International Women’s Day. This year’s theme, Balance the Scales, highlights the urgent need for fair, inclusive and accessible justice for every woman and girl. And at DANA, I’m really proud that our executive leadership team is made up entirely of women, all of whom bring lived experience of disability. That perspective is really important, and it shapes how we lead and how we advocate at DANA.

We also have many strong, talented women working at all levels of our organisation, and one of those women is Nancy Bates. Nancy is our First Nations engagement lead for the Disability Dialogue, and she recently won the Creative Arts Trailblazer Woman of the Year Award in The Advertiser Sunday Mail SkyCity Awards. Nancy is an accomplished First Nation singer songwriter who is also a fierce advocate.

I want to congratulate Nancy on behalf of the DANA and the DANA community on her very well-deserved recognition. We’re really lucky to have her working with us at DANA. 

So that’s all for this week. Thank you so much for continuing to tune in and watch these videos. It’s wonderful to have all of your feedback and suggestions. So please, keep that coming.