Transcript:

Hi everyone. Last week was a really busy one, connecting with many of our members, partners and stakeholders, to share updates and hear directly from them most importantly.

At our members Leadership Forum, I introduced myself and discussed the work that we’re doing to strengthen support and advocacy for people with disability.

Most importantly, though, from my perspective, I had the opportunity to hear directly from members about Dana’s strategic direction as we work to develop our next strategic plan. So that was a wonderful opportunity.

 I also met with disability representative in carer organisations in person to collaborate on key NDIS issues.

Working on NDIS reforms is a real priority at the moment. So I also attended the NDIS quarterly reform forum to contribute to discussions and share sector insights alongside my colleagues.

And finally, I spoke at the New South Wales disability advocacy meeting, continuing our commitment to representing community perspectives and driving meaningful change.

So it’s early in the year, but we’re already hearing that advocates are feeling immense pressure at the moment, at last week’s National Centre for Disability Advocacy, advocate peer network meeting, advocates shared deeply personal stories about the challenges they face and the vital work that they do.

Advocates are the lifeblood of the sector, but they do face demands that are complex and emotionally taxing. We know that burnout is very real, and it’s something that we take extremely seriously.

The National Centre for Disability Advocacy has developed resources to support advocates health and wellbeing. So it’s great that those resources are available to our advocates.

The sector is increasingly focused on measuring real impact, not just counting how many people are assisted. On Thursday the 26th of February, the National Centre for Disability Advocacy’s Advocacy Sector Forum will bring advocacy organisations together to share how they capture and report outcomes in ways that reflect the difference they make for individuals, families and communities. So that’s a really important conversation coming up.

And finally, the NDIS evidence Advisory Committee provides advice on which supports are suitable. Under the NDIS, last year, they held two rounds of consultation on different supports, and the latest round is now open. This round focuses on early intensive behaviour intervention, positive behaviour support for older children and adults, robot assisted gait training and social skills training for children and young people, the consultation closes on the 29th of March.

We encourage people with disability to provide feedback, because it’s vital that our voices help shape what supports we receive under the scheme.

DANA will be following the process closely, and of course, we’ll provide updates as we can.

You can find more information on the Department of Health, Disability and Aging website.

So that’s all for this week. Hope everyone’s had a great week, and I look forward to speaking to you again next week.