Graziella
Content Warning: These stories are about violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation and may include references to suicide or self-harming behaviours. They may contain graphic descriptions and strong language and may be distressing. Some narratives may be about First Nations people who have passed away. If you need support, please see Contact & support.
Graziella is a disability support worker who lives with a spinal injury and chronic pain.
‘I acquired my disability from a car accident about 15 years ago,’ she told the Royal Commission. At the time she was working in group homes and doing postgraduate study in disability rights. She ‘did rehab’ for a couple of years, then continued her academic work.
The university was good at making reasonable adjustments.
‘And I probably took that a little bit for granted,’ Graziella said, ‘cos my jobs after that have not been as easy in that way.’
Graziella left to work for a major disability services provider. ‘I didn't see a lot of people with disability in the office,’ Graziella said.
Initially Graziella worked full time. When that became difficult, she asked to drop some hours.
‘As the day goes on, if I have to work too long hours I'm in a lot of pain,’ Graziella explained. ‘[But] they just refused to accommodate.’
Graziella then worked in parliament for a few years.
‘You can't really do bed days … and they were great. They made sure my office was in the right space, really close to a lift, and I had no problem from anyone.’
A couple of years ago, she returned to the disability services sector. Despite working for ‘a massive organisation’, she’s the only employee with a disability. There’s ‘no affirmative action policy in place’ and ‘no desire’ to have one.
‘There’s no-one in the executive leadership team … with any disability sector experience at all, let alone lived experience of disability. They've all come from corporate backgrounds.’
Graziella started out with the human rights team ensuring people with disability had jobs.
‘There were several positions vacant, so I filled them all with people with disability … from our customer base.’
This caused ‘huge problems with HR’, who ‘wanted to call them supported employees’ and pay them supported wages.
‘They weren't. They were colleagues, they were peers … I didn't let them,’ Graziella said.
‘We're talking about people who were going to be given three hours a fortnight – and they wanted to pay them less, treat them less. They were supposed to be embedding human rights in the organisation. It was very tokenistic.’
From the outset, Graziella’s employer promised her workplace adjustments, but they never happened.
‘A footrest, things like that, I buy for myself. But there's just no understanding that that kind of stuff is needed.’
Graziella was ‘always onto them’ about improving accessibility in the office – ‘not just around physical disability, but quiet spaces, safe spaces.’ She tried to introduce disability awareness training for ‘all the corporate types’, but they ‘didn't like being pulled up about language’.
The agency removed advocacy and hiring duties out of Graziella’s role.
‘And it was very clear that they were breaking up the dissenting voice in the team … I talked too much about disability.’
‘People don't want you to talk about your disability. They get very uncomfortable.’
The employer still allows ‘no accommodations’ when Graziella is having ‘a bit of a bad day’.
“Have you tried Panadol?” – I get that from people working in disability!’
Disclaimer: This is the story of a person who shared their personal experience with the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability through a submission or private session. The names in this story are pseudonyms. The person who shared this experience was not a witness and their account is not evidence. They did not take an oath or affirmation before providing the story. Nothing in this story constitutes a finding of the Royal Commission. Any views expressed are those of the person who shared their experience, not of the Royal Commission.