Meghan and Mae
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.
Meghan lives in a shared house in a regional town with the help of supported independent living (SIL) funding.
Meghan’s grandmother and legal guardian, Mae, told the Royal Commission the SIL funding is ‘set up in such a way as to leave the disabled client destined for a life of poverty while the providers make a sizeable profit from each client’.
The service provider receives the SIL funding for Meghan. Mae said the provider also charges Meghan 85 per cent of her Disability Support Pension and all her rent assistance to live in the house. The provider then gives Meghan a fortnightly $220 supermarket card to buy food.
‘Now for most of these homes there are at least three to five people sharing the building so that's an absolute mind-blowing amount of money being made by the service provider.’
Mae said because service providers and accommodation were ‘very thin on the ground’ in rural areas, and the waiting lists were ‘a mile long’, people with disability were ‘virtually forced into these agreements’.
‘For our granddaughter the option of privately renting with age-appropriate friends is not an option so we are given no choice.’
Mae said service provider accommodation should be better regulated and fees limited to a ‘set amount they can charge a client that is in line with their income’.
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.