Chrissy and Beverly
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.
‘Many of the carers of people with intellectual disability are worn out. They come from different backgrounds. They themselves have their own burdens. Many are ageing. So they need accessible support … We don’t need blocks and processes and procedures.’
Beverly is in her 70s and is the full-time carer of her daughter Chrissy, who has schizoaffective disorder.
‘Chrissy is brilliant. I’m very proud of her,’ Beverly told the Royal Commission. ‘But she needs support. She needs people in place of me who would genuinely take care of her.’
Beverly and Chrissy live in a regional town where, before the NDIS, ‘families took much of the burden’.
‘We hoped that there would be new, wonderful ideas … I didn’t think that in 2016 my carer role would extend to almost the last six or seven years being totally consumed by fighting a battle for my daughter.’
Beverly, because of her ‘age and health’, hoped that when the NDIS was rolled out, Chrissy’s transition to the new system would be fast. Chrissy needs funding to live independently of her mother in supported accommodation.
However the NDIA felt Chrissy should remain at home, cared for by her mother. After several inadequate support plans and a funding cut, Beverly took the matter to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.
Beverly said a Legal Aid lawyer represented her while the NDIA ‘had three legal people acting on their behalf’.
‘They were extremely reputable people from reputable firms, which can scare you.’
Just before the tribunal hearing the NDIA ‘granted virtually everything’, including funding for supported independent living (SIL). But Beverly is still worried.
‘People that we know in this area have had SIL … [then] they have had funding, without notice, cut for no reason … I wonder how sure I can be in the future of [Chrissy’s] support by the NDIS.’
Chrissy is also now funded for specialist disability accommodation, but Beverly says there’s none available in their town.
‘We wanted her to stay in her own local community. She’s now looking [at another town]. … If I look at what accommodation is now here, there is nothing. So over those years, from 2017 to now, I struggle to see what improvements there are for people with intellectual 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.