Birrani
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.
Birrani has physical disability.
‘In this region … lots of our mob have disabilities and are riddled with chronic disease,’ he told the Royal Commission.
Birrani uses an electric scooter and struggles to get around.
The roads and footpaths are poorly maintained and not accessible. There is no ramped gradient from the road to the footpath or driveway.
‘Sometimes people have to crawl into their yard.’
Many shops and buildings are inaccessible.
‘Even if shops have ramps or good access, they don’t have sliding doors so it’s hard to get in,’ he said. ‘Even the NDIS office here isn’t disability friendly. It’s really hard for me to get my scooter through the doors.’
Birrani has had some problems with the NDIS.
‘When people make the plan, [staff] don’t sit down and explain it properly and slowly to people.’
People nod along, rarely asking questions out of respect or because they don’t know what questions to ask.
‘I reckon [staff] should just sit down and go one page at a time, not too quickly, just take the time to explain. Most mob here don’t have the skills to understand these things – English is a second or third language.’
Staff should use visual aids and signs. He says this would be particularly useful when explaining details and numbers in the plan.
‘Go right back to primary school level and show how much of the plan is gone and how much you have left to use.’
Support workers are in short supply and sometimes not very reliable.
‘We need to be told what we are entitled to receive from service providers and understand what we can and can’t ask for, and what they can’t ask us to do. Some workers are different when the boss isn’t there.’
Birrani sees the NDIS as a coach – overseeing the players and the roles they play. He says they could do more to help the service providers and support workers improve their service.
‘I hope one day the NDIS could look at how things are here, and work with all these service providers to look at how we could have activities like day shopping, buses with ramps and going into [the city] and things like that. All organisations working with disability mob should work together, have a meeting every three months or something like that to talk about issues for people with 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.