Breda
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.
Breda is a young woman with immune system disorders and other disabilities.
‘I’ve had long-term chronic infections through my body … and extremely and severe complex health issues,’ she told the Royal Commission.
A few years ago, the NDIS knocked back funding for home and living support in Breda’s plan.
‘I have waited for three-and-a-half years to get a response from NDIS appeals. I had the court hearing with the AAT and they won’t enable me to engage with their process. I haven’t been able to get a lawyer. I’ve tried everyone and none of them will help.’
The NDIA said Breda needed ‘more evidence’. A lack of ‘specialist support coordinators’ in her state is preventing her from getting updated reports from therapists.
‘They’re all at capacity. And I’m still in this fight with trying to find an OTT who knows anything about complex medical conditions and chronic infections.’
Meanwhile, Breda’s trying to get an autism diagnosis.
‘The NDIS won’t help me pay for the assessment. They’re just ignoring, like, a huge part of my disability.’
Breda has struggled to find affordable housing. Last year she found a place, but the service provider insisted that she sign a 90-day contract.
‘And they wanted to charge me over $3,000 per hour for support work … They’re all fucking defrauding the system. And I said I wouldn’t sign it, it’s over half my NDIS plan gone in one month … Then they kicked me out, left me homeless.’
Breda said the NDIS did nothing.
‘I ended up being left for dead with no support for eight months because of the fraud. It’s really corrupted and they want to pay these like greedy providers $10,000 a week for temporary short-term accommodation.’
But that ‘type of funding’ – for group home accommodation – isn’t right for her needs.
‘There’s no way I’m going into a group home, because I catch everything around me.’
She wants the NDIS to include disability housing in her plan.
‘They refuse. They won’t even listen. Able-bodied people in social community housing don’t have to prove why they want self-contained housing. It’s so unfair that I do.’
Breda said she’s ‘too unwell to engage with the system any more’.
‘I’ve been through all the housing and homeless services … and none of them will help me. The NDIS, like they want to fucking leave me homeless while my health gets worse and worse and worse.’
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.