Eileen and Angela
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.
Eileen is 11 and has intellectual disability. She has trouble speaking and eating, and sometimes runs away.
Her mother, Angela, told the Royal Commission that she can’t get appropriate after-school or vacation care for Eileen.
‘We don’t have access to regular specialised childcare the way parents of children without disability do. We then have to find some other way for [Eileen] to be cared for, so my husband and I can undertake employment. That’s very difficult.’
Angela said the NDIA does not fund after-school or vacation care for children with disability. The level of support Eileen needs costs $400 to $500 a day.
‘There is a gap in services. The government needs to be funding specialised care, or the NDIA does. But everyone is saying it’s not their problem.’
Angela said she also spends a lot of time checking Eileen’s NDIS plans for errors. One year, Eileen’s funding dropped more than 80 per cent without explanation. It took time and energy to restore the funding.
‘I am frustrated with the system. It’s so much harder than it needs to be. The layers of obstruction make it too hard for people, and I can see a lot of people around me just giving up.’
Angela said it is difficult getting the NDIA to explain its decisions or respond to complaints.
As it currently stands it would [be] highly likely for someone who is not a lawyer, who doesn’t have the skills and resources available to me, to be totally overwhelmed. It shouldn’t be that way to get an equitable result.’
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.