Jeanne, Lucienne and Taranna
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.
Jeanne is in her late 40s and has physical and intellectual disability.
Taranna, Jeanne’s new support coordinator, said Jeanne’s supported independent living (SIL) service provider neglected her safety, health and complex care needs.
‘While she was living there she had lots of skin degeneration, she had lots of urinary tract infections, she had blood clots, she wasn't really treated, you know, looked after really well. She then was raped by a staff member that was on duty, so there's been an awful lot of trauma.’
The NDIS has ‘failed to address the trauma’, Taranna said, and is ‘just pushing the family away’.
‘Because it's a bit of a too-hard basket, is what it seems to be. And no-one's helping.’
Meantime, the NDIS has cut several hundred thousand dollars from Jeanne’s plan.
‘They won't even look after her and are saying that the family should do it,’ her sister Lucienne said. ‘I've got all my therapists, I've got my doctors, like, we've got medical letters and we've got all this evidence. And I've gone in there 20 different times, they take my statement and then I never hear from them again. I feel very fobbed off, very discriminated against. Then we go into crisis mode because they cut all our funding and then she is at risk.’
Jeanne is ‘bed-bound’ and uses a peg feeder. Her doctors say she needs two-on-one support constantly. But the NDIS disagrees.
‘We are so sick of hearing the NDIS say that’s not value for money, to have two staff members on at night,’ Taranna said. ‘Obviously, that's going to place her in further harm and neglect.’
Taranna has asked for three reviews of Jeanne’s plan.
‘Every time a plan comes out she's reduced more and more and more, going against all the professionals’ wishes.’
Taranna says Jeanne is currently dependent on her family ‘to get through every day’.
‘She requires two people to lift her and she also has extremely brittle bones … So that's what we're dealing with.’
The service provider is still being funded, but ‘they're not doing anything’.
‘They’re not delivering complex support … There’s no training of her staff.’
Lucienne believes the NDIS should never cut plans ‘if there's no change in disability’.
‘Do not touch funds that you've already said are necessary and reasonable. Unless they can prove that the person has improved, gotten better.’
She says the system is ‘destroying families’ by putting them under so much financial strain.
‘We're not asking for something we shouldn't be allowed to have. She needs this stuff. We're not asking for holidays, we're not asking for cars, we're not asking for stuff like that. We're asking for stuff for her to be safe and alive and as healthy as we can get her with all her disabilities.’
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.