Monty
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‘Contributing to community and receiving some renumeration for that, and exercising my skill sets and my intellect and drawing on my social construct is important to me.’
Monty is in his 60s and blind. He was a primary school teacher until his sight started failing about 30 years ago.
‘The department of education … left the responsibility for adjustments to the principal and that’s not his role or her role,’ Monty told the Royal Commission. ‘I was very fortunate for the last three years that I had a principal that was exceptional.’
When the department presented him with ‘changes of syllabus, all the pre-planning, et cetera’ in fine print and gave him ‘no ability to access anything’ to help him read it, he resigned.
Monty travelled for a year, teaching English overseas.
‘No-one asked me or doubted my professional capacity to do a job simply because I had a vision disability.’
When he returned to Australia more than a decade ago, he received a Disability Support Pension (DSP), but also started looking for work.
‘People with disability who can’t find work are often left socially isolated … A workplace is the opportunity to get away from your home environment. The workplace is an opportunity to meet with different people.’
Monty, who lives in a regional community, went to a disability employment service (DES) hoping to get a job for about eight hours a week.
‘[The employment agencies] were getting $890 every three months to have me on the books … but I was being parked.’
Monty said the agencies made no serious attempt to help him find an appropriate job. For example, he was asked to apply for a job at a welding works.
‘As a person with vision loss, I don’t know what they want me to do, but a welding works is fraught with danger … I was asked to seek work as an usher in a cinema … I was sent information to apply for training as a security guard driving around at night.’
Monty said when he complained, the agencies told him he didn’t have to work because he already had the DSP.
‘The worst part for me is that as a blind person I’m a voluntary client. And the number of times I’ve heard that, “You don’t have to be here.”’
Monty said all he wants is an office-based job for a few hours a week with assistive technology.
‘Once I’m up to speed I can perform at the rate of any sighted person.’
Monty said he also asked the NDIA for access to assistive technology, but because he lives in a regional area it’s too expensive to travel interstate to get the NDIA-approved assessment.
‘I’m absolutely sure that with the right assistive technologies that I can function so much better than I am now. And I don’t have any assistive technology outside my laptop.’
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.