The Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities and Children’s Services, the Hon Bill Shorten MP, has announced that the Australian Government is providing funding of up to $500,000 per year across five metropolitan areas to further expand individual advocacy support for people with disability.

Combined with 10 regional areas previously announced to receive new funding for individual advocacy, this brings total funding to expand the delivery of individual advocacy services and improve service coverage to $1.5 million per year.  Funding is from the 2007-08 Federal Budget measure to fund improvements to the National Disability Advocacy Program. This funding will further improve access for people with disability to individual advocacy support, assisting them to overcome barriers such as abuse, neglect and discrimination so that they can fully participate in the community.

The Australian Government Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA) disAbility e-news is a regular sector update informing the disability employment and advocacy sectors about FaHCSIA disability issues.

Australian Government Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA) disAbility e-news Issue 119:

•  Case Based Funding (CBF) Reference Group - Red Tape Reduction
•  'Do it Yourself' (DIY) Marketing Kit workshops - NSW
•  Focus on Products and Services - Call for contributors Program Updates
•  Business Services 2007-08 acquittal reports
•  Weekly Wages and Weekly Hours - Deadline of 15 November
•  Changes to FOFMS  Business Services in Action 
•  Phoenix assembles future for students with disability

disAbility e-news | 3 November 2008

National data on services provided under the Commonwealth State/Territory Disability Agreement

Disability support services 2006-07 is a report on data collected as part of the Commonwealth State/Territory Disability Agreement National Minimum Data Set (CSTDA NMDS) between 1 July 2006 and 30 June 2007. The NMDS provides information relating to CSTDA-funded service outlets and users of these services, including support needs of users and informal care arrangements. The special focus chapter uses trend data from four full-year data collections to describe changes in the profile of CSTDA consumers since 2003–04 and their patterns of service use.

Authored by AIHW. View online for free

Source: Disability support services 2006-07: National data on services provided under the Commonwealth State/Territory Disability Agreement (AIHW)

The Council Minister’s Council (CMC) brings together arts and cultural ministers from Australia and New Zealand.  The CMC agreed to develop a National Arts and Disabililty Strategy which is about giving people with a disability a greater voice in the develoment of arts policy and practices.

For the first time, lump sum payments are being extended to include more than 700,000 Disability Support Pensioners.

The Rudd Government will deliver a $4.8 billion down payment on long term pension reform to Australia's four million pensioners, carers, seniors and veterans.

Many of these people are under financial pressure from rising living costs and more recently the impact of the global financial crisis.

These payments are a first step. The Government knows that pensioners are doing it tough so we are giving them support now in the lead up to pension reforms that will be delivered in the Budget context

We are delivering this financial assistance while we get on with the job of reforming the pension system for the long-term.

The lump sum payment of $1,400 to single pensioners and $2,100 to pensioner couples will benefit some of Australia's most vulnerable groups,