Anangu tell their story at the Disability Royal Commission

Therapeutic support for Anangu child with a disability in Alice Springs is not a “family holiday”

Supporting families caring for people with a disability produces the greatest quality of care. In remote areas where there are little to no specialised services, families step in to the bulk of caring for people with a disability with limited respite.

Speaking at the Disability Royal Commission NPY Women’s Council shared many stories of the extra hardship people with a disability  living in remote areas face. Lack of access to therapeutic support & basic disability support services coupled with language and cultural barriers prevent engagement with NDIS plans.

NPYWC told the story of a child with a disability from the NPY Lands needing to access important early intervention therapeutic support in Alice Springs. Due to a range of  serious family hardships including domestic violence and overcrowding, the child’s key carer requested that family members (siblings ) come with her and the child to Alice Springs for her treatment.
Senior NDIS staff stated they could not support “family holidays”.

NDIS plans focus on the individual and fail to consider the families struggling to support people with a disability, often experiencing extreme  financial hardship & with little access to services in their communities. Supporting Anangu families gives people living with a disability out bush the best chance for support.

Read our submission to the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of people with Disability (an updated statement will be available soon).

Find out about Tjungu our Aged & Disability program