AUSTRALIAN BLINDNESS FORUM ABN 47 125 036 857 ABF UPDATE – SEPTEMBER 2007 Contents 1. More from the ABF 2. Disability Assistance Package 3. Accessible Voting 4. Accessibility Project 5. Access Card 6. National Unified Lifeskills Model (NULM) 7. Raising Children DVD 8. Workshops on Web Access 9. Information, Publications 10. People 11. National Conferences 12. World Blind Union 13. Other International Items 14. National Disability Services (NDS) ABF Background and Contact 1. MORE FROM THE ABF A memorandum of understanding between the ABF and National Disability Services has recently been signed to formalise the excellent relationship that exists between the two organisations. The ABF particularly appreciates NDS increasing its sponsorship for the Project Officer position. Through the Royal Society for the Blind of SA, a website is being built for the ABF. This will include a recycled equipment exchange pilot program on behalf of the World Blind Union Pacific-Oceania sub-region. As soon as the website is ready to go live, the web address will be circulated. 2. DISABILITY ASSISTANCE PACKAGE - Disability Supported Accommodation Program FaCSIA has released a discussion paper to guide public input into the design and development of the Australian Government’s Disability Supported Accommodation Program. It has also announced that a series of consultation sessions around Australia will occur during September and October. For more information, visit http://www.facsia.gov.au/internet/facsinternet.nsf/disabilities/supported_accommodation.htm about the program and http://www.facs.gov.au/internet/facsinternet.nsf/disabilities/assistance_package.htm about the Disability Assistance Package. - Child Disability Allowance Families caring for a child with disability under 16 years will benefit from a new $1,000 payment, the first to be paid in October this year with future payments being made annually on 1 July. Anyone who qualifies for the Carer Allowance (Child) on 1 July will receive the tax-free Child Disability Assistance payment and can use it for anything that helps. For more information, phone the Disability Assistance Package Inquiry Line 1800 101 888, TTY 1800 260 402 or check the FaCSIA website at http://www.facs.gov.au/internet/facsinternet.nsf/VIA/disabilities_assistance/$file/Helping_Children_with_Disabilities_and_their_Families_Child_Disability_Assistance.pdf. 3. ACCESSIBLE VOTING As previously advised, electronically assisted voting at 29 locations around Australia (http://www.aec.gov.au/Voting/e_voting/low_vision.htm) will provide the opportunity for people who are blind or have low vision to vote in secret. Earlier this year, the federal government passed legislation that means the electoral roll will close on the day the writs are issued, almost always the day the election is called, and those already on the roll will get only three days to update their details. Previously voters had seven days to enroll or update. NSW Minister for Disability Services has released a guide to provide information on voting in all elections, including the coming federal election, for people with disability. The guide will be sent to all government and non-government disability service providers in NSW to ensure people with disability know about their rights and responsibilities. 4. ACCESSIBILITY PROJECT DEWR has initiated a project to improve accessibility to employment service systems (EA 3000 and Australian Job Search http://www.jobsearch.gov.au). The ‘Accessibility Project’ will focus initially on improving access for people with vision impairment, with the ultimate aim being the removal of all barriers that may prevent people with disability from interacting with DEWR’s employment-related IT applications. To inform this project, employment services were forwarded a survey which can be completed online or by fax after downloading a hard copy. The NDS News Update of 17 September provides more information. 5. ACCESS CARD During recent discussions about the access card, Minister Chris Ellison reiterated a commitment that the card’s information would be in an accessible format. The prevailing view that the access card would go ahead in some form no matter which political party was in power changed recently when the Labor Party confirmed to NDS that it would not support the card’s implementation. Recent reports on aspects of the card’s proposed implementation are included in the Office of Access Card website http://www.accesscard.gov.au/. References for other information are given in NDS News Update of 29 August. 6. NATIONAL UNIFIED LIFESKILLS MODEL (NULM) During September, presentations on the development of the NULM and its proposed initial implementation for the 0-5 year range were made to Minister Mal Brough’s Disability Adviser and to the Department of Family, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs. Information has also been provided to the Shadow Minister for Ageing, Disabilities and Carers, Senator Jan McLucas. While there is evident interest in the concept, more needs to be done before the NULM can be launched in 2008. Among other developments, a presentation on the NULM will be made to the 2007 BCA Convention in October, and a parent summit is planned for April 2008. For more information, email Errol Ingram at errol@nulm.org or go to http://www.nulm.org. 7. RAISING CHILDREN DVD The Prime Minister recently launched the Raising Children DVD to be provided free with an Australian Government New Parent Kit to every parent of a newborn over the next two years. When released, the DVD was neither audio-described nor captioned. NDS, in consultation with the Australian Blindness Forum, has written to the Prime Minister about the failure to yet again treat accessibility as an integral part of developing government information. 8. WORKSHOPS ON WEB ACCESS - Writing for the Web: Melbourne 9 October; Canberra 16 November Vision Australia is partnering with respected usability and accessibility expert Dey Alexander to offer unique ‘Writing for the Web’ workshops. Dey is co-convenor of the Web Accessibility Network of Australian Universities and is a regular presenter on useable and accessible web writing to the education, corporate and government sectors. Focusing on excellent content writing, these practical workshops complement the Vision Australia Web Accessibility Workshops. Further information is available at http://www.visionaustralia.org.au/info.aspx?page=685. - Web Accessibility: Hobart 19 October; Canberra 23 October; Sydney 30 October This full-day workshop is targeted at web-development team leaders, corporate communications professionals and business manages, along with content authors and web programmers and designers and contract managers. Further information is available at http://www.visionaustralia.org.au/info.aspx?page=684. 9. INFORMATION, PUBLICATIONS - Hearing check by phone: A new national service, Telscreen, will allow all Australians to have a free hearing check, anytime, anywhere. Developed by the National Acoustic Laboratories (NAL) in conjunction with Australian Hearing, Telscreen is a self check of hearing disability via the telephone and is not a replacement for a face-to-face hearing screening carried out by a qualified clinician. It should not be taken as medical advice. People can access the service by calling the tollfree number 1800 826 500 and following the prompts to start the check. For more information about Telscreen, go to http://www.hearing.com.au/ViewPage.action?siteNodeId=233&languageId=1&contentId=-1. - National Relay Service goes on the Internet: A new communications option for Australians who are Deaf or have a hearing or speech impairment has been launched. Internet relay calls are now possible through an Internet connection via a computer or mobile phone to anyone, anywhere at anytime with complete confidentiality. For more information, go to http://www.relayservice.com.au, email helpdesk@relayservice.com.au, phone TTY 1800 555 630, voice 1800 555 660, fax 1800 555 690, SMS 0416 001 350. - Inquiry into captioning: Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts Helen Coonan has announced an investigation into access to electronic media for people who are Deaf or hearing impaired. The inquiry will investigate developments in captioning and other essential access technologies and consider options for extending these services. The inquiry is to be completed by 30 April 2008, with the full report of that investigation to be tabled in Parliament. For more information, read the Australian Democrats media release on the Deafness Forum website at http://www.deafnessforum.org.au/pdf/DEMOCRATS%20%20MEDIA%20Release%202007.pdf. - National Youth Roundtable 2008: The roundtable is the Australian Government’s youth consultation mechanism. Young people aged 15 to 24 years on 1 January 2008, who are interested in the issues that affect them, are encouraged to apply for the 2008 Roundtable. Applications close on 18 October 2007. More information: http://www.thesource.gov.au/involve/NYR/get_involved.asp - ABC audio titles: ABC Commercial and Vision Australia have formed a partnership to ensure the continued supply of audio books. The agreement provides Vision Australia with access to ABC’s extensive back catalogue of audio titles and enables up to 60 audio book titles to be produced per year. For more information, read the media release at http://www.visionaustralia.org.au/info.aspx?page=823&news=409, or call Vision Australia’s free library service on 1300 84 74 66. - Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission: The HREOC website (http://www.humanrights.gov.au) has been updated with a new visual design, improved menu and accessibility features to make it easier and faster to find information. The Human Rights Commissioner, Graeme Innes, has launched ‘The Overlooked Consumers’ discussion paper which examines accessibility of consumer electronics and home appliances for people who are blind or vision impaired, Deaf or hearing impaired and those who have physical disabilities, limited dexterity or fine motor control or cognitive impairment. The paper, prepared by Tim Noonan of Tim Noonan Consulting Pty Ltd, is available on the HREOC website at http://www.humanrights.gov.au/disability_rights/consumer/overlooked.htm. The paper takes into account the concept of Universal Design and its seven principles – for more information go to http://www.design.ncsu.edu/cud/about_ud/udprincipleshtmlformat.html. ‘The good, the bad and the ugly: design and construction for access’ is a collection of resources aimed at providing information and guidance to designers, builders, planners, certifiers, building managers and access consultants about access to buildings and services for people with disability – go to the HREOC website at http://www.humanrights.gov.au/disability_rights/buildings/good.htm. - Access to Premises Campaign Kit has been launched by the Australian Federation of Disability Organisations (AFDO). The kit will provide information and tools that will help people with disability speak out about the lack of access to businesses and services in their local communities. The kit is available from the AFDO website at http://doc.afdo.org.au/A2P/Campaign_Kit.doc. - New deafblindness publication: The National Consortium of Deaf-Blindness in the USA has released a new publication, ‘Harmonious Interactions’, based on the work of Marleen Janssen in The Netherlands. More information: email Frances Gentle at fgentle@optushome.com.au and visit http://www.nationaldb.org 10. PEOPLE - BCA Executive Officer: On 4 September, Robyn McKenzie began as Executive Officer of Blind Citizens Australia for a six month period. Robyn has thanked Nadia Mattiazzo for her tireless efforts during her time in that role. For more information, email bca@bca.org.au. 11. NATIONAL CONFERENCES - Blind Citizens Australia will hold its 2007 National Conference on 19, 20 and 21 October at the Ibis Melbourne Hotel. The draft conference program is available at http://www.bca.org.au/Convention_Program.doc and the registration form at http://www.bca.org.au/Convention_Registration_form.doc. - The third Australasian Orientation and Mobility Conference will be held from 24 to 27 October this year in the new Guide Dogs Conference Centre at the Association for the Blind of WA in Perth. For more information, go to http://www.abwa.asn.au/conferences.htm or email Annaliese Bienvenu annab@guidedogswa.coma.u or phone 08 9311 8202. - 2008 National Conference of the Round Table on Information Access for People with Print Disabilities will be held in Melbourne on 11 to 14 April, immediately after the Fourth General Assembly of the International Council on English Braille on 6 to 10 April. More information and the call for papers (closing date for submission of abstracts is 5 October 2007) are available at http://www.e-bility.com/roundtable/. 12. WORLD BLIND UNION (WBU) Below are extracts from the WBU E-Bulletin, provided by its First Vice President, Maryanne Diamond. - Asia-Pacific Region: People of potential are being sought to add to the leadership mix of the Region. The WBU is looking for people who are both willing and able to stand for office and/or have their names placed on a skills database that will enable the WBU Region to undertake its own capacity building programs for blind organisations and individuals. For more information, email Geoff Gibbs, WBU Honorary Life Member at geoffgibbs@woosh.co.nz. - International Days: The following days will provide opportunities for raising awareness of vision loss: World Sight Day, focusing on Childhood Blindness, 11 October (http://www.vision2020australia.org.au/news-events-events.cfm?id=1174&t=/2007-world-sight-day/) – also see item 12 Other International Items below International White Cane Safety Day, 15 October (http://www.lionsclubs.org/EN/content/vision_services_whitecane.shtml) - Education For All Visually Impaired Children (EFAVI) campaign: EFAVI is an initiative of ICEVI (International Council for Education of People with Visual Impairment), acting in partnership with the WBU, to ensure that all girls and boys with blindness and low vision enjoy the right to education. The success of the campaign will be measured against increased school enrolment rates; declined drop-out rates; improved access to support services and achievement levels on part with sighted children. For more information, visit http://www.icevi.org/efa/efa_world_conference.html. Note: ICEVI is offering a special discount price of $20.00 for membership subscriptions from individuals living in the Pacific region for the period July 2007 to March 2009. For more information, go to http://www.icevipacific.org.au/. - WBU General Assembly 2008: The Swiss Federation of the Blind and Visually Impaired will host the Seventh WBU General Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland from 15 to 23 August. - International Children’s Congress: The WBU Children’s Committee and the Spanish National Organisation of the Blind (ONCE), in partnership with UNICEF, ICEVI and Save the Children, plans to host ‘Listening to the Children’, the first International Congress for Blind and Partially Sighted Children, from 25 to 29 March 2008 in Pontevedra, Spain. The congress will aim to provide a forum for a group of teenagers who are blind or partially sighted from around the world to reflect on their current status and make their demands and needs known to decision and policy makers. 13. OTHER INTERNATIONAL ITEMS - United Nations: The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol will be highlighted at the annual United Nations treaty event in late September and early October, organised to encourage United Nations Member States to participate in international treaties. For more information, visit http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/enable/index.html. The Human Rights Commissioner, Graeme Innes, called on the dignitaries attending the Asia Pacific Forum in Sydney this month to help each other implement the UN Convention by sharing their experiences in promoting the human rights of people with disability. More information: http://www.asiapacificforum.net. - 2007 World Sight Day, 11 October: Vision 2020 Australia lists the following themes for ‘Our Vision for Children’ (http://www.vision2020australia.org.au/news-events-events.cfm?id=1174&t=/2007-world-sight-day/): - They have the best possible vision to last their lifetime (prevention) - They can all lead active and independent lives (low vision) - They all have access to good eye care services (ATSI) - Their birth place does not deny them the right to sight (global) The ABF messages for ‘Our Vision for Children’ are: - Maximum independence and integration in the Australian community - Systematic development of essential skills throughout the growing years at home and school and in the community - Implementation of the National Unified Lifeskills Model (http://www.nulm.org) - Perkins School for the Blind: Steven Rothstein, President of the school, stopped off in Canberra to meet with the ABF and NDS on his way to Perth to attend the International DeafBlind Conference. The Perkins International Program is dedicated to building capacity at the local, regional and national levels to develop independent, sustainable educational services for children who are deafblind or blind with multiple disabilities throughout the world. The program is already supplying Perkins Braillers, teacher training and other services through partnerships in 170 countries. Steven Rothstein was interested to hear about the ABF proposal for a recycled equipment exchange, which will include Perkins Braillers, to be piloted in the WBU Pacific-Oceania sub-region. For more information about Perkins, go to http://perkins.pvt.k12.ma.us/. - International Council on English Braille (ICEB) will hold its Fourth General Assembly on 6 to 10 April 2008 in Melbourne (immediately before the Round Table Conference listed above). The ICEB call for papers closes on 15 November 2007 and abstracts should be in the hands of Eileen Curran, National Braille Press, 88 St Stephen Street, Boston MA USA by that date. - 24th Annual Pacific Rim Conference on Disabilities has been rescheduled to 14 and 15 April 2008 in Honolulu, Hawai’i – go to http://www.pacrim.hawaii.edu/ for more information. - AsiaPacificDisability is looking for writers for a new disability publication, Fulcrum Magazine. People with disability, who would like to share their stories, are especially encouraged to submit ideas or get involved. For more information, visit http://www.fulcrum-magazine.com. - Australian Disability and Development Consortium (ADDC) is a national network focusing attention, expertise and action on disability issues in developing countries and building a national platform for disability advocacy. Further information about ADDC, plus news and resources, can be found at http://www.addc.org.au, or contact the ADDC Coordinator, Paul Deany at info@addc.org.au, phone 1800 678 069. 14. NATIONAL DISABILITY SERVICES (NDS) - CEO Meeting: This year the NDS CEO Meeting will be held in Canberra on 28 and 29 November in the new five-star Hotel Realm. A new format will improve the interaction and networking among participants, drawing on their own expertise and experience. Advance publicity and the registration form are available on the NDS website at http://www.nds.org.au/conferences/CEO2007/home.htm. - Inaugural Children’s Conference: The first national conference on children and young people with disability and their families, ‘Every Child Matters’, will be co-hosted by NDS and Families Australia in Melbourne next year. It will identify issues, share solutions, celebrate successes and help services to better respond to needs across four themes: family wellbeing; one community; our voice – listen, strengthen, share; policy, practice and priorities. The conference on 14-15 May 2008 falls within National Families Week and ends on International Day of Families. A Call for Papers has been issued and closes on 26 October 2007. For more information, visit http://www.nds.org.au/conferences/CYF2008/home.htm or email margaret.verick@nds.org.au. ABF BACKGROUND AND CONTACT The Australian Blindness Forum (ABF) was first formed as an unincorporated body in 1992, funded only by its members. On 23 April 2007, the ABF became an Australian public company limited by guarantee, funded by its members and governed by a board of directors. The purpose of the ABF is to operate as a peak body representing the blindness sector for the benefit of people who are blind or vision impaired. The Project Officer (Australian Blindness Forum) is located at the ABF’s registered office, 33 Thesiger Court, Deakin ACT 2600. Contact Margaret Verick, phone 02 6283 3214, email margaret.verick@nds.org.au.