16 March 2023 - meeting 9 - communique

The Northern Territory Disability Advisory Committee (the Committee) met with the Hon Ngaree Ah Kit MLA, Minister for Disabilities on 16 March 2023 in Darwin. The meeting was chaired by Mr Chris Blackham-Davison. The committee discussed the following matters.

Minister’s update

The Minister provided an update on the independent review of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) that commenced in October 2022 and the planning in progress for a visit to the Northern Territory by the Review Panel. It is proposed the Panel will meet with a range of stakeholders and visit regional and remote communities in order to better understand the unique challenges experienced by people living with a disability in the NT.

The Minister spoke about the community-led pilot project being carried out in Maningrida, led by the Department of Territory Families, Housing and Communities in collaboration the local National Disability Insurance Agency office, aimed at increasing NDIS access in remote communities.

An update was also provided on the building of new Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) with support of land grants from the Northern Territory Government to not-for-profit organisations.

Accessible and inclusive communities – Spotlight on Tennant Creek

Committee member Ms Amy James, and Ms Alba Brockie from First Peoples Disability Network presented on the experiences of people with disability in Tennant Creek in accessing their community and challenges in receiving supports and services from the NDIS.

Key barriers include inaccessible public toilets, non-approved ramps, lack of consultation with people with disability around new building designs and insufficient footpaths.

Ms James and Ms Brockie carried out a survey of people with disability in their community and the following concerns were highlighted:

• not being listened to in matters that involve and effect people with disability including by government and non-government organisations;
• experiencing long delays in receiving assistance, care or equipment;
• Aboriginal people with disability experiencing multiple layers of discrimination in remote areas, with racism a factor;
• a lack of understanding and confusion about the NDIS and there is not enough support to understand the system;
• difficulty accessing the services with some participants choosing to leave the NDIS as its processes are very difficult to navigate, and people do not have sufficient support to understand their plans and access service providers.

Experiences of members in accessing public transport

Ms Lily Reid, Vice Chair of DAC, facilitated a discussion exploring members’ experiences on public transport in the Northern Territory.

A range of negative barriers to access were identified including some bus stops having no shelter; long distances between bus stops; bus services often do not connect; and timetables can be confusing. Other barriers raised are there are no audio or visual cues on buses meaning that people are unaware of the next stop with users having to count the number of stops to alight at the correct place; and there is no ability to communicate between driver and traveller.

A number of positive experiences of public transport in regional areas were identified including in Tennant Creek where there is a flexible town bus route, the Door-to-Door Wheelchair Accessible Minibus service and the Greyhound Connect Service which enables people to get to and from the wheelchair accessible Greyhound bus at night.

The Commonwealth Government is reviewing the Disability Standards for Accessible Public Transport 2002 and asking for feedback, including the ways of enforcing them, by 30 June 2023. See link for further information: Stage 2 Reform of the Disability Standards for Accessible Public Transport 2002 | Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts

NT Disability Strategy – Action Plan update

Ms Gail Carnes and Ms Georgia Thomas from Arts NT presented information on their work to increase access and inclusion across arts and culture programs.

Infrastructure is proving to be the main difficulty. As part of the Northern Territory Creative Industries Strategy 2020-2024 all peak leading bodies who have a five year funding contract are required to have a disability action plan in place. Darwin Community Arts who support the Untitled Gallery, InCite Arts in Alice Springs, and Strong Feelings which is artist-led, all have dedicated programs supporting artists with disabilities.

Katherine Regional Arts will soon be coming on board. Arts NT will continue to work with creative arts industry to support people with disability to access and participate fully in the cultural and creative life of the Northern Territory.

The next meeting is being organised for June 2023.

Mr Chris Blackham-Davison
Chair
Northern Territory Disability Advisory Committee