The Canterbury Bankstown Chamber of Commerce hosted the Celebrating People With Disability event at Western Sydney’s University Bankstown City Campus on September 26. The event was attended by the Minister for the NDIS, Bill Shorten, along with other notable guests including Mona Salem, the Director & Founder of Hope & Care, Bruno Calfapietra, the Principal of BC Property Agents, Ben Fioramonte, the General Manager of Children, Families & Disabilities Support, The Honorable John Ajaka, Chairman of My Guardian, Philip Petrie, CEO of Alevia Limited, Abrahim Darouiche, Account Manager of Hope and Care, and Jad Haber, CEO of My Guardian.
The event kicked off with a few remarks from Jad Haber, CEO of My Guardian, who mentioned some interesting points on how people with disabilities and their families go through three phases, the first being denial. Haber emphasized that during this phase, people start questioning themselves and asking, “Why me? What have I done wrong?” The second phase is the fight, where “you start looking at life differently” and approaching it from different angles and perspectives. The final phase is acceptance, “where love and compassion take over.”
Following Haber’s remarks, Minister for the NDIS Bill Shorten delivered an inspirational speech where he spoke on the updates and state of the NDIS scheme. Shorten mentioned that since June 2024, there have been 631,000 participants in the scheme and stated that there are over 400,000 people who work for the NDIS. Shorten also spoke on how he saw people with disabilities at the bottom end along with Indigenous Australians and how it was creating a second-class system due to an attribute. Moreover, Shorten emphasized how we are used to seeing carers as saints and looking at “people with disabilities and saying to them, send them to daycare.” “In terms of investment, this country, our country, our home, is investing more resources in the lives of people with disabilities than any other country on the planet,” Shorten emphasized.
An interesting comment Shorten highlighted was, “The NDIS is in danger of being the only lifeboat in the ocean. In other words, it’s NDIS or nothing and that wasn’t what was meant to be. The NDIS is meant to be for people with the most profound and severe impairments, but too often hospitals are sending out patients, and if they think you’re on the NDIS, everything is an NDIS matter,” Shorten said.
Shorten further highlighted how he sees people in schools without their own speech pathologists and physiotherapists and sees kids using their packages to bring in external providers into the school system, which wasn’t the intention of the NDIS scheme. Furthermore, Shorten stated what the NDIS is reviewing, such as upgrading the systems, and said that he thinks “we fund disability more than ever before and that there is enough money in the system.” However, he stated that there are challenges such as the planning and budget-setting processes being very complex.
Additionally, he pointed out how the scheme has become a two-class system. “If you are rich, living in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, you know the right people to write the right reports, and you can get a decent package. But if you’re battling to get someone, you’ve got a waiting list to get your kid in to see a psychologist in the West, and this is not just Sydney, but Melbourne too, and other places,you don’t get the same packages. So what we want to do is create more equity,” Shorten stated. He also spoke about the need to improve the calibre of staff and train them more.
Moreover, Shorten claimed that a 12-month review found that there are registered and unregistered suppliers of services and mentioned that there will be a principles-based, risk-based registration scheme. “If you’re doing highly complicated tasks which involve a high level of safety, then you are going to have to meet real criteria. If all you’re doing is being a disability support worker driving someone to the shops and back, I do want to know you have a driver’s license, that you exist, so there will be different tiers of registration.” Shorten also spoke about how they will list what NDIS can support and what an non NDIS supports.
The CEO of Alevia Limited, Philip Petrie, shared his personal journey regarding disability, explaining how he left school at 17 and was born with a physical condition that initially prevented him from walking. He was fortunate, however, as it could be fixed, allowing him to walk as a child. Petrie mentioned how he has seen changes in social policy, community attitudes, and the recognition of human rights for all Australians, including those with disabilities, since the introduction of the NDIS.
Account Manager of Hope and Care, Abraham Darouiche, also shared his story of being on the NDIS and how going to university and studying helped him live the life he wanted. However, he found it challenging to find a job and had low confidence, but with the help of Mona Salem from Hope and Care, Darouiche secured a job at Hope and Care. The event wrapped up with short remarks from Ben Fioramonte, Bruno Calfapietra, and Mona Salem. Overall, the event was successful in providing insights into the NDIS and the experiences of people with disabilities.
