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Unmet Needs includes
the breadth, complexity and inter-relatedness of
the issues at stake for people with physical
disability in NSW. People with physical disability
are economically, culturally, politically and
socially disadvantaged by systemic failures and
inadequacies, including institutional and
individual discrimination.
There is general acceptance
in government circles and the wider community that
there is a significant problem of unmet need with
respect to the provision of support and assistance
for people with disabilities 1.
Our Australian society must
respond to and meet the unmet needs of people
living with physical disabilities' unmet need
for:
- Personal dignity in
our social relationships we establish in
family life, community settings or through work,
leisure and our connection to service providing
systems.
- Independence in making
decisions about our lives in all their
aspects.
- Informed choice from a
range of options that has not been
constrained by systemic failures and/or
discriminatory barriers.
- Participation in all
aspects of Australian society on the same
terms as other Australians.
- Civil and Human Rights
clearly established in Law, based on
inclusive principles and supported by
institutional mechanisms that are capable of
assisting society to meet the legitimate
aspirations of people with
disabilities.
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We should be able to
participate in Australian society on the same basis
and to the same extent as expected by most
Australians.
Too many people with
disabilities struggle to overcome the problems
created by unmet need. Many people with
disabilities are treated no better than second
class citizens, despite the apparently fine words
of the anti-discrimination laws of our land. We
live with the consequences of social exclusion
every day of our lives and in all aspects of our
lives. Meeting the needs of people in NSW living
with physical disability has to be located within
the context of a 'whole-system' approach which
will:
- Empower people
with disabilities so as to make it possible for
every individual to be treated equitably by
society.
- Transform the social
infrastructure by eradicating systemic
barriers to participation by people with
disabilities.
- Provide person-centred
support to people where necessary, based on
appropriate and sensitive assessment of
individual need.
Further reading
Greg McIntosh and Janet
Phillips (2001). Disability
Support and Services in
Australia E-Brief:
Online Only Parliamentary Library publication.
Jackie Ohlin (1999).
Unmet
need in disability services: shortfall or systemic
failure, Current
Issues Brief no. 6, 1999–2000, Parliamentary
Library publication.
Physical Disability Council
of NSW (2000). People
with Physical Disability and Aspects of Unmet
Need and
Unmet
Need - Supplementary,
2001.
Australian Institute of
Health and Welfare (2002). 
Unmet
Need of Disability Services: Effectiveness of
Funding and Remaining
Shortfalls
(2.50
MB).
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Economic independence and
security
The overwhelming
majority of people with disabilities are not in
paid employment. 8% of all people with
disabilities are under 15 years of age. 34% of
people with disabilities are beyond working age.
And in the population of people with
disabilities of working age, 47% are not in
employment. (Disability, Ageing And Carers:
Summary Of Findings, ABS, 1999).
At least 70% of all people
with disabilities receive no income of any
amount from employment.
- for more information see
Cost
of Disability
(Physical Disability Council of Australia,
1997)
An accessible
environment
There is a
continuing denial of citizens' full access
rights in a built environment that discriminates
against people with disabilities. PDCN is deeply
committed to the creation of a barrier-free
built environment. Services and service support
should allow people with disabilities genuine
choice. The failures of design and construction
- still too common throughout New South
Wales.
- for more information see
the Built
Environment Issues Index
An accessible and
integrated system of public
transport
Most Australians
would regard a half-hour delay in the arrival of
a bus, train, taxi or ferry to be excessive,
bordering on the inexcusable. Some Australians -
those of us with mobility impairments - are
being told it is reasonable to wait up to 1, 2,
10 or 20 years before we can board the next
ferry, taxi, train or bus.
Not one component of the
public transport network is yet fully accessible
to all people in New South Wales.
The lack of accessible
transport is the biggest problem people face
because mobility is a key requirement of
participation in the activities of the
communities in which we live, work, take leisure
and use services.
- for more information see
the Accessible
Public Transport Issues Index
An accessible home of
one's own
Accessible housing
is one of the foundation stones of independent
living. By designing and building houses to meet
the needs of all people, we can create a housing
stock that is flexible and capable of adaptation
to the changing circumstances of over the life
span.
Only a very small
proportion of houses in New South Wales have
been built to Australian Standard 4299, the
fundamental requirement for barrier-free
design.
- for more information see
the Built
Environment Issues Index
Aids & equipment that
support independence
People with physical
disabilities in NSW must be
provided with the essential aids and equipment
they need to achieve the quality and standard of
living that make it possible for us to
participate as independent citizens in our
communities.
Many people with
disabilities, including people in employment,
cannot afford to buy wheelchairs, special
seating, hoists, prostheses and other aids
necessary for their independent daily living. In
an escalating spiral of problems faced by people
with disabilities, the need to purchase
essential items adds to the costs of living with
a disability.
- for more information see
the PADP
Issues Index
Personal Assistance to
Support Independent Living
Attendant support or
personal assistance is an essential support
service for many people with disabilities in
NSW. Support systems and services must be
available so people can realise their legitimate
aspirations to control their personal living
arrangements and facilitate participation in
community life.
Attendant or personal
assistance service systems can make it possible
for people to live as independently as anyone
else in the community, to exercise the
fundamental rights of citizenship and to make
the same set of lifestyle choices as their peers
who have no disability. They must be adequately
funded, sensitively managed and under the
control of the person receiving the
support.
- for more information see
the Personal
Assistance Support Issues Index
Adequate therapy
services, particularly for children
The provision and
delivery of therapy services to school-aged
children are beset by substantial, sometimes
overwhelming problems.
People in rural and
remote communities in NSW
receive even less
comprehensive attention to their needs than
people in the urban centres of New South
Wales.
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this
page updated September 27 2006
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The
Physical Disability Council of NSW Inc (PDCN) is
the peak body representing people with physical
disabilities across New South Wales.
PDCN is involved in information, education and
systemic advocacy for, and on behalf of, people
with a physical disability.
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©2001-2008
Physical Disability Council of NSW (PDCN) Inc.
Site maintenance - Craig
Andrews
PDCNSW Inc is funded by the NSW Government's Department of
Ageing, Disability and Home Care.
Views expressed by PDC NSW Inc are not necessarily endorsed
by the NSW Government.
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