Here’s our round-up of the top six headlines in the disability sector.

NDIS roll out to reach Sydney in July

The NDIS will be rolled out across northern, south-western and western Sydney starting on July 1st. According to the Productivity Commission, the NDIS will lead to an additional 320,000 people with disability and approximately 80,000 carers being employed nationally by 2050, boosting Australia’s GDP by one per cent. The number of NDIS participants is expected to increase from approximately 30,000 to 110,000 over the next year as the scheme becomes more widely available, eventually reaching 460,000 people by 2019.
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Queensland government shows commitment to NDIS

According to the recent Queensland State Budget, disability services will “increase by more than 10 per cent in the next financial year (2016 – 17), with more than $1.7Bf or disability services.” The Budget allocates $5M towards readiness initiatives to assist Queenslanders to prepare for the NDIS.
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People with disability to play key role in UN goals

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon reiterates the UN’s resolve to tackle disability rights during its 9th Session of the Conference of States Parties to the CRPD (Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities). The conference is also the first UN gathering on disability since the adoption of the Sustainability Development Goals (SDG) in September 2015 which calls for the elimination of poverty and inequality for all people with disability and upholding the rights of persons with mental and intellectual disabilities.
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NDIS releases South Australia Market Position Statement

The NDIS released the Market Position Statement for South Australia to inform current and prospective providers, and market stakeholders of the opportunities the NDIS will create in South Australia in the coming years. In South Australia, there are expected to be around 32,000 NDIS participants compared to approximately 17,000 people with disability currently receiving funds.
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'Finding Dory' sheds light on disability

Pixar’s latest feature film, Finding Dory, has put disability in the spotlight. Finding Dory has a character with a debilitating disability that develops coping mechanisms, gets help where she can, forges ahead when help isn’t available, and succeeds on her own terms. In the movie, Dory is devoted to her search for her parents, from whom she was separated as a child due to her short-term memory loss. The movie sheds light on Dory’s strengths and creativity, rather than lamenting her disability and gently suggests that disability isn’t always a limitation.
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Conference on disability to take place in Vatican

The Vatican is co-sponsoring a conference on disability, culture and faith called Living Fully 2016. The aim of the conference is to initiate critical conversation around the experiences of people with disability among the families and Church, and across context and cultures. Living Fully 2016 will run from the 23rd to 26th of June, 2016.
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