Multicultural Disability Advocacy

Association of NSW Inc.

Vision“...a community where everyone,

regardless of background or disability,

feels welcome, included and supported."

MDAA Inc. is the peak body for ALL people from NESB in NSW with disability

and their families and carers

It is a non-government organisation funded mainly by the Commonwealth

Department of Social Services, and the NSW government of Ageing,

Disability and Home Care, Department of Family and Community Services.

It is a community based and managed by a committee whose members are

from different cultural backgrounds with different or without disability

Staff and volunteers are from different cultural backgrounds and may have

disability.

Staff are from different cultural backgrounds and may have disability.

Our Top Five Advocacy

Issues

• In 2014-2015 MDAA individual advocates

responded to more than1300 enquiries and

assisted more than 450 people with all types of

disability (sensory, physical, intellectual,

psychiatric, brain injury, etc) & dealt with about

1200 issues

Top Five Advocacy Issues

2011-2015

Key Statistics 18 to 64 y.o.

• Language Spoken

– LOTE 26.16% ESB 73.84%

• Unemployment

– General Community

• LOTE 7.85% ESB 5.04%

– Need for Assistance (Profound/Severe)

• LOTE 19.70% ESB 13.37%

Barriers to Services • Personal barriers of consumers

– stigma

– lack of confidence

– limited language skills

• Financial Vulnerability

• Lack of Information and difficulty in navigating the

service system

• Lack of technical skills- Inability to access in-

formation re: services (if the information is provided

online, people from CaLD backgrounds may not

have access to computers/internet)

• Lack of awareness about services and eligibility to

access services

Access Issues

External and Systemic Barriers

• Discriminatory and negative attitudes

• Culturally insensitive service

• Inaccessible information

• Conflicting information and

interpretations in service

• Qualification recognition related barriers

when entering Australian workforce

Access Issues

• Language barriers – Not having access to translated materials eg –

the NDIS website does not provide information

on how to access language services or direct

people to find translated materials.

– The translated materials are not clear enough

– translations use technical jargon

– Illiterate in their own languages

– Limited budget cost associated with using

interpreters

Access Issues

• Visa type determines service access

– Temporary visa holders very limited in

service access and programmes

– NZ citizens are excluded from most

benefits unless they have permanent

residency or Australian Citzenship

– Permanent visa holders will have

waiting periods to benefits 2 year and

10 year rules for DSP.

Robina’s Personal Challenges:

• language and communication difficulties,

• lack of knowledge where to find community

and disability support services as well as the

lack of understanding of the systems,

• a considerable level of stigma around

disability and mental illness,

• fears around lack of confidentiality particularly

in smaller communities like mine

• Isolation due to lack of transport and family

support/networks

• financial difficulties

Robina’s Personal

Challenges:

Barriers to Access Services

• Culturally not responsive and often times

not meeting our needs. There seems to

be a fear of my culture and religion and

sometimes I get the feeling that people

become extraordinarily nice when dealing

with me

• Information provided is very confusing

• Sometimes I feel like a ping pong being

passed on from one service to another

Multicultural Disability Advocacy

Association of NSW

www.mdaa.org.au

02 9891 6400

1800 629 072

National Relay Service:133 677

Email mdaa@mdaa.org.au