Vision Australia staff, clients and families will join with thousands of Australians with a disability, their families and carers today to call on political leaders to make the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) real.
Vision Australia's Head of International Stakeholder Relations, Maryanne Diamond said the nation's largest provider of services to Australians living with blindness was expecting a massive show of support for the nationwide Every Australian Counts rallies.
"Vision Australia is a proud supporter of the Every Australian Counts campaign and we want to see better, fairer support systems introduced with no further delay," Ms Diamond said.
"Vision Australia has a long and proud history of achievement of human rights for Australians with a disability. We believe the NDIS will make substantial improvements in the lives of people with severe and profound disability.
"Australians with blindness are extremely keen to ensure action now to overcome decades of underfunding, fragmentation and poor coordination in disability services.
"Vision Australia sees the NDIS as another step along the road for human rights and equality for Australians with a disability and we congratulate the organisers of the Every Australian Counts campaign for their work to make disability reform real.
"We believe the NDIS will be strengthened through a response that specifically recognises and manages the impacts of blindness and low vision, and harnesses substantial experience and expertise held by the sector including Vision Australia," Ms Diamond concluded.
Vision Australia delivers services to every State and Territory to assist people manage their vision loss. Vision Australia services include life skills development, low vision clinics, equipment and technology solutions, radio broadcasting, library and information, employment enterprises, advocacy, counselling, seeing eye dogs, mobility help and training and other independent living support.
Vision Australia services help reduce demand for nursing homes and other health services, give people skills and support that increases self-reliance and independence, reduces depression and keeps people safe as they move in their houses and the community.
Make it real!
Every Australian Counts campaign rally for:
- Legislation to introduce the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA)
- Nomination of the location of NDIS launch sites in 2013
- Funding to make these things happen.
More than 300,000 Australians are blind or have low vision.