Editor’s Notes

As a wheelchair user and disability advocate Alyce says she’s experienced a lot of accessibility issues in her life but this one left her speechless. Her photo ID taken at the Department of Transport didn’t exactly meet her expectations. “The camera to take a photo is actually at a fixed height on the bench and so when I went to have my photo taken it just wouldn’t fit my whole face.” Alyce says staff suggested lifting her electric wheelchair which weigh close to 100 kilos. But when that wasn’t possible, Alyce says they took a dodgy shot showing only half her face. “She said that it wasn’t a great shot, but she and her supervisor would have a look and sign it off.” “At no point was I told that part of my head was missing. I experienced that kind of just benign ableism every day, but you would think for a government department and a frontline service that it should be all accessible.” Alyce is calling for the department to scrap all fixed cameras in all branches to be more inclusive for people with a disability. The Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) has since apologised to Alyce and says it will continue to improve processes to ensure that it doesn’t happen again. Despite everything Alyce still found a way to make light of the photobomb. “My friend made it into a meme and so everybody’s had a little giggle at that.”

In This Issue

2 Editor’s Notes 3 Radean Robinson 4 NDIS 2.0 A New Hope 5 Federal Budget 6 Our Community 7 WhatsUp in Disability 8 Child Safety Blue Card Renewal 9 NGO Training Infographic 10 Toowoomba Group 11 Rockhampton Group 12 Lifestyle Risk Factors 13 Staff Updates 14 What’s happening in November

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