14 HEALTH
thursday 29 july 2021
burdekinlocal.com.au
Spinal Life Australia and local advocate protest NDIS ‘age discrimination’ Spinal Life Australia has launched an online campaign and petition, protesting the NDIA ruling that excludes people over 65 from accessing disability support and funding.
Marina Trajkovich SPINAL Life Australia is campaigning against the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) ruling that excludes Australians over 65 from accessing vital disability support funding. Under the current scheme, Australians who become disabled after the age of 65 cannot access the life-changing funds made available through the NDIS, a decision the disability advocacy service says significantly impacts disabled people around Australia. Under the current scheme, those who become disabled after 65 or who were over 65 when the NDIS first came to fruition in 2013 are ineligible for the service and must instead access disability support through My Aged Care, which is less specialised. “We listened to our members, and they said that
this was important, that the inequity in funding between the aged care scheme and the NDIS was a big issue for them,” said Spinal Life Australia’s executive manager of member services Ross Duncan. “If you’re living with a serious disability, the aged care funding does not provide adequate support for people over 65.” He says that as an example, a person living with paraplegia might receive $52,000 a year in support through My Aged Care compared with $165,600 under the NDIS, which also provides specialised support, equipment and disabilityspecific therapy. “The My, Aged Care packages are totally formulaic, whereas NDIS funding is individualised. “Since the start of this campaign, we’ve just been inundated with stories from people all across Australia
about the lack of funding on people’s lives, people who missed out on support by days when the scheme first rolled out.” Duncan adds that when the NDIS was first established in 2013, exemptions were given to avoid rulings from the Age Discrimination Act of 2004 on the basis of setting up the initial trial with a reduced category of people. “We disagree that that was a valid reason, and we believe the government shouldn’t discriminate on the basis of age,” said Duncan. The ‘Disability Doesn’t Discriminate’ campaign invites members of the public to sign the online petition, which sends a letter to their local MP for federal parliament, calling for age requirements for the scheme to be scrapped, acquiring over 10,000 signatures since its inception last month. Backing the campaign is Ayr local and Spinal Injury Australia advocate, 55-yearold Scott Stidston, who at 20 years old had a motorbike accident that left him with quadriplegia. “If you have your accident when you’re 65, you can’t go on the National Disability Insurance Scheme. It’s terrible. It’s discrimination. “It doesn’t matter what age you are. Disability is a disability. It shouldn’t matter what age you are,” he said. Approximately 4.4 million
Spinal Life Australia advocate and Ayr local Scott Stidston
Australians or one in five are living with a disability, half of which are over 65. Calls for over 65s to be included as participants come amid concerns over the scheme’s sustainability, with NDIS minister Linda Reynolds publicly stating that the NDIS is tipped to cost $40.7 billion in 2024-25, $8.8 billion above estimates. A spokesperson from the Department of Social Services said that the decision to exclude disabled Australians over 65 was made with the Productivity Commission’s
recommendations when the scheme was proposed in 2012. “The NDIS was never intended to replace services already provided through the health or aged care systems,” said the representative. A spokesperson from the NDIA said that the scheme remains accessible to those who became disabled before reaching 65 and that they are then able to choose to stay on the scheme or switch to My Aged Care services. “The NDIS provides Australians with permanent
and significant disability with the disability-related supports they need to increase their independence and pursue their goals. “The NDIS takes a lifetime approach, investing in people with disability early to improve their outcomes later in life.” CONNECT NOW: To find out more about the Disability Doesn’t Discriminate campaign, go to www. disabilitydoesntdiscriminate. com.au.
Burdekin councillor: stroke survivor and supporter Bruce Macdonald NATIONAL Stroke Week begins on Monday and local councillor, John Furnell, knows better than most how serious experiencing a stroke can be. The former advanced care paramedic officer had
to give up his career as an ambulance officer as a consequence of his attack which further underlines the severity of his attack in 2013. John had been away on an Army Reserve training camp and it wasn’t until the evening of the following day at a gymnasium in Ayr that he
Symptoms of a stroke • Face: check a person’s face. Has their mouth drooped? • Arms: Can they lift both arms? • Speech: Is their speech slurred? Do they understand you? • Time: If you see any of the above indicators, call triple zero. Why should you care? • Stroke is one of Australia’s biggest killers and a leading cause of disability • More than 27,400 people in Australia had a stroke for the first time in 2020 • More than 80 per cent of strokes display at least one of the recognition signs
had a stroke. “I was alone in the gym and it was about 20 minutes into a solid session on a treadmill when I lost my balance, experienced nausea and started vomiting. “Luckily, somebody came downstairs from a class upstairs and I yelled out,” he added. John was on his way to the Townsville General Hospital soon after. He spent a month there going through intensive rehabilitation sessions at the hospital and considers himself fortunate to only suffer short-term memory loss. “I am grateful to this day to Ayr Hospital staff members, Gloria Brunner from the Emergency Department and Monica Mitchell who travelled with me via ambulance to Townsville
General Hospital” John said. His stroke was associated with a blood blockage to his brain. “I appeal to everybody to visit their doctor regularly and also check your blood pressure regularly,” he said. “I have always tried to keep fit and it goes to show that anybody can have a stroke,” he added. John said it took him the best part of three years to fully recover from his attack. “My voice still gets a little ‘slurry’ every now and again but I’m one of the lucky ones.”
Cr John Furnell
