A COMMUNITY OF DIVERSITY
Communities are made up of diversity. With that comes a diversity of different needs. The
diversity of any community is a central aspect of its development and an important factor in
planning appropriate and accessible community services.
Life expectancy and health outcomes vary between cultural groups and socioeconomic
status. Sections of the community, for example Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
communities and refugee groups, can experience poor life expectancy rates and can have
specific health problems that relate to complex underlying issues. Issues of social exclusion
and prejudice can have significant impacts on the life and health of people with disabilities
and from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. In order to meet the needs of a
diverse community it is important to understand what different groups identify as their needs
and concerns.
This section presents the findings and outlines services within the City of Gosnells local
government working with the Aboriginal community, people from culturally and linguistically
diverse (CALD) backgrounds and people living with disabilities.
19
ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDERS
The emphasis of current government policy is to support the development of services for
Aboriginal people that are autonomous and managed by Aboriginal people. Driven by the
Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) and other key Aboriginal organisations,
self determination, rather than the paternalistic policies of the past, is seen as the key to
improving the circumstances of Aboriginal communities. For instance
‘In August 1994, Cabinet endorsed a framework to progress a State/Commonwealth
Aboriginal Housing Bilateral Agreement in Western Australia to bring about more
efficient and integrated planning and coordination between State and Commonwealth
government agencies and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission
(ATSIC). The framework has the objectives of increasing self-determination and selfmanagement by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in planning, decision
making, management and evaluation of housing provision’ (Aboriginal Housing Board
at iinet.homeswest.wa.gov.au, 2002).
This direction in policy is reflected across a diversity of sectors including education, health,
and housing.
Whilst these changes can only be seen as positive, Aboriginal organisations, particularly in
the Health and Welfare sectors still face the same funding constraints as ‘mainstream’
services. Further, there is a lack of recognition by funding bodies of the complexity and
diversity of issues that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities face. In relation to
health this is never more apparent:
•
Indigenous death rates show that age specific death rates are higher for Indigenous
people than for the whole of the Australian population with the largest differences
observed among males and females between the ages of 35-54 years when rates are
shown to be 6-7 times higher (The Australian Bureau of Statics, Occasional Paper on
Mortality of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, 2000b: ix).
122
•
The ATSIC Health Policy states, ‘The gap between the health of Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander peoples is actually increasing, a trend exacerbated by the
widening socioeconomic divide between city and country and increasingly privatized
services’ (2001:4).
•
The causes of nutrition-related morbidity and mortality in Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander people are also different to those of the non-Indigenous population with diet
associated conditions such as cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes and renal
disease named as major causes of death, illness and disability in the Indigenous
population (ATSIC Health Policy, 2000).
•
The effects of family breakdown and the destruction of kinship connections from past
and present government policies as outlined in the National Inquiry; the Bringing
Them Home Report (1997).
Aboriginal people are also over represented in homelessness statistics. The State
Homelessness Taskforce 2002 reports 20% of Aboriginal people experience overcrowded
accommodation (for full findings on homelessness and the Aboriginal community see section
12). Similarly, in the areas of education and employment the needs of Aboriginal people are
not always recognised or responded to in culturally appropriate ways (see, Ministerial Council
on Education Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA) Taskforce on Indigenous
Education, June, 2001).
There is a rich Indigenous cultural history in the City of Gosnells local government area. The
Noongar people have lived in the region for thousands of years and there are several official
sites of significance to the local Aboriginal community within the region. However, in recent
years Aboriginal peoples from outside the area have moved into the region adding to the
diversity of the Aboriginal communities.
There a number of services focussed on supporting the Aboriginal community living in the
City of Gosnells local government area. Some of these services have been developed and
are managed by the Aboriginal community and some operate within other generalised
services through designated Aboriginal positions. The City employs Aboriginal Liaison
Officers, and a part time Indigenous Youth Worker who works with Aboriginal youth and acts
as a cultural broker and liaison officer with the Aboriginal community. The City of Gosnells
employs a full time Indigenous Project Officer and also 7 Indigenous Officers. No positions
are identified and categorised by the Equal Employment Opportunity Act as an Indigenous
position. The aim of the services and the Aboriginal positions is to provide culturally
appropriate services to Aboriginal people living in the City of Gosnells locality.
In 1996 the City of Gosnells made an unsuccessful attempt to develop a formal policy and
strategic plan to inform future directions and service provision for the Aboriginal community of
the City of Gosnells local government area. The plan was not formally adopted by Council.
19.1
Outline of Services
Housing Services: As well as the general housing services available to all the community
the housing needs of the Aboriginal community are met through the Aboriginal Housing Board
and the Aboriginal Housing and Infrastructure Unit.
Moorditch Koolaak Housing Project is a locally based Aboriginal organisation that assists
Aboriginal families who are having problems in relation to accommodation issues. They
provide limited accommodation and work closely with families as advocates in Homeswest
applications and transfers. They have a stock of 4 crisis care houses with 6 month short term
leases and have recently acquired 4 more homes.
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These are funded by the Department of Housing and Works and by Aboriginal Torres Strait
Islander Commission. Families who lease the crisis care homes are also offered social
support and counselling through two Aboriginal Family Support Officers. They also assist
Aboriginal people to gain access to the private rental market where they may often be subject
to discrimination. The centre also assists men and women who are in crisis and requiring
emergency accommodation, particularly in instances of domestic violence.
Kwobidak Karla home support programme also operates out of Moorditch Koolaak providing
assistance, information, counselling and other support to Indigenous families.
South City Housing also provides housing for Aboriginal people with twenty per cent of the
housing stock held dedicated to accommodating the needs of Aboriginal people. The service
also has two, four bedroom houses in the local area designated to single Aboriginal men.
These houses have an Aboriginal caretaker to assist in maintenance and selecting
appropriate tenants.
(for full findings on homelessness, housing and accommodation issues see section 12)
Medical Services: Derbarl Yerrigan provides health and medical services to Aboriginal
people across the Perth Metropolitan area. The City of Gosnells local government area is
covered by the Maddington branch of the service. There are two doctors available at the
Maddington office with specialist services accessible through the main branch. In addition
there is a community health team of 5 health workers who do home visits, school education
programmes and Sexually Transmitted Disease care follow up. The service works with a
holistic philosophy of care and so at the same time as giving medical care they also offer
social support with medication information, financial counselling, and transport for senior
citizens to appointments. Derbarl Yerrigan also provides some transport for seniors and
mothers with young children within the boundaries of their region.
Derbarl Yerrigan also has a Mental Health Support service which works on an outreach basis
through mental health workers and where appropriate refers clients to Yorghum which is an
Aboriginal Mental Health Service located in West Perth.
For a full outline of medical and health services see section 25.
Community Health Services: As well as the 5 health workers from Derbarl Yerrigan there
are also Aboriginal health workers working through Armadale and Bentley Health Services.
These workers primarily do outreach work to Aboriginal families, providing a holistic care that
includes counselling, information, social support, education, assistance with doctor’s
appointments, health promotion and advocacy on issues such as housing, finances, transport,
Centrelink problems etc. They also do immunisation and referrals to appropriate services for
emergency relief needs.
Youth and Childcare Services: The City of Gosnells supports Aboriginal youth through the
appointment of an Indigenous Youth Worker and through the support of various youth
programmes and Kenwick Youth Centre. The worker is extensively involved in activities for
Aboriginal youth through the Kenwick Youth Centre including Aboriginal Sports Carnival,
Aboriginal Cultural Day, Family Events and a Sports Mentoring Programme.
The City also support children through programmes like the after school care programme for
Aboriginal children at the Maddington Child Care Centre. This is managed by one of the
Aboriginal Health Workers who works from the Maddington centre.
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Other after school care programmes are also conducted from Boogurlarri Community House
and Wattle House. Whilst these are not specifically directed towards the Aboriginal
community they are well attended by Aboriginal children.
Coolabaroo Neighbourhood Centre provides cheaper child care, out of school care, school
holiday care, a sports mentoring programme for youth, Kindergarten and Independent PrePrimary to Aboriginal children. This centre is managed for, and by Aboriginal people and
although it is open to all children there is an emphasis on providing child care to Aboriginal
families and their children. The service is funded through the Multifunctional Aboriginal
Children’s Services (MACS) and through special funding for specific programmes.
For a full outline on youth, children and family support services see section 22.
Parenting Services: Department for Community Development fund a programme for
Aboriginal families called Best Start. The service provides information and ideas on parenting
strategies and skills (such as speaking to children, disciplining, playing and interaction etc) to
Aboriginal families, primarily mothers and carers. This is achieved through workshops, peer
group support and one-to-one consultations. Workshops are on a range of topics including
nutrition, blood pressure, budgeting skills and domestic violence. The service also provides a
play group for children between 0-5 years of age which helps get children ready for school.
The service also works with schools and carries out parenting groups with Aboriginal parents
at schools when asked.
Boogurlarri Community House employs an Aboriginal family support officer (soon to be
changed to development officer), whose role is to provide social support counselling,
information and support to Indigenous families.
Employment Services: There is no designated Aboriginal employment service in the City of
Gosnells local government area. Noongar Enterprise Aboriginal Corporation (NEAC), through
Perth Employment and Enterprise Development Aboriginal Corporation funding, is an
Aboriginal owned and managed enterprise that employs Aboriginal people in a small rug
making business. It also operates a ‘work for the dole’ scheme that does gardening and odd
jobs service around the district. There are also other small light industries that focus on
training and employing Aboriginal people in the area, however, these are not always
managed by Aboriginal people.
NEAC is currently under threat of closure due to funding issues.
Education Services: Designated Aboriginal and Islander Education Officers work in many
schools to support the needs of Aboriginal students and their families, further schools also run
Aboriginal Student Support and Parent Associations (for full outline of education services see
section 15.1).
Community Liaison Services: The Indigenous Community Liaison Officers Service is a City
of Gosnells initiative and works in collaboration with the Indigenous community. This is an
outreach service that patrols known trouble spots to reduce levels of violence, providing
assistance and relevant referrals for those that require it. They also work as cultural brokers
within the community.
19.2
Findings
It is well recognised that accessing Indigenous communities poses particular challenges for
researchers. As such the findings in this section are predominantly based upon consultations
with local service providers.
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The strategies used to gain insights from local Indigenous residents about the issues and
needs for their community included a focus group with residents and the distribution of
surveys by services working with Indigenous residents. As local householders Indigenous
people may have participated in the mail out of the survey to residents.
Employment options: It was identified that there is a lack of Aboriginal people employed in
local, mainstream services and there are compelling reasons to employ Aboriginal people at a
local level, not just in services designated as Aboriginal services. Services highlight the
positive effects of increasing the number of Aboriginal people working in all ‘mainstream’
services including, better employment options for Aboriginal people, improvements in the
cultural appropriateness of services, a positive sense of esteem within the Aboriginal
community, and encouragement to other employers in the region to employ Aboriginal people.
They also point out that this would work to build confidence in the Aboriginal community about
the ability of mainstream services to meet their needs, thereby lightening the load on
Aboriginal services as well as providing appropriate access and a choice to use mainstream
services.
The focus group consulted reflected these sentiments explaining that many Aboriginal people,
for example, are reluctant to use mainstream child care centres because of the lack of
Aboriginal staff and cultural appropriateness.
(for full findings on child care see section 22, employment see section 14)
Older women and family care: Several services point out that many Aboriginal families gain
child care through grandmothers and other older family members. For full findings on the
issue of older Aboriginal women and family care see section 19.2.
Drug and alcohol misuse: In relation to the Aboriginal community alcohol and drug use are
raised as huge concerns. This is especially concerning in relation to solvent use and children
and the level of open use and availability of drugs to youth and children. This finding is
supported by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Substance Misuse Program, Final
Report, which found that the ‘Epidemiology of drug use in the Indigenous community is
dynamic with increasing evidence of people taking up drug use, at a younger age’ (1999: 5).
Need for locally based services run by the Aboriginal community (for full findings on drug and
alcohol related issues see section 27).
Housing: It is well established by national and state taskforces and the findings of this
research that Indigenous peoples are most profoundly affected by homelessness, housing
and accommodation issues (for full findings on homelessness, housing and accommodation
issues see section 12).
Multi-purpose service centre: Aboriginal Services state that the dispersal of services at
different places throughout the City of Gosnells local government area creates a barrier to
access for clients. Service providers indicate that there is no ‘one stop shop’ where people
can access a better co-ordinated service that addresses people’s needs in a holistic way.
Presently people are referred to several places, requiring further travel and incurring more
costs. Focus group findings support that this is a major issue for Aboriginal families who are
more likely not to have access to their own transport. They also point out that many
mainstream services are not on public transport routes. This works against National
objectives that aim to enable Aboriginal people to be self determining and to manage
organisations that are appropriate and reflect the complex needs of Aboriginal communities
(also see section 18 on Service Delivery).
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Advocacy services: Service providers identify a lack of advocacy services to adequately
deal with demand particularly in relation to financial, housing and legal issues. Many services
state there has been an increasing lack of tolerance by major utility providers in terms of
negotiating payment of overdue utility bills. This is supported in reports that the ‘debt
collection market’ is a burgeoning industry (Thornhill: 2002). In some situations power and
water supplies are cut off resulting in health concerns such as overflowing sewerage. This is
particularly an issue for those families who have several children. Whilst acknowledging
household expenses are the responsibility of the individual consideration must be given to the
social and economic circumstances and disadvantage experienced by some families.
Services point out that there needs to be a more measured and compassionate response
when the wellbeing and health of children is being compromised.
City of Gosnells Aboriginal Policy and Strategic Plan 1996: Key informants report that
the Gosnells Aboriginal Policy and Strategic Plan developed in 1996, although not formally
adopted by the Council, provides a blueprint for further work and action. Review of the
document for this research indicates that whilst not all the objectives or aims have been
addressed there has been some progress made in particular areas. Within the City of
Gosnells council organisation there has been a small increase in the number of Aboriginal
people employed. Most recently there has been the appointment of an Indigenous Project
Officer.
Leaving aside the controversies surrounding the Policy and Strategic Plan, this research
found that on the whole the locally based Indigenous services stated they had a good working
relationship with the City of Gosnells and some were very positive about the support they
received from the City of Gosnells.
Aboriginal Child Health Service: Health services working with Aboriginal children identify a
need for more specific services for Aboriginal children (for full findings on child health and
Aboriginal child health see section 22).
Child participation in sport and leisure activity: Findings from service providers, key
informants from the local community and an Aboriginal focus group identify Aboriginal
children and youth are prohibited from participating in local sporting activities and other
leisure activities because of financial constraints and transport problems. The cost of
membership, uniforms, equipment and travel are all costs that are unavoidable if a child is to
participate fully. This barrier has a long-term effect on the wellbeing and health of children in
creating healthy lifestyle habits, social connections and positive role models. Aboriginal
parents from the focus group also identify that current programme structures that require a
long term commitment and large sums of money up front are also barriers to participation.
They point out this is especially the case as many Aboriginal families have several children.
They also reveal that vacation swimming courses for children are too expensive for most
Aboriginal families and therefore very few Aboriginal children can attend them (for full findings
on child participation in sport and leisure activities see section 17).
Note: This section gives findings that are specific to Indigenous communities in the City of
Gosnells local government area, however, concerns and needs for the Indigenous community
are also discussed in the relevant sections: education, employment, homelessness and
accommodation, welfare, drug and alcohol, medical services, family and children, youth,
transport, community and leisure.
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20
PEOPLE FROM CULTURALLY AND LINGUISTICALLY DIVERSE
BACKGROUNDS
Cultural diversity is a defining characteristic of Australian society and includes the richness of
indigenous cultures, early European settlement and succeeding migration of people from all
over the world. Since 1945, almost 5.9 million people have come to settle in Australia. There
has also been more than 599 000 people arrive under humanitarian programmes, initially as
displaced persons post World War II and more recently as refugees from a variety of
countries. More recent statistics indicate that the 92,272 new settlers to Australia between
July 1999 and June 2000 were from more than 150 countries. Most were born in New
Zealand (23.7%), the United Kingdom (10.0%), China (7.4%) and South Africa (6.2%)
(Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2000c). The table below presents the number of people who
settled in Australia by country of birth between July 1999 to June 2000.
New Zealand
21 889
23.7%
United Kingdom
9 201
10.0%
China
6 809
7.4%
South Africa
5 631
6.2%
India
4 631
5.0%
Philippines
3 186
3.5%
Indonesia
2 943
3.2%
Fed. Rep. Of Yugoslavia
2 210
2.4%
Fiji
1 856
2.0%
Malaysia
1 771
1.9%
DIMA (2001)
On a smaller scale the City of Gosnells local government area has shared in these national
settlement patterns; as illustrated by the latest ABS statistics and the range of different
languages spoken by residence living within the City of Gosnells local government area,
including Arabic, Serbian, Croat, and Cantonese. However, historically settlement patterns in
Perth have been more focussed in the northern suburbs and Fremantle and as such that is
where many of the major services have been established. Recent shifts in the way migrants
are settled have led to some relocation of services in order to better address a growing need
in the southern areas of Perth.
Migration patterns to Australia have always been in part a reflection of wider international
events as well as national policies and changing criteria that are set according to current
national interests and goals. In general new migrants must meet regulations on health and
character but in addition different criteria for different categories of migrants are also set.
Migrants are chosen from two broad streams – Skill Stream and Family Stream. There is also
a Humanitarian Programme directed to people from refugee or refugee-like situations in
urgent need of resettlement. The total migrant intake in any year is the combined number of
arrivals from both programmes.
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In 2001-02 there were 85,000 new arrivals under the Migration Programme, with preference
given to the Skill Stream (Department of Immigration Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs
(DIMA), Fact Sheet 64, 2001).
Australia also has a substantial number of people who overstay their visas, this is estimated
to be 60 103 people in June 2001. Twenty six percent of these were people who had
overstayed their visas by more than 10 years. At 30 June 2001, the largest number of
overstayers were from the following countries:
Country
Est. Overstayers
% of all Overstayers
Overstayers rate
UK
6 273
10.5
0.43
USA
5 142
8.6
0.41
PRC
3 898
6.5
0.52
Philippines
3 795
6.3
3.87
Indonesia
3 555
5.9
0.65
DIMA (2001)
The Humanitarian Programme, the focus of attention in recent debates, has three parts to it:
•
Refugee: for people who meet the United Nations Convention definition of a refugee
and have been identified in conjunction with UNHCR as in need of resettlement;
•
Special Humanitarian Program (SHP): for people who have suffered violations of
human rights, displacement or hardship, and who have strong support from an
Australian citizen or resident or a community group in Australia; and
•
Onshore Protection Visa Grants: for refugees granted Protection Visas in Australia
(DIMA, Fact Sheet 64, 2001).
From 1989 to August 2001, approximately 13 489 people arrived in Australia under the
banner of ‘boat people’ or ‘illegal arrivals’. Of that number, 3 379 have subsequently left
Australia to return home or to travel to other countries, 1 125 were granted permanent
residence as refugees, 52 were granted permanent residence on other humanitarian grounds,
and 4972 were granted Temporary Protection visas (DIMA, Fact Sheet 64, 2001).
Since September 2001 migration legislation has decreed any unauthorized arrival to
Australia, who has resided for at least seven days in a country where they could have sought
and obtained effective protection, will not be able to access a permanent protection visa.
These people are still eligible for a three year temporary protection visa (TPV) if they are
found to be owed protection obligations. They may then apply for further protection visas if
they have a continuing protection need.
TPV holders are:
•
able to work and receive Job Matching from Centrelink
129
•
eligible for Special Benefit, Rent Assistance, Family Tax Benefit, Child Care Benefit,
Double Orphan Pension, Maternity Allowance and Maternity Immunisation Allowance.
(Any Special Benefit entitlement is stringently means-tested and is reviewed every 13
weeks)
•
able to gain access to Medicare benefits
•
eligible for referral to the early health assessment and intervention programme
•
eligible for torture and trauma counselling
TPV minors are also eligible for the Commonwealth funded English as a Second Language New Arrivals program to assist their participation in school classroom activities (see, Fact
Sheet 64, DIMA, 2002)
Migrant Services
The main focus of policy and service provision is to assist new migrants to settle into the
community and achieve independence as quickly as is reasonably possible. Whilst it is
accepted that people will need extra help acclimatising to a new country and that specific
services are necessary to help people over this difficult time the ultimate aim is for people to
access mainstream services available to everyone in the community.
Services and programmes to assist migrant settlement in the Australian community are
provided through ethnic and other community organisations. These are funded by DIMA on a
competitive tendering basis. In 2000-01, DIMA awarded a total of $18.4 million under the
Community Settlement Services (CSS) Scheme and $9.1 million under the Migrant Resource
Centre (MRC)/Migrant Service Agency (MSA) program.
The Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP) provides up to 510 hours of basic English
language tuition to migrants and refugees from non-English speaking backgrounds (excluding
adults with TPVs). These are funded through DIMA through contracts with organisations in
each state. In 2000-01, AMEP assisted 33 352 adult migrants at an estimated cost of $98.9
million (DIMA, Fact Sheet 64, 2001).
The needs of refugees presents particular challenges to service providers as they are
severely disadvantaged; often in poor health and traumatised; of non- English speaking
backgrounds; and from rural cultures where there has been little access to modern
technologies, education or health care. However, it is important to remain mindful they are
also from a diversity of backgrounds and many have skills and are well educated but do not
speak English.
To assist refugee settlement a national framework was established in 2001 called the
Integrated Humanitarian Settlement Strategy (IHSS). The aim of this strategy is to provide a
holistic, integrated and targeted approach to settlement services for Humanitarian programme
entrants. It is based on a competitive tendering system administered through the Department
of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs (DIMA).
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Policy Responses
Social and cultural diversity provides a significant cultural, social and economic resource and
at the same time presents challenges to policy makers and service providers. Australia's
multicultural policies have developed over time with early policies based on ideas of
Assimilation, whereby people of other than British backgrounds were expected to blend into
the ‘host culture’ by casting aside their language and cultural background. This policy
direction was superseded in the mid 1960s by the Integration model, which accepted people
had a right to retain their identity and original language and culture. This model was replaced
in the 1970s by the concept of Multiculturalism that is based on a principle celebrating the
cultural diversity of Australia (see Fact Sheet 6, DIMA, 2002).
Current multicultural policy is guided by the 1999 New Agenda for Multicultural Australia. The
Council for Multicultural Australia (CMA) was established to coordinate and promote the
objectives of the New Agenda. It is based on a report by the National Multicultural Advisory
Council (NMAC) called Australian Multiculturalism for a New Century: Towards Inclusiveness
(1999). This report coins the term ‘Australian multiculturalism’ and recommends Australia
adopt a definition of Multiculturalism that ‘recognises and celebrates Australia’s cultural
diversity’ and which ‘accepts and respects the right of all Australians to express and share
their individual cultural heritage within an overriding commitment to Australia and the basic
structures and values of Australian democracy’ (1999: 6). The main thrust of the New
Agenda is to promote ‘inclusion’ of all Australians and to adopt a model of multiculturalism
that moves beyond a simple focus on immigration issues and minority ethnic communities. Its
four fundamental principles include social equity, cultural respect, productive diversity and
civic duty.
Within this framework Multiculturalism also refers to policies and programmes designed to
improve the cultural responsiveness of ‘our administrative, social and economic
infrastructure’, to advance social harmony amongst cultural groups and to optimise the
benefits to be found within Australia’s cultural diversity for all Australians.
The City of Gosnells works towards the goals of the New Agenda by fostering acceptance
and knowledge about different cultures through its community programmes with various
events that focus on celebrating diversity in a multicultural community, such as the annual
multicultural food festival.
20.1
Outline of Services
Many of the major services that work with people from culturally and linguistically diverse
backgrounds are not located in the City of Gosnells local government area. However, the
peak migrant organisation for the South East Corridor, South East Metropolitan Migrant
Resource Centre, is due to move to the Gosnells area and it is anticipated that this will have a
positive impact on identifying the needs and providing services to people living in the City
from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
Presently within the City of Gosnells local government area there are a number of Welfare,
Community and Health Services providing services to people from culturally and linguistically
diverse backgrounds, particularly those from non-English speaking backgrounds. Further,
most major mainstream service providers operate according to principles of ‘best practice’ in
terms of catering to the needs of those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
Both Armadale and Bentley Health Services, including Mental Health Service ensure ‘best
practice’ in meeting the needs of people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds
and use official interpreter services where appropriate to the meet the needs of clients from
culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
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Settlement Services: These services are funded through Department of Immigration and
Multicultural Affairs, under the Integrated Humanitarian Settlement Strategy (IHSS). In the
southern parts of Perth
•
The Catholic Migrant Centre provides initial information and orientation assistance
(meet and greet),
•
Gowrie WA Inc provides accommodation support services,
•
The Society of St Vincent’s de Paul (WA) Inc provides household formation support
services (i.e. furniture, cutlery etc), and
•
The Association for Services to Torture and Trauma Survivors (ASeTTS) provides
early health assessment and intervention.
The Gowrie informed the researchers that they had only settled two families and 2 single
people within the City of Gosnells local government area in the last 12 months. However, it
must be remembered that this does not include people on Temporary Protection Visas
(TPVs).
Social Support Services: Arriving in a new country without extended family or friends can
mean people experience a great deal of social isolation, this is particularly so for people who
are not proficient at speaking English and whose cultural or religious background are different
to those of the host country. There are several service providers in the City of Gosnells local
government area that have programmes in place to provide opportunities for people to
socialise and build their own social networks. These can be informal gatherings or more
formal workshops or courses that have the added benefit of teaching new skills and
conversational English. Services include:
•
Communicare, Cannington has a Community Settlement Worker who conducts
various groups and courses including sewing and English classes.
•
The Gosnells Women’s Health Service through a multicultural women’s group.
•
Boogurlarri Community House through social groups and more formal workshops.
•
Wattle House through the ‘Health and Wellbeing’ group which also has a focus on
mental health and wellbeing.
•
Southern Rivers Christian Church has an Arabic speaking service Sunday evenings
for people from countries as diverse as Egypt, Jordan, Israel, Sudan and Afghanistan.
Note: Support for the community is also provided through many community groups and
associations for specific religious and/or ethnic communities and the Ethnic Communities
Council of Western Australia.
Welfare Services: People from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds
access mainstream welfare services (for full details on welfare services see section 16).
Whilst none of the services say they see large numbers of people from CALD backgrounds
they report that food assistance is accessed by older people from CALD backgrounds who
are ineligible for mainstream government assistance and who have no family supports.
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The Gosnells Community Legal Centre has a tenancy advocate for people from CALD
backgrounds. Communicare in Cannington is a central service provider that has various
welfare and support roles in linking people into their own local community services.
Mental Health: A designated Mental Health Access Worker for people from culturally and
linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds is situated at Wattle House and primarily funded
through the South East Metropolitan Migrant Resource Centre. The service provides
counselling and out reach to people experiencing mental health problems including people
newly discharged from hospital, torture and trauma victims and women living with domestic
violence. The service also provides advocacy and referral to appropriate services. It is also a
reference point for the community and mainstream services to gain more knowledge and
understanding about the mental health needs of people from CALD backgrounds.
More specific services for targeted issues include ASeTTS, situated in Perth City centre.
Childcare: Wirrabirra Child Care Centre caters to the needs of children and their families
from CALD backgrounds. They use the services of Inclusion Support Workers from the Ethnic
Support Unit who speak the same language as the child being cared for. This helps not only
the child and their family to understand the routines and protocol of the centre but also
educates mainstream staff about the cultural practices of the child and their family.
Coolabaroo Neighbourhood Centre provides affordable childcare services to low income
families including children from CALD backgrounds
English Lessons: 510 hours of English lessons are funded by DIMA through Adult Migrant
Education Service (AMES). These are offered by West Coast College (AMES) and Central
TAFE to new migrants who are eligible under the Adult Migrant English Program. In addition
there are some local services that have English classes when funding allows or volunteers
are available and who also provide informal opportunities for conversational English. These
include Wattle House, Boogurlarri Community House (also does computer training) and the
Gosnells Womens Health Service.
20.2
Findings
It is well recognised that accessing people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD)
backgrounds poses particular challenges for researchers. As such the findings in this section
are predominantly based upon consultations with local service providers and community
representatives. As local householders CALD people may have participated in the survey
mail out to residents.
English lessons: Services report that the current system for providing English lessons to
migrants which is funded by DIMA and coordinated through AMES is inadequate (see
previous section). The 510 hours allocated for English lessons are not enough for clients to
become proficient enough in speaking and reading English to gain employment and properly
access services. This finding is supported by other peak organisations such as ASeTTS
which reports 27% of clients from across Perth have problems associated with English
acquisition (ASeTTS, 2001:11).
Some people require more hours or different settings to learn English than is currently
provided under the AMES system. Further, services note this is a particular issue with
regards to people under Temporary Protection Visas who are not covered by AMES and so
do not receive the 510 hours allocated to other new arrivals to Australia but must rely on
services often based on volunteer teachers, such as Communicare and Boogurlarri
Community House to gain English lessons. However, there are not enough of these services
and so it is considered a serious gap in service provision.
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Key representatives of local CALD communities identify there is a need for not just formal
language lessons but also common usage or colloquial English. A recent study on
employment and language skills for people from CALD backgrounds, called Working English,
also confirms that current English lessons are not sufficient and that they do not address the
need for more colloquial English (Mitchell, Reid Boyd and Chapple, 2001). The lack of
colloquial language is seen as a major barrier to employment and full inclusiveness in
community life. This in turn can have an impact on personal wellbeing and the ability to
access services and health care.
Recreation and community spaces: Services and key informants from different cultural
groups state there is a lack of places where people can meet where formalised activities are
not necessarily the focus but where people from CALD backgrounds can gather, socialise,
openly raise concerns and develop their own ideas and ways to address problems.
It was also reported that there is a need for more cultural, leisure and recreational activities
that are culturally and linguistically appropriate to different communities living in the City of
Gosnells local government area. This was especially seen to be a problem for youth from
CALD backgrounds.
One service highlights that many new migrants currently arriving are from rural backgrounds
and are used to growing their own vegetables and fruit and that there is a current lack of
places where people who do not have the advantage of a garden can grow their own food.
(for full findings on community, leisure, recreation and sport see section 17)
Social isolation: Many of the services working with people from CALD backgrounds
emphasise the significance of social isolation on health and wellbeing and that people from
CALD backgrounds are at particular risk of suffering from feelings of isolation for many of the
reasons already stated but also due to cultural differences and traditional family views.
Groups identified include people from Middle Eastern and some African countries and men
from a Bosnian background due to the lack of a cohesive community that some groups gain
from religious affiliations. This local experience is shared more broadly according to ASeTTS
2001 Annual Report which shows 18% of 631 clients seeking counselling and advocacy
stating they are isolated or lonely (ASeTTS, 2001: 11).
Services state that for refugee communities in particular, additional emotional and practical
support is required for at least two years after arrival. This is backed in A Needs Based
Analysis of the Refugee Sector compiled by Trinity Uniting Church Refugee Committee
(2001). It was identified that that there are gaps in social support because some people do
not like to rely on their own community for support but then miss out on mainstream support
systems due to issues of access.
(for full findings on issues of service access and mental health social isolation see sections 18
and 26, respectively)
Cultural awareness: Community representatives and many service providers, including
Welfare Services and Aboriginal Services, state that there is a lack of cultural awareness in
the community and that this extends to service providers (including Health and Welfare
Services) and the Business Sector. Some services report racism within the City of Gosnells
local community and some perceive this has increased or become more overt in recent years;
an impression that is backed up by A Needs Based Analysis of the Refugee Sector compiled
by Trinity Uniting Church Refugee Committee (2001).
Community representatives and one service provider see the lack of cultural awareness to be
a particular problem in relation to accessing culturally sensitive General Practitioners.
134
Community representatives also identify there is a need to incorporate within the current
library system an Islamic education library, the provision of which would have two purposes.
•
To give the opportunity to Islamic people to read books in their own language
including different Arabic languages, eg Somali and Afghan. This includes books for
adults and children and reference books for teachers. The Holy Book, The Quran, is
not available currently in the libraries.
•
Islamic books for the general community as the Australian Islamic College fields
many enquiries from people in the community who want to learn more about Islam
and the basic principles of Islam.
One service provider in the Health Sector also states there is a lack of understanding by
medical professionals about the logistical problems involved in organising interpreters and
other health workers for set appointment times that are then changed without notice.
Dental health: Child Health Services identify that there is poor dental health in people from
some CALD communities especially those arriving through the Humanitarian Programme; the
Somalia and Bosnian Communities were identified to have particular needs. They state that
health promotion strategies need to be developed for these groups. This is backed up by
broader research, such as 'Williams and Infirri (1996) who report that migrant and refugee
communities are high-risk groups for poor general and oral health. They state there are a
number of contributing factors including limited access to basic necessities, risky behaviour,
and a mismatch between services and health belief systems of migrants and refugees (1996).
Note: This section presents findings that are specific to people from CALD backgrounds living
in the City of Gosnells local government are. However, concerns and needs for CALD
communities are also discussed in the relevant sections: education, employment,
homelessness and accommodation, welfare, medical services, family and children, transport,
community, services and leisure.
21
PEOPLE LIVING WITH DISABILITIES
According to national statistics 19.5% of the total population are living with disability
(Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2000a). Of these it is estimated that 87% have the kind of
disability that presents a significant restriction in terms of participating in employment,
education and other activities (ABS, 2000a). The impact of disability on a person’s life varies
for each person and may include physical, sensory, neurological, cognitive and/or intellectual
disability. It is important to note that disability is not always obvious or visible and there is a
great deal of community ignorance and discrimination in relation to people with disabilities.
Many people with disabilities report a good quality of life and simply require a greater
recognition and support of their needs to enable fuller participation in the range of
educational, work and social activities. In much the same way as other categorised groups,
people with disabilities have a diversity of needs, abilities and obstacles to face. Disability
may have a mild or a profound affect on the lives of those affected including family and
carers. It is therefore important to keep in mind that strategies proposed to meet the needs of
people with disability and their family and carers must be flexible and responsive to diversity.
Rates of disability are reported to increase with age starting at 4% for children aged 0–4 years
and increasing to 84% for those aged 85 years of age and over. Similar rates of disability are
reported for men and women (around 19%) with some differences noted in relation to age and
gender. Higher rates are reported for males at younger ages (0-14 years) and at older ages
(60-79 years), with women being most affected between the ages of 80-84 years of age
(ABS, 2000a). At the state level it is reported there are currently 355,000 people with
disabilities in Western Australia out of a total population of 1.8 million.
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Of the people with disabilities more than 95%, or 339,300, live in the community. With an
ageing population, governments are increasingly focussing policy and support services to
people with disabilities through informal care arrangements, i.e. relatives, friends and
neighbours. It is therefore not surprising that over a number of years more and more people
with special needs are remaining in their own homes cared for by family and friends and
supported by various community and health organisations.
It is important to note that many people with a disability are independently living and working
within our communities. Independent living or living with the support of informal carers raises
different issues and problems than the previous models of institutionalised based care. On
the one hand, non-directive strategies are needed to support people with disabilities to live
independently. On the other hand, support must also be provided to carers if informal care is
to be sustainable long term. Both nationally and internationally the needs of carers, as well
as those they care for, are increasingly being recognised by governments and services
providers as concerns requiring new responses by way of policy and societal support.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics Disability and Carers report states that nationally some 2.3
million people provide some level of informal caring assistance to those who are disabled or
ageing. The majority of carers are women (56%), with men most commonly undertaking a
caring role as a partner. A significant number of children under the age of 18 (181,100) also
provide care as well as 133,300 people who are over the age of 75 (ABS, 2000a). This
situation presents a number of issues as the role of caring can severely impact on the lives of
carers in terms of loss of paid employment, social isolation, work overload, depression and
stress (cf. Shean, 2000).
As the peak state government body in relation to people with disabilities and their carers the
Disability Services Commission has central role in promoting the wellbeing and health of
people living with disabilities, their family and their carers. The main thrust of disability
policies and the Disability Services Commission is to assist people with disabilities to access
mainstream community services and participate in their communities. The Disability Services
Commission also works with a philosophy that has as its main objective the empowerment of
those with disabilities and their carers.
Linked to the philosophy of independence and self management, funding is directed towards
the individual rather than service providers. People with disabilities and their families can
then choose what services they access and whether to self manage their funding or contract
an agency, at a cost, to manage their funding. This model assumes a level of competence in
people’s abilities to navigate the administration and protocols associated with securing
support and services.
In line with local government legislation the City of Gosnells has a Disability Services Plan
(DSP), which looks at access and the infrastructure available to those with disabilities and
convenes the Disability Advisory Committee, which offers people with disabilities, carers and
other disability agencies an opportunity to provide Council with advice on disability issues.
The City has a designated Disabilities Officer to coordinate existing programmes and develop
new initiatives. It also runs community awareness programmes to increase public awareness
about disability and the needs of people with disabilities and currently runs SafetyLynx, a
project that addresses safety issues, in addition to promoting positive perceptions and an
inclusive community.
21.1
Outline of Services
General Support Services: The Disability Services Commission, through Local Area
Coordinators (LACs), provides support to people with disabilities and their families/carers by
building long term relationships with families in order to respond appropriately to the needs of
each individual and family.
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By promoting family leadership LACs assist families to develop the confidence, knowledge
and strategies to build their own social support networks within their communities and to
identify and select the support they feel they need. In this role, they are pivotal in informing
people about local services and community groups and play an educational role to the
community. This support role is not available to people over 60 years of age and its core
client group consists of people with intellectual disabilities.
The City of Gosnells operates services to support families through:
•
‘Take a Break’ organises holiday breaks for people with disabilities between the ages
of 6-59 years old. It thus provides respite for both carers and people with disabilities.
•
Inclusion Respite Service provides community based activities to individuals and
small groups
•
School holiday care that works to include children with disabilities into existing
programmes
•
Carers Programme to support carers and provide the opportunity to form social
networks with other carers. Under this banner there is a Male Social Network group
for fathers and male carers.
‘Carer Support’ is a Commonwealth Government initiative to provide financial assistance,
resource centres, respite centres, counselling and other support services. The Carers
Association of Western Australia also provides support services for carers.
Independent Living Services: To assist people with disabilities to maintain their homes
and self care, Gosnells Community Support Services provides domiciliary services including
gardening, house cleaning, in home respite care, some maintenance, personal care and
transport assistance to eligible people. Eligibility is assessed by the Gosnells Community
Support Services according to prescribed criteria. Other services include:
•
The Addie Mills Centre provides a practical support role to people with disabilities
who need it through Meals on Wheels.
•
Assistance and advice on equipment and aides that promote independence is also
available through the Perth Independent Living Centre.
•
‘Get There’ is a service funded by the Disability Commission to assist people with an
intellectual disability to learn how to use public transport and to help them feel
confident in using it so that they can access community services and participate
independently in education and employment.
Education Services: For full details on education see section 15.
Leisure and Recreation Services: Several agencies provide day time activity centres for
adults with disabilities. These include the Addie Mills Centre and the Gosnells Community
Support Centre. People are transported by bus to the centres. The Addie Mills Centre also
operates programmes for children.
The City of Gosnells also conducts holiday activities for teenagers with a disability and other
holiday and respite care programmes.
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Recreation Network, funded through the Disability Commission and various grants, provides a
database on recreational activities across the Perth metropolitan region. Its main service
includes consultation with people with disabilities and their families/carers in order to develop
individualised activity programmes that meet the interests of the individual. A ‘buddy’ system,
based on volunteers, also provides friendship, outings and social opportunities to people with
disabilities.
Employment Services: Not all people with a disability require assistance in gaining
employment and training. To assist those people who do need that help Good Samaritan
Industries (partially funded by Disability Services Commission and their own business
activities) provides employment and TAFE accredited training opportunities to people with
disabilities. They also assist in placing people with a disability in employment positions
across Perth with various employers including the City of Canning, Murdoch University, the
University of Western Australia, and many others.
Respite Care Services: Respite care beds are available through seniors’ residential
accommodation, although there is only a total of three allocated for this purpose in the
immediate locality of Gosnells. This results in long waiting lists. Day respite care is also
offered to children through the Wirrabirra Child Care Centre, Forest Lakes Family Centre and
the Day Activity Centre in Gosnells. Silver Chain provides up to 8 hours a week home respite
to families caring for children and adults. Overnight respite care for children is accessed
outside the local area through centres such as Catholic Care Riverton and Pelican in
Bayswater.
Men’s Social Network Group for Male Carers: This is a support group that the City of
Gosnells operates through Disability Services. They meet regularly to share information and
provide support as well as the opportunity for social interaction and networking with other
men.
21.2
Findings
Supported accommodation: Service providers and focus groups identify a shortage of
supported accommodation that is appropriate for people who need support if they are to live
independently in the community. Focus groups also highlight that the shortage in
accommodation is compounded by a deficiency in the level of government funding for
supported accommodation. According to one major service provider, currently 80% of people
with disabilities are not funded. Services indicate that supported housing takes up a major
component of funding but assists only about 20% of people with disabilities. This percentage
is directly linked to the strict eligibility criteria used to assess the needs of people with
disabilities and their families. Focus groups and key informants state that families have often
reached a point of crisis before they can access supported accommodation. Further, it was
noted this is often related to the ageing of cares/parents (some of whom are in their 70s and
80s).
A key informant explained that the assessment process can take years and often involves
another 2-5 years of waiting for suitable accommodation after funding has been allocated to
the individual. This wait is due to a variety of reasons including:
•
a lack of purpose built housing
•
time lags between the completion of purpose built housing and/or modifications to
general housing stocks to make them suitable
•
waiting for a vacancy at an existing group home
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•
establishing a harmonious group of people who can live together
The issue of day time care in supported accommodation was also raised as a concern by one
service provider. Due to a shortage of relief staff adults living in supported accommodation
who for reasons of illness or other issues may have no option but to leave their homes and
attend their daily activities whether well or not. Concerns were also raised by stakeholders
about the inappropriate placement of young people with disabilities in seniors’ residential
accommodation.
Flexibility in respite care: Key informants from different stakeholder groups identify a lack
of flexible respite care that is responsive to the diverse needs of people with disabilities and
their carers. Indeed there is no locally based residential respite care apart from the 3 beds
allocated through seniors’ residential homes.
The City of Gosnells respite services are designed to be age appropriate and responsive to
individual needs and preferences. All respite activities through the City of Gosnells are
conducted in the local or wider community, rather than being Centre based. However, service
providers and focus groups identify an unmet demand for more (not necessarily local
government based) age appropriate and flexible models of respite care, especially overnight,
evening and week ends.
The following comments from Phase Three surveys and interview data are illustrative of the
expressed need:
More facilities for disabled children (respite, child care) (Canning Vale)
There is a lack of respite care and it gets worse for 18 years of age and over
(Maddington).
The participants above also report that families managing children who have challenging
behaviours, for example, hyper activity, incontinence and anger management, have difficulty
in locating service providers willing to accept their children.
Due to increasing demands and requests for ‘… flexible respite including emergency,
weekend and overnight’ it has been set as a funding priority in the Home and Community
Care Program Plan 2001-2002 (2001: 30). Our findings indicate that respite care is often
defined narrowly and that the ‘bricks and mortar’ model of respite care is merely one form of
respite which if defined more flexibly could include centre based day care, occasional care,
home based respite care, child care, recreational outings and holiday breaks that include the
whole family. Services that do provide home based support for short breaks are severely
limited in the total hours they can offer per person.
Through focus groups and interviews it was made clear that different stakeholders have
different views about what is needed and what respite care means. The term ‘respite care’
does in fact have negative connotations for some carers because:
•
it is seen as long term and a sign that they as carers are not able to cope
•
it may raise feelings of guilt over their duty to care
•
it often entails long travelling times
•
it involves an insurmountable effort to organise
139
•
it means placing the role of care in the hands of a stranger
The recipient of care may share similar fears with the added feeling of isolation and
strangeness. An example that was given through interviews with service providers and focus
groups was the lack of respite care for children in the local area which means that many are
forced to attend a different school whilst they attend respite, in centres as far away as
Bayswater.
Social isolation: Service providers, focus groups and survey responses in Phase Three of
the study identify a shortage of age appropriate day activity facilities and options for social
networking opportunities for people with disabilities. In common with aged care services,
disability services identify social isolation as a major aspect of living with a disability and
caring for a person with a disability. A general lack of knowledge by the wider community
about disabilities and the issues people with disabilities face can be an isolating factor that
may contribute to people feeling socially marginalised and unable to participate in their
community. Parents of children with disabilities state that opportunities to participate in
community groups are often limited by public and service provider ignorance and
discriminatory attitudes. This was raised with particular reference to children accessing
mainstream sporting clubs and programmes where they felt staff and coaches were not
always sensitive to the needs of the children.
The parents explained that this left their children feeling marginalised and often embarrassed
about their inability to do the activities the same as other children. This means that their
children are less likely to build the social networks and esteem connected with participating in
sport. Further it has repercussions for future health in relation to cardio-vascular conditions
and diabetes.
Issues of participation and the need for greater options were raised as a particular concern for
different ages and genders.
In response to this recognised issue the City of Gosnells addresses social isolation and
marginalisation of people with disabilities by facilitating inclusion in mainstream programmes,
promoting disability awareness in the community and building informal networks through its
SafetyLynx programme.
Young people: Several service providers and focus groups identify a growing gap in
services for young people with disabilities between teenage hood and 30 years of age. One
survey respondent from Phase Three of the study reports:
The disabled over 21 year olds need an outlet in this shire. Several private
organisations cover up till then only. But more is needed and the shire is the ideal
outlet (Thornlie)
The gap in services for younger people with disabilities is reported to be especially a problem
for those who have severe disabilities or challenging behaviours and who cannot participate
in employment or other mainstream activities. Some residents participating in this research
state that the two locally based day activity centres currently have no places available and
access is limited to three days a week which some feel is inadequate. Day care centres also
expressed concern over the need for age appropriate day activity centres for young people
with disabilities. It was also stated there is a need for appropriate vocational development
and interest based courses for young people with disabilities. However, one service provider
did note that there has been some improvement in post school options and that it is an
emerging industry.
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Recreational options for women: Several services identify a need for recreational and
leisure options for younger disabled women.
Children: Phase Three surveys and focus groups identify there is a gap in holiday and out of
school options for children who may be ‘able’ bodied but have challenging behaviours that
require higher levels of support. However, they feel that for children who are able to access
mainstream programmes there is an adequate level of service.
Retirement: Some services report there is an emerging gap in services for people with
disabilities who have high support needs but wish to retire or reduce their working hours.
They report a current lack of transport in the day time from industrial areas such as Canning
Vale and Maddington and a dearth of social or recreational activities for these people.
Child care and funding: Some services note that changes in the funding arrangements of
the Special Needs Subsidy Scheme at the Federal level could affect the ability of families to
attract the extra funding needed to employ appropriate and qualified staff to attend to children
with special needs in mainstream settings. Supporting documentation was provided by
clients directly affected by the proposed changes. Existing contracts are currently being
served out with no option for renewal and no new contracts initiated. This has the possibility
of impacting profoundly on access to child care and respite support for families with children
who have severe disabilities and who therefore may be in most need. As more contracts
expire this is likely to emerge as a pressing problem for families/carers.
Application processes for Centrelink income support: A focus group with carers
identified there are significant problems associated with Centrelink application processes.
The application forms are complex, long, intrusive and time consuming to complete. For
instance, people are asked to document how many hours are spent providing personal care
to their children in relation to toileting, feeding and incontinence care. It was felt that the
forms are repetitious and because the process requires a doctor’s certificate carers are
required to make an appointment with a doctor at their own cost. If there are any errors in the
application this process will need to be repeated adding more cost and time delays.
Disability Therapy focus: According to one service provider and a focus group access to
special therapy for students with disabilities is not adequate. The new ‘family based
screening’ procedure, whilst aiming to empower parents, has several drawbacks. Information
that would have previously been provided by schools is no longer automatically included in
the screening process. Teaching professionals working with children at school are not always
consulted and this means that the valuable information they garner interacting with children
on a daily basis, in some cases over many years, is not included. There are also several
barriers that can sometimes prevent children from being correctly screened. The one of most
concern is that the children themselves are not required to be at the screening interview so
the therapy provider works only with the information provided by the parents.
Issues of notification about screening were also raised with one family reporting they received
notification for one child but none for the other. This also suggests that the parent may then
have to make two separate trips to have both their children screened. In addition, screening
is carried out in the southern side of Armadale and parents report it is not conveniently
located and without private transports is very difficult to access. This has implication for
parents who are reliant on public transport and may contribute to non-attendance. Thus,
families who are most disadvantaged are the ones most likely to miss out on therapy
treatment.
141
Transport and disability: Findings from focus groups and surveys in Phase Three of the
study indicate that public transport is on the whole inaccessible to people with disabilities, for
example:
Transport of youngest daughter who has Cerebral Palsy limits use of buses (Canning
Vale) (this respondent indicates they therefore only occasionally use public transport).
Not wheelchair friendly (Gosnells) (this respondent indicates that as such they never
use public transport)
As a disabled person when I do use public transport in particular the bus I find the
service dreadful. They cancel the service without notice and don’t provide adequate
cover and seating (Thornlie)
Platform at Gosnells station is unsuitable for pram and wheelchair passengers
(Gosnells)
Further to the problems of physical access, to travel on public transport requires pre-planning
to ascertain whether wheelchair access is available on the bus or train. Transport needs
have to be anticipated as an appointment is required to be made in order to use trains,
therefore severely impinging on the lifestyle of disabled people (for full findings regarding
public transport see section 11).
It was also stated by one resident that there is not enough ACROD parking for people with
disabilities and that this is especially a problem as local shopping centres.
Disabled Access to Community Facilities: Findings from survey and focus groups in
Phase Three of the study identify that access at a variety of facilities is inadequate for people
with disabilities, especially for those who need wheelchair access. Direct references were
made to public toilet access and leisure facilities such as sports clubs and local pubs, as
highlighted by the following comment:
How many times do you see people in wheel chairs in pubs? You don’t - the exits are
hopeless (Huntingdale)
Information and community education: Focus groups and surveys from Phase Three of
the study identify a need for more knowledge about services (including Centrelink support)
and programmes available for disabled people and their carers. The research found that
people’s level of knowledge was patchy and that to stay informed required a high level of
literacy and an extremely active and ongoing pursuit of information. Participants also stated a
need for wider ranging information about where people with impaired mobility can access
outdoor venues and pursuits, such as swimming, fishing, parks and beaches. They also
pointed out that currently they are unaware of any directory to assist them.
Social exclusion: Findings from service providers and focus groups state that community
awareness and attitudes are poor in relation to the diverse needs of disabled people.
Furthermore, assumptions about the capacity and productivity of people with disabilities are
often misplaced and this can generate feelings of social exclusion and impede the ability of
people to contribute to their community.
Carers’ needs: The study identified that very often families and carers are living under
extreme pressure sometimes having to cope with heavy lifting, sleepless nights, ongoing
challenging behaviour, financial constraints and community insensitivity. In focus groups they
spoke of being tiered and feelings of stress. Those who participate in the City of Gosnells’
carers support programmes commented on how important they were and how much they
appreciated them. However, they felt that there was a need for more in the way of respite
and ‘time out’ for the families and carers. It was also noted that many carers do not access
support programmes.
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