Great Southern residents encouraged to share their stories for disability royal commission

Great Southern residents are being urged to make their views known on disability issues as the deadline for public submissions draws closer in the disability royal commission.

Your Story Disability Legal Support solicitor Demi Thackrah said there were unique challenges for those living with a disability, their carers and supporters living outside of the major cities.

“It’s important that if we are going to give the royal commission a holistic view of what it is like to be a person with a disability or support a person with a disability in WA, that needs to include the rural and regional experience,” she said.

Representatives from Your Story Disability Legal Support, People With Disabilities WA and the disability royal commission held community storytelling workshops across the region last week, including in Katanning, Denmark and Narrogin.

The workshops were designed to help community members considering making a submission to the disability royal commission ahead of the December 31 deadline.

PWdWA disability royal commission advocate Oliver Offer said there were similar and unique issues facing every town.

“We have heard things about physical accessibility and the range of services available,” he said.

“We also hear some pretty unique solutions when we come to towns — there have been people using their networks in ways that they don’t do in metro areas as much sometimes.”

Some of the stories they have heard include people with disability using social media to crowd-source their transport needs as well as the significant role non-NDIS supported community groups play in providing services in rural areas.

One of the key problems which has been raised is the centralisation of services to Perth and major regional centres, which Ms Thackrah said could lead to dire outcomes.

“We know that isolation breeds exploitation and neglect because there isn’t options for support and to reach out,” she said.

Ms Thackrah said it was important people made their views clear.

“The royal commission can’t produce a report if people don’t share their experiences,” she said.

“We can’t expect things to change if we don’t know what the problem is in the first place.”

Mr Offer said there were protections and supports people could access if they wanted to make a submission.

“They can talk to an advocate, they can get legal advice and counselling to support them, and they can make submissions in any way that they want to,” he said.

“If people want to send in an interpretive dance of their experience, the commission would love to see that. They can also make their submissions as publicly or as privately as they like.”

Disability royal commission assistant community engagement director Nicki Petrov said the commission’s team was happy to be in WA after COVID forced delays.

“It has been great for us to be able to come here, and we are here to listen,” she said.

Visit yourstorydisabilitylegal.org.au or disability.royalcommission.gov.au