Queensland Advocacy for Inclusion - QAI

27/11/2025

📢 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗱!
Next Wednesday we will be joined by Principals Boyd McLean and Kristie de Brenni who have made changes in their schools that support kids with disability to stay engaged in learning and reduce suspensions.

We will also hear from parents who have experienced the impact a supportive school can have on their child's education, and sense of belonging.

Have a burning question for these Principals or parents? Register now to come along, or direct message us with your questions before the event.

Join us Wednesday 3 December from 6-7pm.

Can't attend live? Register anyway and we'll send you the recording!

𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 - events.humanitix.com/solutions-instead-of-suspensions

Youth Advocacy Centre ATSILS PeakCare Queensland

19/11/2025

Join us this International Day of People with Disability on 3 December for an important discussion on the practical solutions that are already helping to make education safe, accessible and inclusive for everyone, and reduce suspensions.

This one-hour session will feature perspectives from educators and parents who have successfully navigated these challenges.

We will also be sharing links to other organisations and resources that can support students in their schooling at the end of the session.

This free hour of knowledge could make all the difference for a child’s education journey.

Share this with someone who needs this information.

𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 - events.humanitix.com/solutions-instead-of-suspensions

Youth Advocacy Centre ATSILS PeakCare Queensland

17/11/2025

Matilda spoke to the ABC about the "tsunami of cuts" to NDIS plans our team has seen with the influx of people seeking their help.

This increase in cuts is especially worrying when we know that most (80%) of the NDIS appeals at the Administrative Review Tribunal end up overturning the NDIA decision.

People shouldn't have to go through proving their support needs again and again, losing essential funding while they fight the decision to cut their plan, when their support needs for their permanent disability haven't changed. That's not what the NDIS was supposed to be about.

Read the full story about the Catton family at the link below.

Darren and Louise Catton have spent years curating a care plan for their daughter Mary, but now face an uncertain future after her NDIS funding was cut dramatically.

06/11/2025

The sun is almost setting on this rare opportunity to fix the parts of discrimination law that repeatedly fail people with disability.

Every day, disability advocates see discrimination play out in schools, workplaces, housing, public transport, policing, and basic services.

And when discrimination does happen — the current Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) puts the burden on the individual to prove it.

It shouldn’t be this hard.

A modern DDA should actively prevent discrimination — not just respond afterwards.

That’s why as part of the Queensland Independent Disability Advocacy Network (QIDAN) we are calling for long needed reforms — including:

✅ respectful, modern language that recognises disability as a human rights issue — not 'malfunction' or 'defect'
✅ the ability to bring claims where discrimination is intersectional (because most discrimination isn’t one-dimensional)
✅ a positive duty — so schools, employers, government agencies and service providers must take active steps to prevent discrimination (not wait until the harm has already been done)
✅ a standalone duty to make adjustments — in education, employment, health + essential services
✅ reversing the burden of proof — so people don’t have to prove why discrimination happened, only that it did
✅ better enforcement powers for the Australian Human Rights Commission
✅ no more excuses to discriminate - we are calling for narrower and very limited exemptions
✅ creation of a Federal Human Rights Act - see humanrightsact.org.au

None of this is abstract — these are changes grounded in lived experience and in the Disability Royal Commission’s recommendations.

This is a once-in-a-generation chance to build discrimination law that actually works.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗲𝘅𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝟭𝟰 𝗡𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱 — 𝘀𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗮𝘆.

📝 Make a submission — arighttolearn.com.au
📌 Read our full submission — qidan.org.au/submissions/qidan-submission-to-the-disability-discrimination-act-1992-review/

Together we can deliver a DDA that protects human dignity — not just on paper, but in practice.

05/11/2025

🚨 𝗪𝗲’𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗺!
Do we still believe in innocent until proven guilty?

Last week, Tanya Plibersek and the Australian Government snuck in a last-minute amendment to the Social Security and Other Legislation Amendment (Technical Changes No. 2) Bill 2025 that would let police direct Services Australia to suspend someone’s Centrelink payments simply because they have a warrant — before they have been found guilty of any offence.

⚠️ This is not a tiny admin tweak.
It overturns the foundational protection in a democracy of 𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗹 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗴𝘂𝗶𝗹𝘁𝘆.

We are joining other civil society groups, advocacy organisations and community legal centres to sound the alarm.

Police already misidentify victims of domestic and family violence as perpetrators. Under this amendment, a victim fleeing violence could lose their 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 income while they’re literally trying to stay alive and/or protect their kids.

This isn’t just a hypothetical — it’s foreseeable and predictable.

This dangerous change was slipped quietly into the Bill.
Zero debate.
Zero transparency.
Zero safeguards.
This is not good law-making.
It is not consistent with rule of law.
It actively increases risk to people the Government has already promised to protect.

The Bill went to the Senate this week
𝗪𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘄.

☎️ Call + email your Senators.
Tell them not to pass the Bill until this amendment is removed.

Find Senator contact info here - directory.gov.au/commonwealth-parliament/senators

This is a line-in-the-sand moment for basic rights and the rule of law. We cannot let this slide.

The Antipoverty Centre Disability Advocacy Network Australia - DANA Australian Council of Social Service

03/11/2025

Last week we had the pleasure of hosting Dr Barbara O'Shea MP, State Member for South Brisbane at our office. We talked about disability advocacy and how QAI can support children and young people aged 0-18. Barbara was keen to hear about the assistance we provide to her local community.

We also talked about other key issues the disability community experience, like the current housing issues, and the importance of disability advocacy to help address some of these.

QAI was pleased to hear Barbara’s interest and support in maintaining funding for disability advocacy so we can continue to respond to our community needs and reach out to those who find it hard to access or contact disability advocacy.

22/10/2025

Beyond inclusive education and suspensions as a last resort - the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) could be reformed to make so many improvements to the lives of people with disability.

This joint statement by the Network for Disability Law Reform covers a range of reforms we would love to see strengthen the DDA.

Check the statement out and if you find an issue your passionate about - email the review at DDAReview@ag.gov.au to let them know!

𝗦𝘂𝗯𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗰𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝟮𝟰 𝗢𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿.

Read the joint statement here - nationallegalaid.org.au/news/dda-reforms

This plan provides an overview of National Legal Aid's strategic plan for the next five years. It identifies the vision, purpose, and goals of our work towards 2030. It answers the questions of who we are, who we support, how we work, what we offer, and our impact.

22/10/2025

Matilda spoke to the Courier Mail about the shocking increase of suspensions of students with disability, with 64% of Queensland school suspensions involving kids with disability this year. That's up from 49% in 2023.

That’s not inclusion — it’s a systemic failure that's getting worse.

Matilda said “When you look at numbers showing more than half of all suspensions involve disabled students, you’re not just looking at statistics – you’re looking at thousands of Queensland children who are being told, day after day, that they don’t belong in their own classrooms".

It’s no surprise that First Nations kids are disproportionately suspended as well. As found by the Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children’s Commissioner Natalie Lewis in the report ‘Include me, don’t exclude me’.

The Crisafulli Government has made it clear they have no plans to enforce the rules they already have for suspensions to be used as a last resort for Queensland students.

So, the national Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) Review is our chance to fix this for all Australian kids!

𝗧𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 — 𝘀𝘂𝗯𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗰𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝟮𝟰 𝗢𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿.

Email the DDA Review today using our templates linked below.

Read Courier Mail article here (behind a paywall) - couriermail.com.au/education/call-for-reform-as-more-than-half-of-all-suspended-or-expelled-students-have-disability/news-story/581178b51ffc7a2303d378ee5d11613e

Email templates here - mailchi.mp/c7961d04c885/dda-review-submissions-21070421?e=8ab4013af3

Read more about the statistics in our recent media release here - qai.org.au/state-data-reveals-right-to-learn-denied-to-disabled-students/

More than half of Queensland students suspended or expelled from schools have a disability, shock new data has revealed, with the “systemic failure” leading to renewed calls for the state government to enforce the actions as a last resort.

20/10/2025

Have an NDIS appeal and feel unsure about what to expect? The newly public NDIS Appeals Database Project is here to help!

This database has been many years in the making. It started as a simple spreadsheet within our NDIS appeals team. Then law and IT students with the University of Queensland's Pro Bono Centre stepped up to turn our spreadsheet into a searchable online database available to the public.

We hope the database will help people understand what might be needed for their own appeals based on the outcomes of similar cases.

It will continue to be updated as appeal decisions become available and we’re sure it will become a valuable resource for many participants, their lawyers, advocates, or support networks.

Special thanks to UQ Pro Bono Centre students for all their hard work bringing this database to life.

Find the database at ndis.project.uq.edu.au

16/10/2025

📢 The Disability Discrimination Act is being reviewed for the first time in years thanks to recommendations from the Disability Royal Commission — and this is our chance to make sure it truly protects students with disability.

The A Right to Learn campaign is calling for stronger laws to stop schools from unfairly suspending or excluding students with disability.

We’re asking the Government to make sure exclusion is only ever used as a last resort — not as a default response.

You can help!
✉️ Use our email templates to add your name and story to the growing voices calling for stronger protections for kids with disability.

Find the templates here - https://mailchi.mp/qai/dda-review-submissions

Together, we can make sure every child — with and without disability — has the right to learn! 💪

14/10/2025

📢 Expressions of Interest are open!

Have a lot to say about rights for people with disability? We are looking for people with disability who would love to chance to come with us to the United Nations for the 19th Conference of States Parties (COSP19) to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in June next year.

Expressions of Interest close 27 October.

More details and form to apply on our website here - qai.org.au/expressions-of-interest-open-to-attend-un-cosp-in-2026/

10/10/2025

QAI’s NDIS Appeals team is experiencing unprecedented demand for our service and this article reflects what we are seeing.

Use your review rights if you’ve just got a new plan and your support has been cut. If you are within the 3-month period of the plan start date, ask the NDIA for an internal review (also called a section 100). Don’t ask for a reassessment or a change of circumstances. Put your request in the NDIS form and email it to enquiries@ndis.gov.au

If the NDIA don’t change their mind on the internal review. You can apply to the Administrative Review Tribunal within 28 days of your internal review decision.

Brisbane man is one of hundreds reporting devastating cuts to NDIS plans after rule changes last year