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Our Voice

It is vitally important that the voices of people with disability are prioritised during the Disability Royal Commission. Pieces written or produced by members of the public with disability can be found here.

The blog posts do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of People with Disability Australia (PWDA). Blog posts are contributed by individual people with disability in response to our call for pitches, and lightly edited by our Communications team. PWDA disclaims any liability for the accuracy and sufficiency of the information in these blog posts, excluding any editor’s notes that may be added.

Our Voice

A dark black and white photograph of a woman with long hair standing in a narrow hallway. She is in silhouette. To her left there is a semi transparent window with chintz patterns on the glass.

My experiences have taught me not to trust the police

31 March 2021

Content warning: References to domestic violence, police brutality, sexual assault, drinking, racism and involuntary sectioning in a psychiatric ward.

Our Voice

On the right is a chainlink fence, topped with barbed wire. The background is an out of focus bright blue sky with drifting clouds.

First Nations people with disability and the criminal justice system – part 2

31 March 2021

Marisa Sposaro (Doin’ Time, 3CR) interviews Peta MacGillivray (Social Policy and Research, UNSW Sydney) on First Nations people with disability and the criminal justice system.

Our Voice

The camera looks through the centre of a coil of barbed wire attached to a fence. Through the gaps in the wire we see a long, brown building, a square tower, an electricity pole and, in the far distance, tree covered hills.

First Nations people with disability and the criminal justice system – part 1

31 March 2021

Marisa Sposaro (Doin’ Time, 3CR) interviews Professor Eileen Baldry (Criminologist, UNSW Sydney) on First Nations people with disability and the criminal justice system.

Our Voice

Photograph of Alex Creece, a white woman with short hair, large colourful glasses, a knitted jumper with a fruit pattern, and a big toothy smile. Behind her is the ocean, a peer, and part of the shore.

Rethinking recruitment

31 March 2021

In theory, perhaps it seems fair that the person who says the right things, the person who fits, should win the job. But therein lies an implication that you are as valuable as your charisma. Not your skills, knowledge, or potential to grow, writes Alex Creece.

Our Voice

A photograph of a smiling young woman with short, dark hair, in front of a white door. The woman is wearing a red, floral dress.

They’re denying us a basic human right, and that will never be okay

31 March 2021

I eventually won the fight to get the provisions I needed, but the road was convoluted and demeaning, writes Hannah Diviney.

Our Voice

Photograph of Issy Hay, a smiling young, white person with a purple fringe, leaf earrings, a nose ring and a plaid blazer. They are in an office environment with yellow post its on the wall.

Accessible education should be the norm, not the alternative

31 March 2021

I don’t think I will ever be able to describe what it meant to me, the first time a teacher asked “What can I do to make this easier for you, to support you?”. That should be the norm, writes Issy Hay.

Our Voice

An empty classroom with a blackboard and desks lining each side. There is teacher's desk at the front of the class and a map of the wall to the right.

The adventures of the boy who was told he’d never speak

31 March 2021

For Year 7, I started at a little school in the NSW outback with an enrolment of 150 students from K-12. At first, there were no problems, then things started to go wrong, writes William McIntosh.

Our Voice