Getting Involved
Please note this is just a small selection of organisations, not an exhaustive list. Also, we have not worked with each of these organisations so please exercise personal discretion before choosing which organisations or initiatives to get involved with.
- Parish Life- make yours welcoming and truly inclusive. The Church via the ACBC Commission for Pastoral Life – Australian Catholic Disability Council has produced a range of resources for priests, liturgical committees, parishioners and schools. Find some for purchase here. Some other free resources from the ACBC or other Australian dioceses include:
- ACBC, ‘I Have a Story: People with Disabilities and their Families Participating Fully in Parish Life’, 2004
- ACBC, Living Body of Christ – Pastoral kit for Parishes to Celebrate ‘International Day for People With Disability‘ (Dec 3 Annually).
- Archdiocese of Brisbane, ‘Welcome and Inclusion Resources Page’.
- Diocese of Broken Bay, ‘Ministry with People with Disability’ Resources Page
- CatholicCare Sydney – has a range of services for people living with a disability, including Disability Support, Supported Accommodation, Training, Employment and Respite services.
- The St Vincent de Paul Society in NSW offers a range services and programs for people living with a disability, these services are designed to minimise isolation and marginalisation and increase participation, community access and provide meaningful opportunities to develop skills and participate in recreational and educational activities.
- The Ephpheta Centre – a Centre for deaf and hard of hearing people. Our work includes pastoral care, sacramental services, support and advocacy. Visitation is an important part of our work. The Ephpheta Centre is a special ministry of the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney. We are also supported by the Dioceses of Parramatta and Broken Bay
- L’Arche Australia – an international federation of faith communities where people with and without an intellectual disability share life together. L’Arche, a French word for the Ark, seeks to create communities where people live a simple life of work, care, prayer and celebration.
- WayAhead – Mental Health Association NSW – plays a vital role in the development of mental health initiatives which increase community awareness and knowledge of mental health issues.
- Carers Week – celebrates, supports and recognises the 2.8 million unpaid carers in Australia
- BeyondBlue – provides information and support to help everyone in Australia achieve their best possible mental health, whatever their age and wherever they live.
- International Day for People with Disability – a United Nations sanctioned day that is celebrated internationally. It aims to increase public awareness, understanding and acceptance of people with disability and celebrate the achievements and contributions of people with disability. Held every year on Dec 3.
- House with No Steps – providers of disability services, we are dedicated to ensuring people with a disability have greater choice, control, and freedom – we work hard to make sure everyone we support gets a fair go.
- CAWS (Citizen Advocacy Western Sydney) – We are a not for profit community group based in the Parramatta area that aims to recognise, promote and defend the rights and interests of people with intellectual disability. We have been in operation for over 30 years, supporting people living in the Auburn, Blacktown, Holroyd, Parramatta and Hills Shire local government areas.
- Inala – a Rudolf Steiner inspired organisation supporting indivdiuals with disabilties in Sydney metropolitan area.
- The NSW Council for Intellectual Disability (NSW CID) – works with and for people with intellectual disability to speak up about the big issues and to change things for the better!
- Peckys – has been operating Community Services in the local Blacktown area for the past thirty years. They provide quality services using a holistic and individualised approach that enhances the lives of people with a disability.
- Australian Charity Guide – list of charities associated with disability services.
Informative Resources
Please note we do not necessarily endorse the contents of all resources from outside the Catholic Church and provide them for your information only.
- National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) – Official national site for the NDIS with general info, as well as the main access portal for people needing to participate in the scheme.
- Australian Human Rights Commission – information and assistance with discrimination and knowing our rights when it comes to living with disability.
- Every Australian Counts – campaign that spearheaded NDIS. Now offers huge amount of information for people with disability and their families and carers, including easy-to-understand explanations of the NDIS.
- People with Disability Australia Incorporated (PWDA) – a national disability rights and advocacy organisation. Our primary membership is made up of people with disability and organisations primarily constituted by people with disability. They have a range of resources, reports and submissions on a whole array of issues affecting people with disability. Find them here.
- Disabled People’s Organisations Australia Australia’s peak disability alliance (used to be called ‘Australian Cross Disability Alliance). It promotes and advances the human rights and freedoms of all people with disability in Australia
- Australian Disability Peaks Advocacy Directory – compiled by PWD this is a list of links to specific agencies, organisations etc at national and state levels that cover issues ranging from employment, abuse and housing and some are for specific types of disabilities only.
- National Disability Services – National Disability Services (NDS) is Australia’s peak body for non-government disability service organisations, representing more than 1100 non-government service providers. Collectively, NDS members operate several thousand services for Australians with all types of disability
- First Peoples Disability Network – is the peak organisation representing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living with disability.
Reports, Submissions and Statistics
- PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC), Disability Expectations: Investing in a Better Life, A Stronger Australia, November 2011.
- World Health Organisation (WHO), World Report on Disability – Summary, 2011.
- National People with Disability and Carer Council (NPDCC), Shut Out: The Experience of People with Disabilities and their Families in Australia, National Disability Strategy Consultation Report, August 2009.
- NSW Family and Community Service – Ageing, Disability and Home Care.
- Catholic Social Services Australia – represents a national network of 56 Catholic social service organisations that provide direct support to hundreds of thousands of people in need each year on behalf of the Catholic Church.
- Australian Human Rights Commission, Willing to Work: National Inquiry into Employment Discrimination against Older Australians and Australians with Disability – Issues Paper: Employment Discrimination against Australians with Disability, 2016
- Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers (SDAC), 2015.
- Senate Community Affairs Reference Committee (SCARC), Inquiry into Violence, Abuse and Neglect against People with Disability in Institutional and Residential Settings, November 2015.
- Catholic Pastoral Research Office Report (PRO), The Social Profile of the Catholic Community in Australia, 2011.
- PRO, Diocesan Social Profile – Archdiocese of Sydney, 2011
- Craig Wallace, ‘Count Us Out; Disability and the Census‘, ABC Ramp Up, 5 Aug 2011
- AHURI, Moving to my Home: Housing Aspirations, Transitions and Outcomes of People with Disability, August 2015, 18-22.
- Productivity Commission, Deep and Persistent Disadvantage in Australia, July 2013, 11.
- Australian Cross Disability Alliance (ACDC), Supplementary Submission (no.147) to Senate Inquiry into Violence, Abuse and Neglect against People with Disability in Institutional and Residential Settings, August 2015