Government and advocacy

Down Syndrome Victoria is committed to the full participation of people with Down syndrome in the economic and social life of the community. We do this by providing individual and family support based on a model of empowerment, being a source of quality information and resources, sharing our knowledge and experience and via systemic advocacy.

Advocacy leads to social change. Advocacy groups contribute to democracy in many important ways; they give a voice to (misrepresented) citizen's interests, they mobilize people to participate in the democratic process, they assist in the development of better public policy and they ensure governments' accountability to citizens.

Down Syndrome Victoria continually strives to be a leading authoratative voice for people with Down syndrome and their families.

The following are campaigns that Down Syndrome Victoria are currently supporting:

National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS)

It is hard to believe that in a democratic country as wealthy as Australia that people with a disability and their families are still left to struggle alone every day. Most Australians assume that if people are born with a disability or acquire one later in life, that some system, somewhere, will take care of them.Nothing could be further from the truth.

People with a disability and their families know only too well the daily struggle for services and support, how often the system fails to deliver essential services. They know how often desperate families are left to fill the gaps. There is also considerable inequity, with people receiving different levels of support depending on how, when and where their disability was acquired.

And the situation will only grow worse in the future. As the population ages, the number of people with a disability will increase. At the same time, the number of unpaid carers willing and able to provide support will decrease.
It is therefore time to take stock and plan for the future.

A National Disability Insurance Scheme represents a fundamental reform to the way services are funded and delivered. It is a social reform on the scale of Medicare and compulsory superannuation - two safety nets now taken for granted in the Australian community.

Disability won't happen to everyone but it could happen to anyone, anytime. All Australians deserve the peace of mind that would come with knowing that support will be there if they need it.

Refer to the NDIS website for more information about how you can become involved.

Right from the start

The ECIA (Early Childhood Intervention Australia) Vic, has developed the "Right from the Start" campaign to educate the community and stakeholders on the important role of Early Childhood Intervention Services so that young children with disabilities and developmental delays, and their families, can be properly supported.

The Victorian Government currently provides some funding to early childhood intervention (ECI) services for children with disabilities or developmental delays and their families. This goes some way in meeting these children's needs. Other funding comes from fees paid by parents, the Australian Government, fundraising by ECI staff, parents and friends and some private supporters. Unfortunately, in many cases, there is still a big gap between what is available and what is needed to properly support a child and family. The end result is that children are being permanently disadvantaged and their families are experiencing unnecessary levels of emotional and practical difficulty in raising their children.

The key messages that the campaign will deliver are grouped around themes:

• The support required for children with developmental delays and disabilities.
• The support required for families that include a child with a developmental delay or disability.
• The support required for children with developmental delays and disabilities to fully participate in early childhood programs and achieve learning outcomes.

Follow this link to ECIA's website to sign the electronic petition.