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Katie Woolf spoke with Northern Territory Legal Aid Commission Joann Laidler · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: If you've been listening to the show over the last
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  Speaker 1: couple of weeks, you would have certainly heard that we've
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: we've had quite a few people getting in contact with us.
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  Speaker 1: More specifically, I guess you'd say, about their children not
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  Speaker 1: being able to access the services that they need through
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  Speaker 1: the n d I S, or once they've got funding
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  Speaker 1: with the n d I S, to be able to
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  Speaker 1: you know, to make sure that they're that they're young children,
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  Speaker 1: whether they're diagnosed with the disability or you know, or
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  Speaker 1: other other learning difficulties, whether they're able to access those
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  Speaker 1: those support services that they that they require now Earlier, well,
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  Speaker 1: last week, I guess you'd say, late last week, we
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  Speaker 1: caught up with Jamie, one of our listeners, and she
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  Speaker 1: had a really important story to tell us about her
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  Speaker 1: young son. He's three years old and and as we
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  Speaker 1: played that audio for you just a little while ago,
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  Speaker 1: where they've got the funding through the nd I S,
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  Speaker 1: but they're not actually able to access then the services
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  Speaker 1: that they need for him.
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  Speaker 2: And unfortunately she's not alone.
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  Speaker 1: You know. I've had messages come through on the Mix
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  Speaker 1: one oh four nine Facebook page, on my own personal
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  Speaker 1: Facebook page, to my own phone number, and to us
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  Speaker 1: here at work on this very issue. But what I
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  Speaker 1: wasn't aware of, and I wonder if there are people
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  Speaker 1: out there listening at the moment as well who feel
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  Speaker 1: the same, is that there is actually support at the
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  Speaker 1: moment and there is somebody out there who can give
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  Speaker 1: you a hand if you need to. I guess be
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  Speaker 1: pointed in the right direction as well, and that is
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  Speaker 1: the Northern Territory Legal Aid.
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  Speaker 2: They've got your story.
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  Speaker 1: Disability Legal Support now joining us in the studio to
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  Speaker 1: talk more about this. From the Northern Territory Legal Aid
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  Speaker 1: Commission Legal Coordinator, Joanna Laidler.
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  Speaker 2: Good morning to you.
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  Speaker 3: Hey, Katie.
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  Speaker 1: Great to have you in the studio and I was
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  Speaker 1: really pleased when you got in contact with us last
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  Speaker 1: week after hearing Jamie on the show to let us
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  Speaker 1: know that there are some different support mechanisms out there
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  Speaker 1: at the moment to try and help people, particularly if
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  Speaker 1: they're really trying to battle their way through the NDIS
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  Speaker 1: and getting access to these services.
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  Speaker 2: Can you talk us through.
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  Speaker 1: Exactly what it is that Legal Aid does in this
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  Speaker 1: space and how you're trying to help Territorians.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, absolutely so.
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  Speaker 4: As you said, I am based at Legal Aid, but
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  Speaker 4: I work for a national organization called Your Story Disability
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  Speaker 4: Legal Support, And I know that's a little bit of
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  Speaker 4: a mouthful, so I refer to it as your Story
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  Speaker 4: going forward. And so Your Story has been funded to
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  Speaker 4: provide free legal information and advice to people wishing to
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  Speaker 4: engage with the Disability Royal Commission. And so one of
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  Speaker 4: the reasons I really wanted to come on the program
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  Speaker 4: today is to help raise awareness about the Disability Royal
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  Speaker 4: Commission as a way for people like Jamie to have
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  Speaker 4: their voices heard by the government, but also so that
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  Speaker 4: people could be aware that there are services available to
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  Speaker 4: support people engage safely with the Disability of Royal Commission.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, and this is the thing I think that some
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  Speaker 1: people listening this morning might not be aware of is
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  Speaker 1: you know, some people listening may not even be aware
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  Speaker 1: that there was a Disability Royal Commission launched Australia wide
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  Speaker 1: back in April twenty nineteen. And as you've mentioned, it
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  Speaker 1: is to canvasize issues faced by people with the disability
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  Speaker 1: but also their families and careers.
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  Speaker 2: And I know that a lot of.
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  Speaker 1: People may not even like it really being referred to
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  Speaker 1: as a disability, but in this case, you know, we
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  Speaker 1: are talking about people being able to access services that
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  Speaker 1: they need, and from what I'm hearing on the phone lines,
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  Speaker 1: a lot of the time it's parents trying to help
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  Speaker 1: their young children.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah.
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  Speaker 4: Absolutely, I mean we have definitely heard a lot of
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  Speaker 4: stories that are very similar to Jamie's and I think
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  Speaker 4: that those stories are really important stories for the Disability
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  Speaker 4: Royal Commission to hear.
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  Speaker 1: And so obviously, if there are people out there listening
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  Speaker 1: this morning and they're wondering how they can make sure
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  Speaker 1: that their concerns are heard, because of obviously, as this
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  Speaker 1: Royal Commission process goes forward, we need to make sure
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  Speaker 1: everybody's voices are heard so that the changes can be
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  Speaker 1: made in this space so people aren't in this situation
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  Speaker 1: in a year's time.
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  Speaker 4: Absolutely, So obviously people can contact the Disability Royal Commission directly,
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  Speaker 4: but I'm on here today to be talking about the
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  Speaker 4: legal supports, yep. And so one of the things that
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  Speaker 4: people can do is called Your Story info Line. That
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  Speaker 4: is a national info line and that number is one
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  Speaker 4: eight hundred seven to seven one eight hundred and that's
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  Speaker 4: staffed by client Information officers and it is available Monday
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  Speaker 4: to Friday. It is in Brisbane. So it's eight thirty
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  Speaker 4: to four thirty pm DAR one time.
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  Speaker 1: And Joanna, what kind of support would they be able
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  Speaker 1: to get from from that service?
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  Speaker 3: Yeah?
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  Speaker 4: Absolutely, So your story can provide free legal information and
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  Speaker 4: advice to people with a disability, but as you mentioned,
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  Speaker 4: also cares family support members who are thinking about or
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  Speaker 4: would want to share a story with the Royal Commission.
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  Speaker 4: But really importantly, your story can also connect people.
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  Speaker 2: With other supports.
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  Speaker 4: So the legal supports are only one part of the
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  Speaker 4: supports available to help people engage safely. There are also
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  Speaker 4: disability advocates and they are also counseling and emotional supports.
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  Speaker 1: What kind of stories are you hearing out of the
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  Speaker 1: Northern Territory at the moment?
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  Speaker 2: All, what types of things are you hearing in your role?
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  Speaker 1: Oh?
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  Speaker 4: Look, to be honest, I think Jamie really covered a
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  Speaker 4: lot of the stories that are coming out of the
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  Speaker 4: territory at the moment.
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  Speaker 3: In relation to the NDAs. But the breadth of the
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  Speaker 3: Disability Royal Commission means that we can be hearing.
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  Speaker 4: Stories about education, the justice system, mental health services.
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  Speaker 2: You name it.
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  Speaker 3: The Disability Royal Commission wants to hear about it.
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  Speaker 1: Gee, it must be tough for some parents. You know,
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  Speaker 1: I think every parent does their bist to try to
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  Speaker 1: help their kids as much as they can. And and
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  Speaker 1: you know, then when you're talking, I guess, like we
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  Speaker 1: heard from Jamie, where you've actually you're able to get
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  Speaker 1: the funding that you need, but you're then not able
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  Speaker 1: to access the services that you require. It must be
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  Speaker 1: a really tough situation.
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  Speaker 3: One hundred percent.
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  Speaker 4: I can only imagine you know what Jamie is going through,
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  Speaker 4: and other parents like Jamie.
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  Speaker 1: And so you know, I guess for us today, the
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  Speaker 1: important thing is for people to know that they're not alone.
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  Speaker 1: There are different pathways that they can that they can take,
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  Speaker 1: and if they're not able to sort of access the
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  Speaker 1: services that they need, then certainly you guys can help
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  Speaker 1: them sort of go down a few different pathways to
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  Speaker 1: maybe get that access.
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  Speaker 3: Hopefully we can have them as best as we can.
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  Speaker 4: And I guess while I'm in here, I should also
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  Speaker 4: say that Anti Legal Aid also has a hotline available
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  Speaker 4: and that can provide a really good starting point for
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  Speaker 4: people who are working out where to go next. And
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  Speaker 4: that number is one eight hundred zero one nine three
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  Speaker 4: four three.
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  Speaker 1: Well, Jamie, I mean sorry, not Jamie Joanna, I really
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  Speaker 1: appreciate you coming on this morning because I think I
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  Speaker 1: feel as though we've scratched the surface a little bit
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  Speaker 1: after hearing from Jamie the other day, and like I said,
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  Speaker 1: we've got lots of people getting in contact. I think
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  Speaker 1: it is going to be one of these issues that
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  Speaker 1: we continue to discuss and that continues to bubble along.
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  Speaker 1: I know that it's it's certainly in the front of
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  Speaker 1: mind for a lot of you know, a lot of
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  Speaker 1: people that are in those decision making situations here in
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  Speaker 1: the territory and also nationally. So I do hope that
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  Speaker 1: we're able to make some change in this space and
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  Speaker 1: ensure that, you know, people with the disability are able
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  Speaker 1: to get the services that they require.
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  Speaker 3: Absolutely, thanks for having me, I'm.
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  Speaker 2: Katie, Thank you so much.
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  Speaker 1: That is Joanna laid Laver, who is obviously with Northern
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  Speaker 1: Territory Legal aid but with the Northern Territory Legal Aids
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  Speaker 1: your Story Disability Legal Support Service. Now that number once
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  Speaker 1: again if you do want to get in contact, is
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  Speaker 1: one eight hundred zero, sorry, one eight hundred seven, one
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  Speaker 1: eight hundred, So you can certainly get in contact with
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  Speaker 1: that number and be able to get access or be
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  Speaker 1: able to get a bit of information, I think to
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  Speaker 1: point you in the right direction if you do need
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  Speaker 1: some help.