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In the first of a two-part story, Link speaks with the South Australian Assistant Minister for Autism, Emily Bourke, about what the state government there is doing for people with autism.  It’s been a “positive start to change” for people with autism in South Australia, according to Emily Bourke, the assistant minister in charge of… Read more: Driving change: Link speaks to the SA Assistant Minister for Autism 

The accessible and inclusive Ability Fest music festival is back in Melbourne and making its debut in Brisbane, both in October. For the first time, Ability Fest will open to attendees aged 16 and over across both locations. “Ability Fest has been an incredible journey, and I’m thrilled to see its success growing year by… Read more: Ability Fest heading to Brisbane

Models sashayed down a makeshift catwalk, broad smiles on their faces. Some used wheelchairs, while others had prosthetic limbs, but every one of them looked confident, stylish and comfortable.   But this was no ordinary catwalk this was the accessible fashion show at the Brisbane Assistive Technology Suppliers Australia (ATSA) Expo.  It showcased the talents and… Read more: Adaptive clothing on the fashion catwalk

It’s that time again – the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games start this week!  Beginning on 28 August and running until 8 September, the Paris Paralympics will bring together over 4400 athletes from 184 countries. They’ll compete in 22 para-sports over the 11 days of the competition, to an expected audience of four billion people around… Read more: Paralympics fever as Games set to begin

Harvey Norman has been supporting sport in Australia for over 30 years and this sporting tailwind from Australia’s biggest retailer has been a work in progress that started with the Commonwealth Games in 2017, to the 2000 Sydney Olympics and now the Paralympians.  “Working with the Paralympics allows us to profile, support and highlight the… Read more: Harvey Norman – Going the distance for Paralympians

A full field of 50 golfers took to the field for the sold-out 2024 Queensland Blind and Inclusive Open last month.  Held at Emerald Lakes on the Gold Coast, the event saw golfers with blindness or low vision take part in the competition, which was the first to be co-organised by Empower Golf with Blind… Read more: Golf Day empowers people with disability

According to Real and Diverse (RAD) theatre director Clark Crystal: “The arts is a safe place for all to participate in and experience and the ensemble of actors of all abilities to respond to the opportunities to build their skills and confidence”. RAD Theatre has gone from street theatre to performing on stage at the… Read more: Disability or Different Ability?

The Sunshine Coast community came out for a night of generosity in support of STEPS Pathways College for its annual Grand Winter Ball.  The Ball – held on Saturday 27 July – is the college’s major fundraising event and was hosted this year by media personality Melissa Doyle.  Thanks to the generous contributions of guests,… Read more: Community ‘steps’ up at Grand Winter Ball 

Colin Dawson was the first paraplegic to get a taxi drivers licence in the Northern Territory, but it was the last thing on the 17-year old’s mind as he lay in Sydney’s Royal North Shore hospital with a broken back following a motorbike accident nearly 40 years ago.   He recently achieved another first…installing hand controls… Read more: A ‘wheelie’ moving story 

Around 10am on Saturday, over 140 people – some in tutus, some wearing capes, some in penguin costumes – began to run, tiptoe or dive into the freezing waters of Port Phillip Bay.  To the untrained eye it might have looked a bit strange, especially given the single-digit temperatures – but it was part of… Read more: “Freezin’ for a reason!” 

Four-time Para Surfing World Champion, and former Paralympic cyclist Matt Formston, has taken his quest for sporting greatness to new heights. It all happened on November 30, 2022, on one of the world’s most dangerous waves at Nazaré, Portugal. And it took just 25 seconds to ride the 51-foot (15.24 metre) giant wave.  “I have… Read more: Paralympian riding a wave to success

A leading accessible and inclusive tourism conference is coming to Melbourne next month.  The Accessible and Inclusive Tourism Conference (AITCAP) will land in Melbourne on Tuesday 27 August for its fourth annual event. AITCAP is tailored to the tourism industry, with the event focused on providing information to help tourism businesses become more accessible and… Read more: Accessible tourism in focus at conference

An estimated 18 per cent of Australians have a disability, but how often do they see themselves in art, on television, in movies, books, online or on stage? How often are we hearing their stories or playing a part in the sharing the story of our society?   No Strings is a professional theatre company… Read more: Theatre for everybody

There’s been some good news for people with disability in the workplace!  The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has released its latest tranche of data on disability employment rates – and the unemployment rate for people with disability has dropped to 7.5 per cent, down from 10.3 per cent in 2018.  However, it is still… Read more: Mixed news: people with disability in the workforce

Research by Guide Dogs NSW/ACT has revealed there are new footpath and urban design challenges faced by people with vision impairment.    A national survey of those with low vision or blindness found many challenges impacted their confidence in getting out and about with new-style urban design features such as micro-mobility, shared paths, shared roads,… Read more: Footpath clues: where are they?  

“I was happy that my hard work finally paid off.”  Mitchell Meares is still on cloud nine after becoming the 2024 Masters Open Champion in last month’s Tenpin Bowling Australia National Disability Championship.  It was the 35th year of the National Disability Championship, which sees bowlers with disability from all around Australia to come together… Read more: No pins standing: how champion Mitchell rolls 

With a roar of applause and amidst the strains of funky music, the Special Olympics Victoria Winter State Games were declared officially open.  The winter half of the State Games were held at Casey Fields in Melbourne’s south east over the weekend of 6-7 July and saw 350 athletes from 12 clubs across Victoria compete… Read more: Cheers as Games get underway 

An ambitious plan to get more Queenslanders with disability into work would see employment targets tied into the legacy of the upcoming Brisbane Olympic Games.  The Game Changers report, produced by Urbis and released by Queenslanders with Disability Network (QDN), lays out the potential for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games to change the employment… Read more: Changing the game for disability employment: report

Disability advocate and VALID Board Member William Ward-Boas has returned from the recent United Nations Conference of State Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (COSP17), and he’s ready to get back to work. Ward-Boas attended COSP17 on behalf of the Australian Federation of Disability Organisations (AFDO), and his trip was… Read more: COSP17 fuels advocate’s passion

A sunflower sticker on a shop window; an enamel sunflower pin on a colleague’s lapel; a bright sunflower lanyard adorning the neck of a customer. The eagle-eyed amongst us may have noticed that sunflowers are springing up everywhere, spreading joy and hope. For those in the disability community, this is especially poignant. The Hidden Disabilities… Read more: Sunflowers growing awareness of invisible disabilities