Unavailable and Inadequate Housing and Supports (see also Articles 18, 20, 26 and 28)
Access to appropriate housing is a major issue for people with disability in Australia. 32 percent of the submissions to the 2009 national consultations for the National Disability Strategy identified difficulties and concerns with housing and accommodation.348
In a Federal Government survey, 61 percent of the 3.8 million people with disability living in households reported needing assistance to manage or cope with the activities of everyday life.349 However, it is estimated that only a small percentage receive government funded accommodation or support in any form.350 There is a general acknowledgement that there is a high level of unmet need for supports and accommodation for people with disability.351 This forces many people with disability to live with their families throughout their adult life.
Statistically, 79 percent of people with disability receive support from relatives and friends, mainly partners, parents or children. Formal providers of assistance, such as home care workers and support workers, were used by just over half of those with a disability (53 percent).352 The availability of this informal care remains an influential factor in the total demand for formal assistance.353 Currently, the total provision of formal and informal care is insufficient to meet demand.354
The increased dependence on informal family care arrangements places pressures on all family members and jeopardises the natural and appropriate informal support that should exist between a person with disability and their family and wider community networks. (See also Article 23) Australia largely responds to this pressure by focusing on providing ‘band-aid’ respite services for carers rather than on providing the necessary and appropriate supports for the person with disability. This approach leads to poverty, poor physical and mental health and a potential for family breakdown and additional pressure in the vital informal supports for children and adults with disability. (See also Article 23)
State and Territory Governments are responsible for providing and funding a range of disability support services. The level of service provided varies widely from each State and Territory, which means that people with disability do not receive the same level of supports across Australia and are unable to move to other States or Territories with their supports (see also Article 18), which significantly limits rights to living independently and being included in the community.
Support services for people with disability are often unavailable, inaccessible, inappropriate or of poor quality.355 Many people with disability have stated that disability support services can often be a barrier rather than a facilitator of being able to live in and participate in the community.356 This stems from a numbers of issues, including:
significant levels of unmet need for disability support and extensive waiting lists for suitable accommodation and support packages;
strict eligibility and assessment criteria and significant rationing of funding that limits many people with disability to share support in group settings with other people with disability;
a focus on a block funding based system rather than direct funding to individuals with disability, which means a lack of choice, control and flexibility in the provision of services; and
a lack of appropriate independent accreditation, monitoring and complaints mechanisms.
Often home and community care services, which assist people to live and remain in their own home, are ‘means tested’ to determine if an individual or family can contribute funds to the cost of services.357 For many people with disability this may mean only having enough additional funds for subsistence living and not a quality of life. It maintains the poverty cycle for people with disability. (See also Article 28). Certain means testing and other rules can also increase social isolation and loneliness, as well as force people to live in situations they do not choose. For example, home and community services may be means tested, for each person living under one roof, and may inappropriately require others in the household to provide support. This forces some people with disability to live alone to get the extra home and community assistance they require.
