Disability Gateway: local support for people with disability

For the 4.4 million Australians living with disability, searching for information and services can sometimes be difficult and complex.

To counter this, the federal government created the Disability Gateway to help people living with disability, their family, friends and carers find information more easily and connect them to services in their area.

The Disability Gateway is a free service that comprises a website, 1800 phone line, and a Facebook page to help connect people to the information and services they need. This aims to make searching less stressful by providing a central starting point that is accessible, easy and safe to use.

The information on the website is structured around 10 topics, including:

• Employment;
• Money;
• Aids and equipment;
• Housing;
• Transport;
• Health and wellbeing;
• Everyday living;
• Education;
• Leisure; and
• Rights and legal.

The Department of Social Services (DSS) will be at next week’s National General Assembly to share information about the Disability Gateway and answer any questions about how councils can support their local community by referring people to the Disability Gateway.

In related news, DSS and The Social Deck are hosting an online seminar series about effective communication and engagement with people with disability.

These seminars will address the need for governments and the private sector to provide information and communication in formats that do not discriminate against people based on their disability and provide practical ways to improve communication and engagement.

Contact The Social Deck at engage@thesocialdeck.com for more information on the 24 June and 13 July seminars.