NFBCA is the united voice of blind and visionimpaired Australians. Our mission is to achieve equity and equality by our empowerment, by promoting positive community attitudes, and by striving for high quality and accessible services which meet our needs.
I am pleased to introduce NFBCA's Annual Report for the year ended March 31, 1997. Again we have had a good year and this report shows that our organisation continues to grow in strength, and that through our actions we do bring about change for blind, vision-impaired and deafblind people.
The year under review has been a positive one for NFBCA, marked by a high level of activity, both through our National Office and through our network of Branches.
We continue to work in line with our mission, which is to achieve equity and equality by our empowerment, by promoting positive community attitudes, and by striving for high quality and accessible services which meet our needs.
Our key activities over the year were:
* Research into the impact for blind and visionimpaired people of the introduction of digital radio broadcasting;
We have started work to develop an NFBCA Identity Card. The have asked Mary Ward to carry out the investigation and make a report for us. The work is not yet finished and the details are not clear, so it is too early to report progress. One thing is clear: we want the NFBCA Identity Card to have the same status as a driver's licence, so we are making our plans carefully and thoroughly.
Our key objective as an organisation of blind and visionimpaired people is to make a difference in Australia, but We cannot ethically as a developed country forget our blind and vision-impaired friends in developing countries. We have both the capacity and expertise to affect change both at home and overseas, so NFBCA's Council agreed to seek funding to run projects in Viet Nam and Fiji. Funding and management support for two projects has been provided by AusAID through ACROD and I am pleased to say that the projects are advancing well. They are reported on fully later in the report.
NFBCA also participated at an international level through our involvement with the World Blind Union. A particular highlight was the World Blind Union Fourth General Assembly held in Toronto, Canada, in August. It was important for Australia to be represented at this Assembly, as it saw the end of David Blyth's four year term as WBU President. David was a founding member of NFBCA and he continues to play an active role in our work. June Ashmore and Bill Jolley were the official Australian delegates to the Assembly and I thank the blindness agencies for providing financial assistance to cover their costs. NFBCA was represented through the attendance of other members including myself, and I particularly thank the Commonwealth Bank and Computer Power for providing sponsorship. This meant that my involvement came at no cost to NFBCA.
The year was also a positive one from a financial perspective. We had strong and generous support from our members, continuing support from the Office of Disability and most blindness agencies, and generous sponsorships for special projects. I particularly want to acknowledge Telstra, Commonwealth Bank, Computer Power, Novell and Microsoft for their generous support to NFBCA.
I also want to make special mention about a bequest left to us by Bill Elliott, one of our members from Victoria. This bequest is much appreciated and has now been put into The Jeffrey Blyth Foundation so it, along with other contributions, will go on supporting NFBCA's work into the future.
Through careful and prudent management we have finished the year with a small surplus of $7,815. Whilst this is a good result it is no reason to become complacent. Our membership has grown by almost 50% over the past three years from around 1600 in June 1994 to around 2,400 in June 1997. It is vital that we stay in touch with our members to make sure we are addressing their needs, but this is costly both in terms of producing alternative format material and in staff management time. Just keeping names and addresses of more than 2,000 people is a big task, so this year we are getting a new computerised records management system to help us become more efficient.
NFBCA's Council recognises the need for increased income so we approved the appointment of a Marketing Advisor who commenced late in 1996. Through the work of our Marketing Advisor, Michael Cassar, we will be seeking sponsorships from more Trusts and Foundations, Companies and government programs. We will also be looking to maintain and even expand the generous support given by members, and in particular we will be implementing a bequest program to encourage members to support NFBCA through their wills.
Overall it has been a tremendous year for our organisation. I would like to thank our staff for their continued efforts, our members and Branches for their continuing loyalty and effort at a local level, and NFBCA's Council: Robert Altamore, June Ashmore, John Bastiaans, Lynne Davis, Peter Johnson, Karen Knight, Joan Ledermann, John Simpson, Gai Wibberley and Fiona Woods. They have all contributed to our achievements during the year.
I look forward to another year of high achievement in 1997-98, and to the continuing involvement and support of NFBCA members.
NFBCA Councillors
Michael Simpson, President, Sydney
Robert Altamore, Vice-President Community Access, Canberra
June Ashmore, Vice-President Disability Services, Canberra
Karen Knight, Vice-President Membership & Development, Brisbane
John Simpson, Vice-President Communication & Planning, Melbourne
John Bastiaans, Councillor, Adelaide
Lynne Davis, Councillor, Sydney
Peter Johnson, Councillor, Perth
Joan Ledermann, Councillor, Sydney
Gai Wibberley, Councillor, Sydney
Fiona Woods, Councillor, Canberra
NFBCA Staff
Bill Jolley, Executive Officer
Aileen McFadzean, National Advocacy & Policy Officer
Cheryl Gration, Secretary
Robert Mascitti, Finance Officer
Sandra Knight, Clerical Assistant
Ivan Peterson, Victorian Advocacy & Information Officer
Michael Cassar, Marketing Advisor
Rose Ross, DDA Standards Project Officer (based in Canberra)
Tran Dan Phuong, NFBCA Liaison Officer (based in Viet Nam)
NFBCA Consultants
Gunela Astbrink (trading as GSA Consultants), Consultant for Consumer Information Access Research
Tim Noonan (trading as Softspeak Computer Services), consultant on Electronic Banknote Identification, Braille-based Text Telephone Communication and Accessible Computer Communication in Vocational Education & Training Courses
Mary Noy (Trading as Mary Noy & Associates), Accountant
Mary Ward (trading as Mary Ward & Associates), consultant on Deafblindness Studies and NFBCA Identity Card
We have changed the format for this year's report, highlighting the greater importance of projects in NFBCA's range of activities. In becoming more involved with projects we have been careful to ensure that we keep focused on our core activities of individual and systemic advocacy, peer support, information dissemination and advice to Government and the community. For the most part we have used outside consultants for our projects and I have acted as Project Manager. The report will cover:
Individual Advocacy Support Systemic Advocacy Membership, Development and Information External Relations Administration and Finance Introduction to Services and Projects National Advocacy Service Victorian Advocacy and Information Service DDA Standards Project Needs of People who are Deafblind Consumer Information Access Impact of Digital Radio Broadcasting Braille Literacy in Viet Nam
I feel that it has been a very good year for NFBCA. We have done well to meet the challenges of growth of the organisation, growth in the demand for our services and support, and scarcity in available resources. We have been extremely well led by our President Michael Simpson, with support from Executive members, Councillors and other people at National and Branch level in the organisation. Michael's leadership, enthusiasm, commitment and energy have been outstanding, and we owe him a great debt of gratitude.
Individual Advocacy Support
Aileen McFadzean, our National Advocacy and Policy Officer, has been the main-stay of our individual advocacy work at national level. As Aileen takes leave from NFBCA to have her first baby, I wish her happiness and fulfilment. I'm sure that I speak for everyone connected with NFBCA in looking forward to her return one day, to continue her excellent advocacy for people who are blind or vision-impaired.
The report this year concentrates on NFBCA's handling of discrimination issues, many of which have led to the lodgement of complaints under Federal or State Disability Discrimination Laws. We received more than 350 inquiries during the year, many of which could be answered simply, but some of which have turned out to be extremely complex in their resolution.
There have been two important trends emerging this year. The first is the need to make more use of State Legislation rather than the Commonwealth law. The second is our need to support complaints beyond the conciliation stage. We can no longer say that we simply cannot provide support in the hearing stage, but we must make a careful decision taking into account both our expertise and our limited resources to ensure the best support for the complainant.
The areas of insurance, pedestrian access, employment, dog guides and education have been particularly important this year. I am very concerned about the extent to which discrimination exists in employment. I fear that complaints will escalate as the new industrial relations environment takes effect.
We are continuing to receive requests for help from people unlawfully denied public access with their dog guides. This has prompted Council to start a review of the relevant State legislation, both Dog Acts and Health Acts, towards a uniform law throughout Australia and as a forerunner to a community awareness campaign.
Confidentiality restrictions usually prohibit us from giving specific examples of individual advocacy support. Suffice it to say that in the Conciliation stage we have the winning habit and we don't settle for second best. For the insurance cases, as an example, we have found a reluctance by insurers to let cases go to hearing, that they are tough negotiators, but we have achieved outcomes that will make insurance more accessible and less discriminatory for people who are blind or vision-impaired.
The report on our Systemic Advocacy work this year covers DDA matters, community access and information access. I thank Aileen McFadzean, John Simpson and June Ashmore, who contributed material for the report.
The DDA related matters included Applications for Exemptions, Action Plans, DDA Guidelines and changes in the processes of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC). A major part of our work, leadership in the development of DDA Standards, is covered later in the report.
Action Plans are an important instrument under the DDA because they focus attention on the avoidance of discriminatory practices in the provision of goods and services. For example, Telstra now has a good Action Plan and the awareness of Telstra management has been heightened. NFBCA was involved in Telstra's disability awareness staff training video. We have provided comment on draft Action Plans for Commonwealth Departments, as part of our ongoing work as a peak disability organisation.
We have given advice to HREOC in the development of DDA Guidelines for insurance, accessible Internet Web pages and accessible premises. We have made major contributions concerning insurance and web pages particularly.
Under the area of Community Access the report covers banks, access to pharmaceuticals and medical records, housing, employment, social security, the Commonwealth Disability Strategy and access to the environment. We are pleased to report that Westpac, ANZ and the Commonwealth Bank now have fees policies that we are satisfied with. Our work is ongoing to bring other banks into line and eliminate discriminatory practices.
Much of our Information Access work this year has been carried out by a Resource Group based in Sydney. The Group has given advice to DEETYA on its EDNA (Education Network Australia) Internet Web Site; it has given similar advice to the Attorney-General's Department in New South Wales; it has prepared NFBCA's submissions on the DDA Accessible Web Page Guidelines; and it has made a submission to the Federation of Australian Commercial Television Stations concerning the Commercial Television Codes of Practice. The latter submission focused on vision- only announcements, the clarity of on-screen text and graphics, spoken program classification information and the need for advisory notes on the media portrayal of people with disabilities.
Membership, Development and Information
This work was led by Karen Knight in her first year as an NFBCA Vice- President. We had a very successful year.
Membership increased from 1991 to 2407, largely due to an increase in South Australian membership. We thank Royal Society for the Blind which helped us distribute information leading to almost 300 people joining NFBCA from South Australia.
A highlight for NFBCA this year was the Branch Development Seminar. This was arranged and led by Karen Knight with support from John Simpson. It was a two-day seminar held in Melbourne, last March, at which two representatives were present from most Branches, plus most Councillors. It was a great chance for Branch representatives and Councillors to come together to look at many issues concerning the role of branches within NFBCA and the opportunities and challenges resulting from the growth of our organisation. A working party has been set up to take the recommendations from the Seminar and transform them into concrete proposals for consideration by Council.
A pleasing aspect about the Seminar was that when we decided to hold it we were able to do so by allocation of the necessary funds. This financial stability is a relief to those of us who remember how some years ago it was our very survival which was paramount.
At its April meeting Council adopted Bylaws for Branch Administration. For more than ten years Council has from time to time thought about such bylaws, and they've eventually come to fruition. We thank Fiona Woods who led the work for their development. We feel that these bylaws are a very good framework for the smooth administration and participation of NFBCA Regional and Special Interest Branches as part of our national organisation.
We continued to hold forums around Australia, and these have given us excellent feedback on people's needs and concerns. Forums were held in Victoria, New South Wales, Tasmania and Queensland. We thank everyone who contributed physically and financially to their success. We were pleased to be able to conduct twelve forums throughout Queensland, with a small advocacy grant from the State and Federal Governments, and we hope to increase our advocacy work in Queensland this year. Issues of transport, pedestrian safety, isolation, access to services and safe use of medicines were prominent in the forums in all States.
We have continued to produce our radio program on a weekly basis. Thanks to Neville Kerr for his continued commitment and thoroughness. We now call the program "Horizons" and, in addition to the RPH Stations, we send it to Community Stations using ComRadSat - the Community Radio Satellite.
We have continued to produce NFBCA News in multiple formats. We are still experiencing problems with reliable production of NFBCA News in braille. We have supplemented the formats of large print, audio and braille, with NFBCA News now also being available on computer disk, by e-mail and over the Internet.
NFBCA now has an Internet Web Page. We thank our Web Master, Barry Chapman, for doing the work to give NFBCA this new and powerful way of distributing information. The Web Page carries NFBCA policies and news, and will become a valuable resource for our members and others interested in blindness and vision-impairment issues. Already the Web Page includes links to other relevant sites.
NFBCA continues to be active in relation to co-ordinating bodies in Australia, and some details are given in the report. We encourage our members to become involved in outside organisations, either in their own right or as NFBCA nominees.
At the international level there are two significant matters to report. First, we joined the DAISY Consortium in partnership with blindness agencies in Australia and New Zealand. DAISY stands for Digital Audio Information System and concerns the new formats and protocols for digital talking books. This is an exciting development and one we are pleased to be a part of. We want to play our part to ensure that there are open architectures, that file formats are compatible, that there are internationally agreed standards and that mistakes of the past are not repeated.
The World Blind Union held its Fourth General Assembly last August in Canada. It marked the close of the four-year term as President for David Blyth. David was a wonderful President and he deserves our heart-felt thanks for his efforts.
I was privileged to be an Australian delegate to the General Assembly, along with June Ashmore. We were both able to make good contributions, continuing the strong performance of Australian delegations to WBU. For me, guiding through constitutional changes and convening the Nominations Committee in a multi-lingual and multi-cultural environment were exciting challenges. For June, her participation and leadership in the World Blind Women's forum was an enriching experience.
The NFBCA Council worked hard this year led by Michael Simpson as President with support from Vice-Presidents Robert Altamore, June Ashmore, Karen Knight and John Simpson. Other Councillors - John Bastiaans, Lynne Davis, Peter Johnson, Joan Ledermann, Gai Wibberley and Fiona Woods - all contributed to a busy and successful year for NFBCA.
I also thank the members of the NFBCA staff who have supported our work so well - Aileen McFadzean, Cheryl Gration, Sandra Knight, Robert Mascitti, Rose Ross and Michael Cassar. Leslye Thies left NFBCA last December and we record our appreciation to her for the work she did. In April we welcomed Ivan Peterson to work as our Victorian Advocacy and Information Officer.
NFBCA has always received wonderful help from a small band of volunteers. Again this year, our volunteers have given great assistance. It is sad for us to record the death of Andrea Willison in May 1997. Andrea first worked for NFBCA in 1982 and stood by us with encouragement and support in our darkest days in the mid 1980's. Andrea is now at peace after a long illness from cancer. As her family and friends mourn her passing, they can at least do so in the knowledge that she made an outstanding contribution to the community. For ten years Andrea gave NFBCA willing voluntary assistance, and she attended fifteen National Conventions in a row. Up until just a couple of months ago, she was a regular volunteer in the NFBCA office - reading for correspondence tapes and typing reports for Councillors or articles for NFBCA News.
NFBCA's financial situation this year was quite good, with a small surplus of $7,815 being recorded. Our turnover, in excess of $500,000, demonstrates the growth of the organisation and the wide range of our involvements.
We thank our supporters including members, blindness agencies, the Federal and Victorian Governments and sponsors of projects and special events for their generous contributions. This year we received $28,000 from NFBCA members and $57,000 from blindness agencies. We received project income from Office of Disability, Australian National Training Authority, Reserve Bank of Australia, AusAID and the Attorney- General's Department.
Council has developed a protocol that normally the major portion of bequest income will be transferred to The Jeffrey Blyth Foundation. Already the Foundation is building up nicely, with a capital fund close to $50,000, and we look forward to its support of NFBCA in the long term.
Introduction to Services and Projects
Funded services and projects are assuming an increasing importance in NFBCA's mix of activities. The report gives details of the National Advocacy Service, Victorian Advocacy and Information Service, DDA Standards Project, Needs of People who are Deafblind, Consumer Information Access, Impact of Digital Radio Broadcasting and Braille Literacy in Viet Nam.
We were broken-hearted, battle-scarred and close to surrender after the introduction of the Disability Services Act 1986 when we could not get advocacy funding for another six years. Five years later the situation has changed and the picture is much brighter. The $290,000 we now receive from the Federal and Victorian Governments, and from blindness agencies, is a platform from which we can work to attract support from other sources and to carry out projects. Rather than being a drain on our human resources, projects can contribute a small amount to our running costs and can help us to do the work we want to do. A good example of this is our relationship with the Reserve Bank.
In 1995 we helped to develop, and have since distributed, CashTest Australia - the small plastic banknote recognition device. This project was fully funded. We have also received funding from the Reserve Bank to distribute information about the new series of polymer banknotes, and last year we made and distributed a cassette about the new one hundred dollar note.
Not everyone can use CashTest Australia easily, especially people with diabetes and people with poor finger dexterity. Last year we received funding from the Reserve Bank to investigate the feasibility of an Electronic Banknote Recognition device. We concluded that such a device was not feasible in the short-term, but we appreciated the support of the Reserve Bank to make the investigation. We also took the chance to make recommendations for consideration by the Reserve Bank when there is next major change to Australia's banknotes.
National Advocacy Service
The National Advocacy Service is funded under the Disability Services Act 1986 to consult with and represent the collective interest of people with a print disability throughout Australia. It now also supports NFBCA's Individual Advocacy work. Its objective is to enhance the equality of opportunity for people who are blind or who have other print disabilities by the removal of barriers to access by this group and through individual advocacy support.
The work carried out under this service is NFBCA's core systemic and individual advocacy work, and the reporting is dispersed throughout NFBCA's Annual Report.
The themes of the National Advocacy Service are: Consumer Awareness Raising and Advice, Community Awareness Raising and Advice, Monitoring Change, Policy Work, Individual Advocacy and Peak Body Representation.
Victorian Advocacy and Information Service
NFBCA has continued to receive a grant of just over $60,000 from the Victorian Government for an Advocacy and Information Service. Our new Project Officer is Ivan Peterson, and I thank him for contributing to NFBCA's Annual Report.
During the year NFBCA received more than 500 requests for advocacy or information from blind or vision-impaired people, the general public, or staff of blindness agencies and community organisations. Most of these requests were easy to satisfy. Pedestrian safety, audible traffic signals, transport issues, and access to services were dominant issues.
We continued to produce SoundAbout-Victoria and SoundOff, as cassette magazines, and the Parent Newsletter. We thank Dale Simpson, Stephen Jolley, Maryanne Diamond, Kylie Partington and Robyn Stephens for their consistent voluntary effort throughout the year.
We held two forums during the year, which were very successful in providing information to blind and vision-impaired people and in getting feedback from them. Forums are an important part of our communication with members and potential members, and we plan to hold more forums this year.
DDA Standards Project
In July 1996 NFBCA took responsibility for hosting the DDA Standards Project. I have been Project Convenor since April 1996, and Rose Ross has been Project Officer since November 1995. Rose is based in Canberra, and has done an excellent job in policy analysis, administration and co-ordination. The Project aims to ensure that the community of people with disabilities is informed about DDA Standards development and is empowered to participate in the development process through community consultation and by written submission.
NFBCA hosts the Project on behalf of the National Caucus of Disability Consumer Organisations. Our high level of involvement reflects our commitment to achieving strong and effective DDA Standards, thereby improving community access and ensuring the protection of rights for people who are blind or vision-impaired.
The Disability Discrimination Act provides for the making of Disability Standards by the Commonwealth Attorney-General in the areas of transport, employment, education, accommodation and Commonwealth laws and programs. There has been progress in all these areas except for accommodation where Standards development has not yet begun.
Kevin Murfitt has been one of the representatives of people with disabilities in the development of an Accessible Transport Standard. Kevin is an experienced NFBCA member who frequently uses public transport.
Last June the Council of Transport Ministers agreed on the technical feasibility of a draft DDA Transport Standard and referred it to the Commonwealth Attorney-General pending the development of a Regulatory Impact Statement. Since that time there has been much lobbying as the forces of darkness have gathered to prevent an Accessible Transport Standard on the simple grounds of cost. It was reassuring to learn that the State Transport Ministers have recently reaffirmed their support for a DDA Transport Standard. We commend Kevin and the other community representatives on their excellent work and sustained commitment, and we hope that a DDA Transport Standard will be approved before too long.
John Simpson has played a major part in community representation and consultation in relation to a DDA Employment Standard. John hosted two video-based consultations and has represented people with disabilities on HREOC's DDA Employment Standard Sub-Committee.
NFBCA has made strong submissions on the Employment Standard, largely through the efforts of Aileen McFadzean and Robert Altamore, which have drawn out some very important and complex issues for public debate - such as the concepts of Reasonable Adjustment, Unjustifiable Hardship and Inherent Requirements of the Job.
The Draft Employment Standard has raised important questions around the development of DDA Standards, such as the need for any Standard to be sufficiently strong and the possibility that a poorly framed Standard could enshrine discrimination against particular groups within the community of people with disabilities.
Needs of People who are Deafblind
NFBCA has continued to give priority attention to issues which are important to people who are deafblind. We have been fortunate to have the consultancy services of Mary Ward and Tim Noonan, and to have received project funding from the Office of Disability and the Australian National Training Authority. NFBCA has also funded some of this work from its own resources.
During the past year NFBCA has taken the following actions:
There is still no braille-based text telephone for use by people in Australia who are deafblind. The benign neglect of the communications needs and rights of people who are deafblind is an indictment on us all. We are committed to do something about it.
Having received representations from people who are deafblind and their advocates,NFBCA quickly realised the complexities of braille- based text telephony, not the least of which are technical and regulatory issues. We hired Tim Noonan to make an investigation and give us a report. Tim has particular expertise in computer access through assistive devices and in related technical standards. His report provides recommendations which, if implemented, should lead to a timely and effective solution. "I just called to say ..." will pave the way for people who are deafblind to use the telephone to communicate with whom they want, when they want, with the privacy they want and deserve - rights we all take for granted.
Consumer Information Access: Everybody's Business
NFBCA has published "Everybody's Business: Consumer Information Access for People who are Blind or VisionImpaired". Telstra is meeting the challenge of information access, and in 1995 it funded NFBCA to carry out a research project. The work was undertaken for NFBCA by Gunela Astbrink, an experienced researcher with a background in library services and information access for people with disabilities.
The project sought to determine the information needs of consumers who are blind or vision-impaired, and to propose efficient and effective accessible consumer information delivery systems. People who are blind or vision-impaired have great difficulty in accessing consumer information from public utilities, companies and government departments information which is essential for activities of everyday life such as paying bills, accessing entitlements or choosing between comparable products and services.
The report provides a wealth of information by way of background and pointers to other information and research projects. It makes fifty recommendations: directed to companies such as telecommunications carriers and banks, to government, to NFBCA and to ACROD's technology committee. The recommendations did not constitute a set of prescriptions, for example, when to use which formats - since most people can use one or more formats but they cannot comfortably use all of them. The report gives suggestions, proposals, strategies, solutions and referrals. It is a major contribution to the body of knowledge in this field.
Impact of Digital Radio Broadcasting
John Simpson carried out the research for NFBCA to study the impact of digital radio broadcasting in Australia. His understanding of vision- impairment issues and of the technology of broadcasting have given him a unique insight into the important issues, and have enabled him to raise disability awareness in the broadcasting industry.
Among the mix of new technologies that are fast becoming part of Australian life, the introduction of Digital Radio Broadcasting (DRB) could be of major value to people who are print handicapped. There is, however, a danger that the system itself might incorporate features and functions that deny or limit its useability by such people. In May 1996 a research project was funded by the Office of Disability for NFBCA, in association with RPH Australia, to investigate the impact of digital radio broadcasting for people who are print handicapped.
DRB is a new type of broadcasting technology, which may start to be introduced into Australia within five years. It is based on the same digital concepts as are used in computers, compact disks, digital mobile phones and telecommunications. DRB presents opportunities for more RPH broadcasting and for other radio services and programs of particular interest to blind people. There are many other potential benefits.
On the other hand, there are some major threats from DRB. In essence, the problem is that the new digital receivers will include a small screen so that text and graphics can be used by the broadcaster to supplement the audio information traffic reports, lyrics to songs, sports scores, channel selection and program menus.
Our objectives with this research, and we feel that we have been quite successful, have been to understand the new technology, to analyse the implications for people with a print disability, to alert developers and planners to think inclusively, and to lobby for universal access to be an underlying principle of transmission standards and equipment design.
Braille Literacy in Viet Nam
NFBCA's involvement in Viet Nam started in 1993 with funding of the Thai Binh Blind Women's Literacy project, which last year was supplemented by a small project in Long An. Long An is a very poor district west of Ho Chi Minh City, still suffering in the aftermath of the war.
Last November we received funding of $168,000 for a three-year project to run residential train-the-trainer courses in four separate provinces - two in North Viet Nam and two in Central Viet Nam. In a formal sense the funding from AusAID is provided to ACROD which has the necessary credentials as a development aid agency. I express appreciation to Helen McAuley from ACROD who has given us much assistance and who accompanied me on the trip to Viet Nam last December. A requirement of the project is that we make two visits from Australia to Viet Nam each year, so the next visit is scheduled for the end of June.
Each of the four teacher training courses will run for nine to twelve months, plus another six months for monitoring, and will provide basic training for twenty to twenty-five women, about 60% of whom are blind or have low vision. In Viet Nam there is an emphasis on literacy through braille, plus the teaching of some vocational skills, orientation and mobility and health & nutrition. We hope, in the future, to introduce some basic low vision assessment and elementary low vision techniques that will benefit many people.
We have a liaison officer in Viet Nam, Miss Phuong, and she has been very helpful as our translator and as my sighted guide. She interprets for us when we are in Viet Nam and makes any necessary travel arrangements. Working in Viet Nam is professionally challenging but personally enriching. For me it has been a privilege.
Summary
To summarise the year for NFBCA is difficult. It has seen many achievements, and we face some new challenges. We tend to be harsh judges of our own performance, so I'm sure that we'll try to achieve even more successes next year. However, I'm sure that any objective assessment of NFBCA's performance would rate us very highly on all important criteria.
For me it has been another demanding but enriching and fulfilling year. I particularly thank our staff for their loyalty, commitment and teamwork during the year; and I thank the President and Councillors for their support. We are fortunate to have Michael Simpson as our leader, and I deeply appreciate his commitment, advice and example. I also thank my family and friends for their support, particularly my wife Carmel and my children for their sacrifices. I have pride and satisfaction in commending to you NFBCA's Annual Report for 1997.
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Editor's Note: Aileen McFadzean, as NFBCA's National Advocacy and Policy Officer, has carried out most of NFBCA's Individual Advocacy Support. For the last three years Aileen has done an outstanding job for NFBCA and the people whom we serve. As she takes leave to have her first child we wish her happiness and fulfilment, and we look forward to her return to work for NFBCA in the future. Aileen has contributed the following report. We cannot cover all of the individual advocacy matters dealt with by NFBCA, and for simplicity we have concentrated this year on DDA related matters. Since these issues concern individual people, whose rights to privacy and confidentiality we respect, the reporting of particular cases is necessarily circumspect.
OVERVIEW
The last twelve months has been extremely active in terms of individual advocacy. We have received over 350 inquiries dealing with a diverse range of issues: housing, employment related issues, disability discrimination, education, social security, disability services, access, migration, amongst others. Many of these inquiries require follow up work of research, further telephone calls and letters. Some matters, principally in the area of disability discrimination require significant long term advocacy including representation. Because of the scale of our individual advocacy work, NFBCA can only take on advocacy matters in which being blind or vision-impaired is an aspect of the problem a person has been experiencing.
Although disability discrimination is not the only part of our individual advocacy work, this report concentrates on disability discrimination. It gives examples of the work we have carried out to support individuals. Many of them are not NFBCA members and are referred to us by staff of blindness agencies.
DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION
As stated, most of our individual advocacy which requires significant ongoing involvement relates to disability discrimination. Over the past year, as with other years, NFBCA has lodged complaints on behalf of people who are blind or vision-impaired mainly in the areas of employment and the provision of goods and services which covers such things as safe pedestrian access, access to transport services, access to public places with a dog guide and acceptance for insurance cover.
NFBCA, as a result of changes to how the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (DDA) will be administered, has begun to lodge complaints under State and Territory antidiscrimination laws where the State legislation is not, on balance, disadvantageous.
A far more significant development in terms of NFBCA's involvement in discrimination matters, is a growing necessity to support complaints beyond the conciliation stage. The usual practice was for NFBCA to refer matters to a legal centre or private solicitor if a complaint did not settle at conciliation and just maintain support but not have an advocacy role. NFBCA is reviewing this policy where resource constraints and the level of complexity of the complaint permit us to retain an advocacy role. We will need to keep a close monitor on this development as running a complaint to a final hearing involves intensive work and will restrict the number of complaints we can take on.
INSURANCE
We have referred in past reports to NFBCA's groundbreaking work in this area. All of the complaints except one have settled as part of the conciliation process. The exception settled just two weeks before a final hearing in Darwin.
Partly due to NFBCA's work in this area, we were invited on to a Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission's (HREOC) reference group to develop guidelines for interpreting the relevant provisions of the DDA. This group is made up of insurance industry representatives and advocacy organisations, such as NFBCA, which have been instrumental in forcing insurance companies to review their discriminatory policies towards people with disabilities. NFBCA will be reviewing the draft guidelines which we will only support if they maintain rights which people with disabilities currently have under the DDA. The conciliated outcomes of insurance complaints have generally involved policy change and a compensation component. The complaints have dealt principally with income protection insurance which has for some time been the most difficult type of cover for blind and vision-impaired people to purchase. The policy changes have generally involved a shift from blanket exclusion of blind and vision-impaired people from this type of cover to treating people on merit and looking at the whole of a person's circumstances. This means that in principle, blindness itself will not be sufficient to exclude someone from cover.
This policy change was achieved at its strongest and most far reaching by a complaint against one of the biggest insurers. As a consequence of this company changing its policy, we believe that in time, other companies will follow suit. This result is not subject to the same confidentiality restrictions as other complaints. Therefore, we will be able to give further details in NFBCA News when settlement is finalised.
PEDESTRIAN ACCESS
Frequently, the DDA and State anti discrimination legislation can be used as a lever in negotiations without actually having to proceed with formal action.
A successful outcome was achieved in Port Macquarie, NSW. NFBCA was requested by a member on behalf of other blind and vision-impaired people in the region to advocate for the restoration of two pedestrian crossings in Port Macquarie's CBD. The Guide Dog Association of NSW/ACT had been involved in providing a report on barriers to pedestrian access, but over the course of a year no agreement had been reached with the Council to restore the crossings. It is a matter of education for Councils to see decreases in safe pedestrian access or failure to provide safe pedestrian access as a disability discrimination issue. NFBCA provided this advice and indicated that we were prepared to lodge a formal complaint should the crossings not be restored. We required the Council to set a timetable for resolving the issue. After a meeting with concerned people in the community, the Council agreed to restore the crossings and add an additional crossing.
What is so important about this resolution is the continued goodwill between the Council and the blind and vision-impaired members of the community. The Council, on the whole, seemed to understand the barriers faced by blind and vision-impaired people. Our experience with other Councils in relation to this issue, which also involves roundabouts and audible traffic signals is that they have been unwilling to rate the rights of pedestrians equal with the interests of motorists.
EMPLOYMENT
NFBCA has been involved in a number of complaints involving discrimination in employment. None have in fact settled, but are at the stage of either going to hearing or involved in post-conciliation negotiations.
One matter referred to in our last report involving discrimination against a family day care worker was not settled at conciliation. We are waiting on the respondents' final decision in relation to our settlement proposal. If the matter is not settled, it will be referred to hearing. The respondents in this case acknowledge that they have discriminated against the worker, but believe that their actions were fair and had they known from the outset that the worker was blind, the complainant would not have been employed. As it was, they simply refused to fill her care vacancies.
Another complaint involved dismissing a vision-impaired cleaner on the grounds that his eye fell out during routine work. The respondent claimed that the site in which the complainant worked was too dangerous for someone with his disability. NFBCA challenges the assertion that the site was too dangerous. This complaint failed to settle at conciliation and will probably go to hearing.
These are simply two of a number of employment cases that NFBCA is currently handling.
DOG GUIDES
NFBCA continues to receive complaints from people who were discriminated against on the basis that they were accompanied by a dog guide. The discrimination has occurred in motels, taxis, restaurants and shops. We have lodged a number of complaints in this area.
EDUCATION
Although NFBCA has received complaints about discrimination in this area, no-one has wanted to proceed with a formal complaint. This is usually because parents are not keen to lodge complaints about schools where their children are currently being educated. This is because the DDA requires that the respondent be the service provider which necessarily involves the school, although the State Education Departments and the Independent Schools Associations would generally be joined to any action. Discrimination in education complaints are frequently highly political and parents are often dismayed at the thought of becoming involved in high level legal action. Moreover, frequently the issues are resolved prior to the lodging of a formal complaint or at conciliation.
CONCLUSION
The above complaints are just a sample of the range of issues which arise in discrimination complaints. NFBCA sees the lodging of disability discrimination complaints as one of our key strategies of promoting the rights and equal opportunities of people who are blind and vision-impaired.
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SYSTEMIC ADVOCACY
Editor's Note: My Thanks to Aileen McFadzean, John Simpson and June Ashmore who have contributed material for this report. We also acknowledge NFBCA VicePresident for Community Access, Robert Altamore, and other members who have worked on systemic advocacy issues throughout the year.
DDA RELATED MATTERS
NFBCA has been involved in five major projects: insurance guidelines, disability standards, applications for exemptions, review of Departmental Action Plans and reforms to the processes of HREOC. Insurance guidelines are discussed in the previous section on Individual Advocacy and disability standards are discussed in the report of the DDA Standards Project.
Applications for Exemptions
As a result of a meeting last year between the Disability Discrimination Commissioner, Ms Elizabeth Hastings and peak disability organisations, the Commissioner agreed to a process by which the disability organisations would be consulted about any application for an exemption from the DDA received by her office. Under the DDA, a potential respondent can apply for a temporary exemption as long as certain criterion are met and the objects of the DDA will be furthered by the granting of the exemption.
An application was made by the Women's Legal Service for an exemption to enable it to purchase a building which would be inaccessible to people who would have difficulty accessing stairs. NFBCA opposed this application which was ultimately rejected by the Commissioner.
NFBCA made a submission in relation to the application of the Minister for Transport (SA), Passenger Transport Board and Trans Adelaide for an exemption. We opposed the application despite the applicant having a comprehensive Action Plan on various grounds, but primarily because the Action Plan did not address issues of access for people who are blind or visionimpaired. This is not to say that South Australia had not done more in relation to access for people who are blind and vision-impaired than most other States. The Commissioner accepted the application for exemption, subject to a condition that the Action Plan address access issues for people with sensory disability and cognitive disabilities.
NFBCA has also written in support of the Commissioner's decision to reject an application for an exemption by the Lutheran Church of Australia, Queensland District, which relates to the provision of education services.
Action Plans
Under the DDA, service providers have the opportunity to develop Disability Action Plans designed to increase access for people with disabilities. NFBCA has been asked by the Office of Disability to review the draft Action Plans of Commonwealth Department's as they relate to people who are blind or vision-impaired. NFBCA has reviewed the Action Plans of the Health Insurance Commission, Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, Department of Health and Family Services, Department of Industrial Relations and the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission.
Changes to the Processes of HREOC
As a result of a High Court finding that the determinations of HREOC were not binding on the parties, the Commonwealth Government proposed to overcome this by having hearings conducted in a special division of the Federal Court. NFBCA wrote to Daryl Williams, the Commonwealth Attorney-General, explaining its concerns that the proposed changes could disadvantage people with disabilities and overall reduce access to the DDA. NFBCA also wrote a submission to a Senate Inquiry which addressed the proposed amendments to the determination of HREOC complaints and the restructure of the Commission.
NFBCA has also strongly opposed the proposed cuts of 43% to HREOC which it is rumoured will reduce staff by one third, cause a number of pro-active strategies to eliminate discrimination to be scrapped, and significantly increase delays in the investigation of complaints of discrimination. NFBCA has written to a broad spectrum of Federal politicians requesting their support and urging them to meet with us.
COMMUNITY ACCESS
NFBCA has continued to work on a range of issues concerning the access of people who are blind or vision-impaired to activities of citizenship and community participation. The following paragraphs give examples of this work.
Banks
NFBCA is continuing to work with Australia's major banks to try to make the provision of banking information and products accessible to people who are blind or vision-impaired.
NFBCA has held a focus group initiated by the Young Pharmacists Society of Australia (Victoria Branch) to increase its understanding of the access barriers faced by people who are blind or vision- impaired in accessing medications and pharmaceutical information. NFBCA has experienced great difficulty advancing this issue in the past and we are hopeful that this initiative will finally achieve some results.
Further progress has been made through representation by NFBCA members at forums arranged by the Consumers' Health Forum, through input into a Phone-In on the Safe Use of Medication last year and through consistent pressure being applied to manufacturers of drugs.
We hope that these initiatives will lead to guidelines that will result in a national approach to the safe use of medication by people who are blind or vision-impaired.
The International Civil and Policy Branch of the Commonwealth's Attorney-General's Department initiated a review of privacy protection in the public sector. NFBCA used this opportunity to argue strongly for the right of an individual to access to his or her personal medical records and the requirement that individuals must provide consent before information contained in medical records is used for purposes other than the reason for its collection.
Housing
NFBCA made a submission to the Senate Inquiry into Housing Assistance. The Inquiry was to receive public submissions and attempt to evaluate the merits of the Commonwealth's Government's proposal to fund an increase in rent assistance, but remove all funding for public housing. Public housing would be solely the responsibility of the States which would not increase their Housing budgets. We described our experiences of advocating on behalf of people attempting to attain public housing accommodation as well as those in private rental. NFBCA's position was that although an increase to rent assistance is necessary, there needs to be an increase in funding for public housing due to the chronic housing shortage and the unlikelihood that the private market can and will effectively cater for people with disabilities and low income earners generally.
Employment
NFBCA lobbied the Commonwealth Government, the Opposition, the Greens and the Democrats in relation to the Workplace Relations Act 1996. NFBCA believed that there were insufficient protections for blind and vision-impaired workers in relation to Australian Workplace Agreements and Enterprise Agreements specifically as well as a decreased focus on ensuring non discriminatory provisions by the Industrial Relations Commission. We were concerned that it would lead to increased discrimination against blind and vision-impaired workers. We met with the Minister, the Hon. Peter Reith and Senator Dee Margetts and we gave our submission to the Democrats.
Social Security
NFBCA met with Senator, the Hon. John Faulkner in relation to the proposed amendments to the Social Security Act 1991, including the amendments to the impairment tables, compensation provisions and abolition of employment entry and education entry payments.
Commonwealth Disability Strategy
NFBCA welcomes the renewed commitment by the Government to the Commonwealth Disability Strategy. We see the Strategy as an important part of a balanced approach by the Government to support community services for and community participation by people with disabilities. We shall continue to work with the Commonwealth Government to help to maximise the impact of the Strategy for people who are blind or vision-impaired.
Access to the Environment
Members have continued their consistent effort through Local Government Access Committees. This work at local level is extremely important and has been aided by the availability of NFBCA's Policy Statements on Public Transport, Audible Traffic Signals and Pedestrian Safety. Issues related to access to premises are being addressed more broadly through NFBCA representation on the Review of Access Provisions of the Building Code of Australia (BCA), through the review of the Lift Standard and through an interactive workshop at the Convention dedicated to identifying the most appropriate use of Tactile Tiles. The review of the BCA is an integral part of the DDA Standards development process, although not producing a DDA Standard directly, and the work is summarised under the section on DDA Standards Project.
INFORMATION ACCESS
Information Access Resource Group
NFBCA's information access advocacy and policy development work has been strongly supported during this last year by the work of the Information Access Resource Group. This group of mainly Sydney based members, with particular expertise in matters relating to information technology and the needs of blind and vision-impaired people, has met both by telephone and on a face-to-face basis during the year. The Group has been very active and successful in its major endeavours to:
Information Access Seminar
In November Council invited a group of sixteen NFBCA members to come together for a two day Information Access Seminar. The group comprised people with expertise in matters relating to information technology as used by blind people, together with others who have extensive knowledge and direct experience in meeting the information needs of blind and vision-impaired people.
The Seminar focussed on four specific areas of information access:
Other Information Access Issues
Some good public education was achieved through two feature articles in the Sydney Morning Herald "Agenda" Section, November 6 1996. "Hitching a Ride on the Information Super Highway" featuring Graeme Innes and "Activists seeks Access for All" featuring Bill Jolley.
NFBCA gave support for RPH Australia concerning the licensing of Regional RPH Services. We congratulate the Association for the Blind in Victoria, which last September was granted a regional RPH licence for Mildura. Work is proceeding for more RPH licensing in Western Australia, Central Victoria and Country NSW.
Finally, NFBCA has made a submission to the Department of Communications and the Arts, in relation to the development of a National Code on matters relating to the Telecommunications infrastructure. This is the Code of Practice governing such things as the Cable Role-Out and construction of Mobile Telephone Service Towers. Our submission dealt specifically with issues of safety around construction sites and other work locations.
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MEMBERSHIP, DEVELOPMENT AND INFORMATION
Editor's Note: My thanks to Karen Knight, Vice-President Membership & Development, who contributed the following report; and my congratulations to her for doing such a fine job this year. About the year, she says: "My first year as Vice-President Membership and Development, and therefore as a member of the Executive, has been a rewarding and somewhat challenging one. I would like to thank Joan Ledermann, the former Vice-President with this responsibility, for her advice and encouragement; and indeed, all Executive members have been generous in their continued support and feedback."
MEMBERSHIP
Individual membership of NFBCA continues to grow steadily. There has been significant growth this year in South Australia due to some innovative recruitment strategies adopted by the Adelaide Branch. By placing an insert about NFBCA in the newsletter of the Royal Society for the Blind of South Australia (RSB-SA), over 270 new members have joined NFBCA. The challenge for the coming year is to encourage the active involvement of these new South Australian members in NFBCA activities. There has been steady membership growth in most other states and territories, AS the following table for May 1995 to May 1997 shows.
State/Territory 1995 1996 1997 Victoria 810 852 888 New South Wales 373 487 523 South Australia 126 131 420 Queensland 201 216 244 Western Australia 165 171 190 Tasmania 62 75 80 A.C.T. 44 40 39 Northern Territory 11 12 16 Overseas 6 7 7 TOTAL 1798 1991 2407
These figures indicate that there is now a total of 2407 members, a growth rate in the past twelve months of just over 20%. This is an excellent achievement and one which underpins some of the key activities in the area of membership development this year.
No new organisational members have joined NFBCA this year, but we continue to liaise with six class A, six class B and four Associate organisational members.
BRANCHES
A key initiative in the area of membership and development this year was the branch development seminar. This was a two day seminar held in March to which all branch presidents and one other branch delegate were invited. It was a great opportunity for representatives from regional and special interest branches to get together to discuss the branch structure and their relationship to the national body in the light of the growth in membership and the increased need to communicate effectively at all levels of the organisation. Delegates were very keen to participate in all aspects of the discussion and a plethora of ideas, strategies and goals were noted. The outcome of the seminar was that a working party has been formed to carry out further work on the proposals put forward at the seminar. Members of the working party are myself as convenor, Dale Reardon, Kym Hand, Michael Janes, Joan Ledermann and John Simpson. Michael Simpson and Bill Jolley will be ex officio members of the group. The working party will present a report to Council including some recommendations on the future structure of the organisation by February 1998. The branch development seminar was a most successful event and it is a model which we may use in the future as just one way of getting feedback from members.
Whenever possible, members of Council continue to visit branches, particularly those outside the capital cities. Joan Ledermann has visited the Tweed Valley Branch, Michael Simpson and Joan have also visited the Illawarra Branch, Bill Jolley has visited the International Service Branch just outside Melbourne, and Bill and Michael have visited the WA Guild of Blind Citizens.
It is with sadness, however, that Council has taken the decision to wind up the Hume/Riverina Branch. We thank Cheryl Newman and her committee for their work over the past few years and hope that members in that area will continue to take an interest in the work of NFBCA. Keeping in touch with branches is a high priority for Council as they play a vital role in linking individuals in their local area with other blind and vision-impaired people and the National organisation.
As noted in last year's report, Fiona Woods had spent considerable time drafting branch bylaws. I am pleased to report that at its April meeting, Council adopted the final draft of these bylaws. I would like to thank Fiona Woods and Bill Jolley for their ongoing commitment to the development and implementation of these bylaws, and I am confident that they will provide branches with a clearer understanding of their responsibilities.
In the coming year it will be important to maintain close links with branches and to work towards fostering stronger links with organisational members. The first step in this process has been to circulate a position description for the Organisation Member Representative on Council. This will inform members of Council's expectations of that representative. NFBCA values the involvement of organisational members and would like to work more closely with them.
DEVELOPMENT
Development work continues to be a priority for the Membership and Development team. The South Australian Development Committee is now meeting regularly and with some funding support from RSB, it is beginning to plan forums in parts of South Australia where there is a concentration of new members. It is also planning to commence production and distribution of an audio magazine Soundabout SA in September.
Similarly, the NSW/ACT Development Committee continues to meet regularly. It recently held forums in Goulburn and St George and it continues to produce Soundabout NSW/ACT. We thank Royal Blind Society for its continued funding support; and to all those members in New South Wales and the ACT who assist to organise and conduct the forums, your efforts are greatly appreciated. Forum evaluations indicate that blind and vision-impaired people value the opportunity to get together to learn new information about services and to discuss common concerns.
There have also been some forums conducted in Victoria this year. Again, these were successful occasions. Blind and vision-impaired people shared information and ideas, and learned more about the work of the NFBCA and about blindness agency and local government services in their area. Forums are an ongoing part of development work.
Another two forums were recently held in Tasmania. We thank Royal Guide Dogs Association of Tasmania for its financial support, encouragement and assistance with the forums. These forums were specifically targeted to people of working age and the parents of students to look at employment and education issues. NFBCA is making a report to form the basis of further discussions between consumers, the Guide Dog Association and government departments in Tasmania to improve the scope and accessibility of services in Tasmania.
Development in Queensland has been another focal point for the Membership and Development portfolio this year. Twelve forums have been conducted throughout the state in response to a request from the Commonwealth and State Governments to find out more about the advocacy needs of blind and vision-impaired people. This has given the Brisbane branch a great opportunity to increase the profile of NFBCA in other parts of the state and to encourage blind and vision-impaired people in regional Queensland to be part of NFBCA. Although there are many support groups operating in provincial cities of Queensland, many blind and vision-impaired feel isolated from services and are keen to learn more about how they can work with local Councils to improve access in their town.
Feedback from the forums throughout Australia, as confirmed by NFBCA's Strategic Planning seminar in April 1996, has identified young people and seniors as key target groups for NFBCA. A meeting between Michael Janes, Fiona Woods, Sue Thompson and June Ashmore identified measures that could be taken to seek input on the needs of young people who are blind or vision-impaired. NFBCA has introduced, at the 1997 Convention, Leadership 2,000, where eight young people have been assisted to attend. As well, NFBCA has applied to the Queen's Trust for Young Australian for a grant to run a leadership seminar for senior school students in 1998.
Similarly, we have identified seniors as a group to work with. Older people in our community have identified many issues of concern through personal contact, local forums, input from members and Branches.
In the main, these issues relate to access to the environment, transport, access to blindness specific services, equitable access to the Home and Community Care (HACC) Program, safe use of medication and peer support. Special issues of concern to people who experience loss of vision over time or in later life are also being addressed through a group led by Lynne Davis.
INFORMATION OUTLETS
We have continued to produce NFBCA News this year. Christine Simpson has carried the major editorial responsibility and has been ably assisted by Leslye Thies and Cheryl Gration in collating material and in laying out and proofreading the final text.
Our problems with timeliness and reliability of the braille format have continued. Council is concerned about this, and we are reviewing our options. NFBCA News is a large undertaking: 2,000 copies in three special formats four times per year. Nonetheless, we consider that it is our premier communication tool within NFBCA and from NFBCA to the blindness field generally. The NFBCA radio program has continued to give up-to-date information to NFBCA members and other listeners to the RPH network on a weekly basis. The program has a new name and a new theme, and Neville Kerr has continued to produce and present the program for NFBCA on a weekly basis. It is now known as "Horizons" and is available to the RPH Stations and to Community Stations via the Community Radio Satellite (ComRadSat).
NFBCA now has a Web Page on the Internet. Our Web Master is Barry Chapman, an experienced computer programmer from Sydney. He is compiling information about NFBCA, including copies of our policies and reports, and setting up links to other sites of interest to people who are blind or vision-impaired. The URL (Universal Reference Locater) is http://www.bca.org.au and the page os located on the Internet Service hosted by Vicnet in Melbourne. Only a small number of NFBCA members can use the Internet so far, but the number is growing rapidly and it is important for us to add the Internet to our list of Information Outlets.
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EXTERNAL RELATIONS
NATIONAL INVOLVEMENTS
NFBCA continues to be active in outside organisations. Either we have had representation in our own right, or we have encouraged our members to take part in these various activities. We believe that it is necessary that we are vigilant, active and visible at all levels. A list of involvements in external bodies follows at the end of this section.
NFBCA has continued to be involved, to the best of our ability and within the limits of our human resources, in co-ordinating bodies in the blindness field, namely: Round Table on Information Access for People with Print Disabilities, Australian Blindness Forum and Committee of Australian Blindness Agencies. The roles and mandates of these organisations are each important and their interrelations are complex. Similarly, relations between the blindness agencies as well as between the agencies and NFBCA are also important. There is a growing need for some honest talking to be done and for some hard decisions to be made. NFBCA will do its best to see that the best outcomes for people who are blind or visionimpaired throughout Australia are achieved.
NFBCA's responsibility is to serve blind, vision-impaired and print- handicapped people. In so doing, we believe it is critical to be part of other organisations: to receive information from them, to give advice to them and to ensure that when they speak out or develop policy on blindness or disability related matters they are in conformity with NFBCA. We have enjoyed productive working relations with many external bodies, and we value the contacts we have made and the information and advice we have received. We have continued to work with, advise and receive information from NFBCA Members on various bodies, even though they do not necessarily directly represent NFBCA. We believe it is important that blind people in representative positions have strong links with other blind people, and we encourage our leaders to be involved in their own right in the wider community services sector.
We congratulate NFBCA President Michael simpson who, last December, was appointed as a Deputy Chair of the National Disability Advisory Council (NDAC). NDAC is the advisory council to Mrs Judi Moylan, Federal Minister for Family Services. Ros Sackley and Lindsay McMillan are both well known to many NFBCA members, and as NDAC members were also congratulate them and wish them a successful term of participation.
Michael Simpson's portfolio responsibility as Deputy Chair of NDAC is liaison with the peak national disability organisations such as NFBCA. This has already given him a new insight into the disability field in Australia. It has shown to him the strengths of NFBCA and has indicated some areas where challenges for us still lie ahead.
NFBCA MEMBERS SERVING ON NATIONAL BODIES
Editor's Note: Those members marked * are direct representatives or are nominees of NFBCA chosen by the Council. Other people serve in their own right.
Australian Blindness Forum: Bill Jolley (Secretary/Treasurer) *, David Blyth *, Michael Simpson *
Australian Braille Authority: Joan Ledermann (Chairman) *
Australian Council for Radio for the Print Handicapped: John Simpson (Executive Officer), Stephen Jolley (President)
Australian Council of Social Service: Bill Jolley *
ACROD: Bill Jolley *, Michael Simpson *
Australian Disability Review Editorial Committee: John Simpson (Convenor)
Committee of Australian Blindness Agencies: Bill Jolley * . Libraries Implementation Working Party: Fiona Woods *, John Simpson *
Consumers' Health Forum: June Ashmore *, Bill Jolley *
Consumers' Telecommunications Network: Bill Jolley *
DDA Standards Working Parties . DDA Standards Project: Bill Jolley (Convenor) *
. Attorney General's DDA Standards Working Group, Bill Jolley *
. Employment Standard Working Party: John Simpson *
. Transport Standard Working Party: Kevin Murfitt *
. Australian Building Codes Board Access Committee: June Ashmore *
. Commonwealth Communication and Information Standard Working Party: Bill Jolley *
. DDA Education Standard - Working Party SubCommittee: Gai Wibberley *
International Council on English Braille: Joan Ledermann (President)
National Caucus of Disability Consumer Organisations: Bill Jolley *
National Committee on Equality of Opportunity in Employment and Occupation: John Simpson
National Disability Advisory Council: Michael Simpson (Deputy Chair), Ros Sackley
National Reference Group on Disability Issues in Local Government: Chris Stewart
Round Table on Information Access for People with Print Disabilities: Bill Jolley (Executive Member) *
Telstra Consumer Consultative Council/Disability Services Consultative Committee: John Simpson *
Telstra Directory Assistance Service Charging working Party: Bill Jolley *
Tertiary Education Disability Council (Australia): Gai Wibberley (Vice-President)
World Blind Union
. David Blyth (Immediate Past President)
. Australian Delegates: Bill Jolley (East Asia Pacific Regional Vice-President and World Executive Member) *, June Ashmore (Convenor of the East Asia Pacific Blind women's Action Group) *
. Committee on Human Rights: Graeme Innes (Deputy Chair) *
INTERNATIONAL INVOLVEMENT DAISY Consortium
NFBCA has joined Australian and New Zealand Blindness Agencies, an unincorporated association currently made up of NFBCA, Royal Blind Society (NSW), Royal Society for the Blind (SA), Association for the Blind (Victoria), Royal victorian Institute for the Blind and Royal NZ Foundation for the Blind. This group has joined the DAISY Consortium.
DAISY means Digital Audio Information Systems, and the Consortium has come together to oversee the transfer from an analog to a digital platform for talking books. Collaboration is essential for the development of open architectures, common file formats, digital audio encoding standards and appropriate consumer hardware. The Consortium has members from Europe plus United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand, and Japan. The united States and Canada are not yet members. NFBCA will do its best to contribute to the international effort now underway to develop digital talking books. We believe that the technology exists or will soon be available, and that with goodwill from all quarters a first-class system can result.
World Blind Union
The focus of NFBCA international activities is World Blind Union, the body which unites organisations of blind people and the agencies providing services into a unified movement. In last year's report I discussed the ban on blinding laser weapons. I am pleased to report that the necessary formalities have been completed by the Australian Parliament, and we expect that Australia will formally ratify the ban very soon.
The highlight for WBU for 1996 was the Fourth General Assembly held in Toronto, Canada, last August. June Ashmore and I were the Australian delegates. The General Assembly was preceded by the First World Blind women's Forum, which was a wonderful event.
The General Assembly brought to a close the four-year presidency of David Blyth. We congratulate David on his leadership of WBU and on the extent of WBU's development whilst David was President. We know that he leaves the job having brought great credit upon himself and Australia. We celebrated David's leadership of WBU with a direct broadcast back to Australia of the opening session of the General Assembly and recorded highlights each day (using ISDN technology) on the national RPH network. We express congratulations and appreciation to John Simpson, Dale Simpson and Stephen Jolley on the success of this ambitious radio coverage.
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ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE
NFBCA COUNCIL During the year, NFBCA was managed by a Council of eleven persons, which was resourced by myself as Executive Officer with support from other NFBCA staff members. Michael Simpson led the Council as President, and Robert Altamore, June Ashmore, Karen Knight, and John Simpson held Vice-President positions with individual responsibility for Community Access, Disability Services, Membership & Development and Communication & Planning. John Bastiaans, Lynne Davis, Peter Johnson, Joan Ledermann, Gai Wibberley and Fiona Woods joined Council Task Forces to support the Vice-Presidents in their work. Members of the Council came from five States plus the ACT.
Quarterly face-to-face Council meetings were held. These were mostly two-day meetings, and some other meetings were held by telephone. The Executive has met fortnightly by telephone.
STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS
NFBCA has received great benefit from the professionalism and dedication of its staff. For me it has been a pleasure and a privilege to be their leader. Last December Leslye Thies left NFBCA to take a break from the blindness field. Leslye worked for NFBCA for almost three years, and her professionalism and experience were highly valued by our members.
Ivan Peterson joined NFBCA in April as Victorian Advocacy & Information Officer. Ivan has extensive experience with disability agencies and government programs in Victoria, and we are sure that he will be an asset for NFBCA and do some good work. We have also engaged three staff on short term contracts and used four consultants during the year. A list of NFBCA Personnel is given after the President's Overview.
We have continued to receive great help from volunteers, working in our Office and in other capacities. I thank everyone, both members and friends, who have contributed to the work of NFBCA. I also thank those people who have given many hours of voluntary service in connection with our Branches and Organisational Members.
At the June 1996 Convention, we presented the NFBCA David Blyth Award and two NFBCA Certificates of Appreciation. Stephen Jolley received the NFBCA David Blyth Award for his excellence and innovation in service to blind people through Radio for the Print Handicapped as a broadcaster, policy-maker and administrator. The Award was presented by Tony Staley who took time out of his busy schedule as President of the Federal Liberal Party to come to the Convention to honour Stephen Jolley.
Sue Thompson and Aad Korteweg received NFBCA Certificates of Appreciation. Sue Thompson was given her certificate in recognition of her contribution at local level through the Sydney Branch and for her involvement in various other capacities at local and national level. Aad Korteweg received his certificate in recognition of his support of NFBCA through raising funds of more than $150,000 over twelve years. We congratulate Sue and Aad and appreciate their contributions and commitment to NFBCA. STRATEGIC PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT
At its August meeting the NFBCA Council adopted seventeen recommendations which formed part of a report "NFBCA Strategic Planning Process". This report was prepared following a special weekend meeting of Executive members held in April, under the leadership of Graeme Innes. The weekend was organised by John Simpson, to whom we record appreciation for planning the program, arranging the weekend and hosting the meeting at his house.
Background
NFBCA has steadily grown, in size and range of involvements, over recent years, but has done so without a development plan, and without a strategic approach to management by the Council. The Executive planning weekend held in April 1996 marked the start of a process of forward planning for NFBCA from a strategic management basis. Executive's task was to review the current functioning of NFBCA, and to develop strategies for the future management of the organisation. The weekend operated with three ground rules: Adequate preparation, an outcomes focus and honesty in our appraisal of current practices and policies.
Strategic Planning can be defined as charting a course for the future: Our longer term goal is to instil into the organisation a "Strategic Management" culture, whereby every management decision is tested against the question: "how will this decision/action impact on the organisation today, tomorrow, next year and in the distant future?".
Recommendations and Outcomes
The weekend's discussions were written up by Graeme Innes and John Simpson for presentation to Council. The report contained seventeen recommendations plus a draft Mission Statement for NFBCA. Council has adopted a Mission Statement for NFBCA and has taken action to implement the recommendations. Good progress has been made on some of them.
The Mission Statement starts from a rights basis, emphasising equity and equality. It embodies NFBCA's three priorities: empowerment through self-expression and self-confidence, positive attitudes towards blind people and appropriate disability services.
NFBCA is the united voice of blind and visionimpaired Australians. Our mission is to achieve equity and equality by our empowerment, by promoting positive community attitudes, and by striving for high quality and accessible services which meet our needs.
Council has made some progress on the recommendation, as detailed below. Some of them address organisational planning and management issues, whereas others point to areas where NFBCA needs to strengthen its policy attention. 1. Council to make a commitment over the next twelve months to the Strategic Development Process and to appoint a member of the Executive to lead that process.
2. Council to direct the Executive Member with Strategic Planning responsibility to develop a Plan Of Action for the coming twelve months.
Council adopted the Strategic Planning and Management Report and John Simpson was give portfolio responsibility for Communication & Planning. The Plan of Action is not yet finished.
3. Council to ensure that details of this Strategic Planning Process are fully communicated to members, staff and others with an interest or involvement in the organisation.
4. Council needs to think strategically about the effects of the "change process" and ensure that members are "included" in that process.
An article was published in NFBCA News last December. Staff have been kept fully apprised of the Strategic Management developments and intensions.
5. Both the membership recruitment process and current Branch structure should be reviewed over the coming twelve months in order that recommendations can be put to the 1997 Convention that will enhance membership recruitment and participation through improvements in communication between members, branches and the national office.
These matters were taken up in the Branch Development Seminar held in March.
6. Under the leadership of Council, NFBCA needs to work to address the individual needs of its members, and to empower members through skills development, mentoring and similar processes.
A Council working group is considering this issue.
7. Recognising that Government core funding will not increase, and support from the community will become harder to obtain in the future, Council must take action and commit staff and other resources, over the next six months, to the development of ongoing funding strategies that will support NFBCA's current functioning and future growth.
As reported elsewhere, Michael Cassar has been appointed to the part-time consultancy position of Marketing Advisor with NFBCA.
8. Council should work towards the appointment of a National Office Manager who would have administrative and staffing responsibilities and would report to the Executive Officer.
The President and Executive Officer are considering this matter. 9. Council should give high priority to the achievement of a staff presence in States other than Victoria which is centrally managed, that does not impact negatively on the organisation's national funding.
Council has considered this matter further, and it is likely that attention will be given to establishment of an NFBCA Office in Sydney as a starting point.
10. Council should implement changes to its functioning whereby its management role will, in the first instance, be delegated to the Executive and Council Meeting Agendas will be structured to ensure more in-depth consideration of policy issues.
Council meetings have been restructured so that they focus on policy and development more than routine management. The Executive has aimed at to meeting fortnightly by teleconference.
11. As part of its communications strategies, Council should work to ensure that members are better informed about NFBCA policy. A council working party is working on this recommendation.
12. Through surveys, other research and informal contact, Council should work to inform itself and the organisation more generally, of the needs and viewpoints of NFBCA members, so as to gain a clearer nationwide picture of service provision to blind and vision-impaired people, and their levels of success in areas such as employment, integrated education, etc.
Council had gathered information relevant to this recommendation mostly from the report's of the forums held around Australia. There is also important information coming out of research projects conducted by Royal Blind Society and Royal Victorian Institute for the Blind.
13. Council should take steps to acquire and maintain a better understanding of the needs of members whose sight loss occurred later in life.
Council has a working group to look at these issues, headed by Lynne Davis. The group has started its work but has not yet finished its report back to Council.
14. Council should work to ensure greater accountability of service providers, particularly those not in receipt of government funding.
Council and staff have promoted this policy wherever possible, including for incorporation into the new Commonwealth State Disability Agreement or a revised Disability Services Act.
15. Council must give priority to developing and implementing strategies that ensure that blind and vision-impaired Australians receive better services from generic service providers. Council is currently working to develop strategies to better inform itself of the needs of members and to better address the service deficiencies that are identified. Particularly, Council wants to ensure better access by NFBCA members to services funded under the Home and Community Care program.
16. Council must maintain a focus on information services, keeping abreast (through research) of rapidly advancing technology. To this end NFBCA should host an information services forum in order to encourage co-operation amongst blindness agencies throughout Australia.
Matters of information access have a very high priority, both within Council and more generally within the organisation. During 1996 NFBCA auspiced some information access research projects in addition to our continuing involvement with initiatives such as the library services rationalisation work being undertaken through the Committee of Australian Blindness Agencies. Council has the support of an Information Access Resource Group which provides valuable advice on matters relating to information access and emerging information technologies. As part of these initiatives a two day Information Services Seminar was held in November involving fifteen blind and vision-impaired people with particular expertise in technology or information access matters.
17. NFBCA should adopt as a fundamental strategy use of the DDA and the DDA Standards process as a tool to progress issues affecting blind and vision-impaired Australians.
NFBCA has a very strong commitment to the Disability Discrimination Act, both as a tool to address individual discrimination and as a lever to encourage better practice throughout the community. Details are given elsewhere in this report.
Conclusion
Council believes that the endorsement of these recommendations and their initial implementation is the start of a process that must involve the whole of NFBCA. Council will need the active involvement of members throughout NFBCA, if we are to address the goals of our Mission Statement. We urge all members to play their part, since their active involvement and feedback is vital. Council is committed to the strategic development of NFBCA and to the specific initiatives identified as part of this process.
FINANCE
The audited financial report is published as part of NFBCA's Annual Report. I thank our Accounting Consultant, Mary Noy, for her assistance in preparing the accounts for audit. I also thank staff member, Robert Mascitti, for his careful bookkeeping throughout the year. With the growth of NFBCA and the increased number of projects our financial administration has become more complicated, and we have been careful to ensure a close scrutiny of accounts and caution in making forward commitments. Our accounts were audited by Brent Murphy, Registered Company Auditor, of McDonell Cunneen & Associates to whom we record our appreciation.
Balance Sheet
Our income for the year was $524,786 and expenditure was $516,971. This gave a surplus of $7,815, resulting in accumulated funds of $142,547, made up of: Current Assets $33,731; Investments $148,584; Fixed Assets $98,428; Less Current Liabilities $138,196.
Investments are made up of $98,584 with National Australia Bank and $50,000 with Trust Company of Australia Ltd. Our major capital purchases were computers (including three with large screens for staff and members with low vision), assistive technology for totally blind staff and braille embossing equipment.
Current liabilities are: prepaid income $51,037; unspent project grants $44,011; creditors and accruals $6,409; provision for annual leave $16,197.
Income
Income was $524,786 for the year. Income for the National Advocacy Service was $174,032, consistent with last year's income. We recorded income of $50,379 from the Victorian Government for our State-based Advocacy and Information Service.
Income from Charged Services was $33,515. Most of the associated expenses were incurred in the previous year, when the bulk of the work was carried out. The main projects were:
Royal Victorian Institute
for the Blind $15,000 Royal Blind Society of New South Wales $13,000 Villa Maria Society for the Blind $10,000 Royal Guide Dogs Associations
of Australia $7,000 Association for the Blind $6,000 Royal Society for the Blind
of South Australia $6,000
We thank all of these agencies for their ongoing financial support. We also record appreciation to some of these and other organisations for their in-kind support. Once again Royal Guide Dogs Association of Tasmania has been generous with financial support to help NFBCA to hold forums and develop a stronger consumer voice in Tasmania. Association for the Blind of Western Australia has paid the airfares of a member of Council from Perth to attend meetings in Melbourne or Sydney.
Commercial fundraising programs raised $7,275. Once again, we have received strong support from Aad Korteweg and Geoff Anson at Federation Flowers and we are grateful for their continuing help. We have also received strong support from John Marshall of Captain Cook Waste Industries, which we also appreciate.
This year, we received $27,641 from NFBCA Members and Branches, plus general donations of $2,815. We have not yet succeeded in increasing the level of community support for NFBCA, but we have started to address this situation by appointment of Michael Cassar as our Marketing Advisor. We appreciate our Members' contributions. This demonstrates strong commitment by NFBCA Members in support of our endeavours.
For the 1996 Convention, we had an income of $35,283 and an expenditure of $35,499. However, these figures do not show our estimate of $7,000 of staff time against the Convention. The highlight of the Convention sponsorship again this year was $7,000 from Telstra Corporation. We thank Telstra for his ongoing support of the NFBCA Convention.
We recorded project income of $48,244. The projects are discussed later in the report.
Expenditure
Expenditure was $516,971 for the year. The major items were: Affiliations $22,397 Convention $35,499 Council $15,985 Corporate, Legal and Accounting $6,094 Depreciation $13,477 Funded Projects $58,010 Grant - The Jeffrey Blyth Foundation $41,600 Internet Services $1,698 Maintenance and Small Equipment $3,710 Membership & Development $9,215 NFBCA News and Radio Program $8,228 Occupancy $3,848 Policy Implementation $7,931 Postage $3,260 Printing and Stationery $9,693 Rent & Services $15,000 Salaries plus On-costs $219,443 Software Upgrades $6,298 Staff Recruitment & Training $1,173 Telephone $17,643 Travel $10,540
The Jeffrey Blyth Foundation
The Jeffrey Blyth Foundation was an initiative of Hugh Jeffrey. With the support of David Blyth, he established "The Jeffrey Blyth Foundation", in association with Perpetual Trustees, as a Charitable Trust to assist NFBCA in perpetuity.
We thank Hugh Jeffrey and David Blyth for their contribution to NFBCA's secure future in this way. Their desire is to see the capital fund grow through donations and bequests from Members, friends and associates of NFBCA, and through contributions from members of the community. We hope that a reliable income stream from The Jeffrey Blyth Foundation will support the work of NFBCA into the next century, reduce our reliance on Government funding and give us the capacity to grow.
This year Council has granted $41,600 to The Jeffrey Blyth Foundation. Council has established a working policy whereby a major part of funds received by NFBCA from bequests will normally be granted to the Foundation.
Outlook
NFBCA's advocacy grant from the Federal Government has stabilised at around $165,000 with $65,000 received from the Victorian Government. The whole of the Victorian Government grant is not always shown in the national accounts, which explains why only $50,000 was recorded this year. The residue remains in NFBCA's Victorian Account, which is audited separately. The National and State Government funding forms a base from which NFBCA can operate, with additional funds raised through project grants, charged services, Members' donations, general donations, agency grants, other fundraising and bequests.
NFBCA has worked hard to generate income from both Government and non- government sources. We hope that a well balanced mix of income sources will support NFBCA's consolidation and growth. In particular, support for capital equipment from both the Federal and Victorian State Governments has been very helpful in the past three years, and we record our thanks. In December 1993 NFBCA received project funding under the Community Organisations Support Program to help us stabilise our income generation. In 1994 and 1995 we had a choice: to employ a fundraiser for a quick fix or to focus on getting the job done and providing a service with long-term financial security our aim. We chose the latter course and have established a record of achievement.
This record of achievement is reflected in our increased access to project funding from both government and nongovernment sources. The choice really came back to me as Executive Officer: could I manage the fundraising if we employed an advocacy officer, or could I manage the advocacy support if we employed a fundraiser? Our decision to employ an advocate has proved a winner, with Aileen McFadzean having worked for just over three years for NFBCA. Aileen has done an outstanding job and has helped many people resolve problems to their utmost satisfaction.
In 1996 the Council recognised the need for additional marketing and fundraising resources in NFBCA. We have engaged Michael Cassar as our Marketing Advisor, to lift the profile of NFBCA outside the blind community and to build on our solid foundation for income generation. Michael's first job has been to survey opinion leaders from within NFBCA and externally, to take stock of the current situation and assess what needs to be done. We are confident that the success of Michael's involvement will ensure the continuation of NFBCA's growth and development at 20% per year.
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BACKGROUND
The reshaping of the NFBCA Annual Report this year indicates the growing importance of funded Services and Projects in NFBCA's mix of activities. NFBCA has existed for twenty-two years, but for only one- third of that time have we had any real success in attracting outside funding to the organisation - with the sole exception of commercial fundraising. During the 1980's we relied on commercial fundraising and the commitment and generosity of a small band of NFBCA members.
We were broken-hearted, battle-scarred and close to surrender after the introduction of the Disability Services Act 1986 when we could not get advocacy funding for another six years. We got a few scraps of government funding through projects, and we started to receive regular contributions from blindness agencies; but we couldn't get support from government for our national secretariat - to produce NFBCA News, to support our members, to run the Convention and to do the day to day work of systemic advocacy, peer support and information dissemination. We provided virtually no individual advocacy in those days. We just didn't have the resources.
The $290,000 we now receive from the Federal and Victorian Governments, and from blindness agencies, is a platform from which NFBCA can work to attract financial support from other sources and to carry out projects. Rather than being a drain on our human resources, projects can contribute a small amount to our running costs and can help us to do the work we want to do. The following sections cover seven major areas, but I wish to cover two shorter items before turning to the major reports.
PROJECTS
Electronic Banknote Identification
Identification of banknotes and coins is an ongoing problem for people who are blind or vision-impaired. NFBCA has worked over recent years with the Reserve Bank to improve the situation. Although the Australian polymer series banknotes are not of the form we wanted, we have at least been successful in making some significant improvements to the situation. Although they are the same width, the new Australian banknotes are 7mm different in length. The notes are quite distinctive in colour and form, with large numerals, and are much easier for people with low vision to identify than are banknotes from many comparable countries. Even so, we worked with the Reserve Bank to change the colour of the $5 note when confusion started to emerge several years ago. During 1995-96 NFBCA worked with the Reserve Bank to develop Cash Test Australia, enabling people who cannot distinguish the banknotes by sight to do so by touch. 20,000 units have been imported from Austria, where the company holding a worldwide patent for this device is located, and about half of them have been distributed by NFBCA free to blind people who want them. The project was fully funded by the Reserve Bank.
The Reserve Bank recognised the potential for electronic means of banknote identification, knowing that devices exist for banknotes in Canada and the United States. The US banknotes, for example, are identical in size and colour. During 1996 the Reserve Bank funded NFBCA to investigate the feasibility of electronic banknote identification in Australia. NFBCA engaged Tim Noonan to carry out an investigation and to make a report to the NFBCA Council.
The project had two strands: a technical evaluation of options and technical processes for reliably denominating Australian banknotes, as well as a consumer-driven assessment of the desirability, need and cost effectiveness of such a device.
Feedback from focus groups and telephone interviews confirmed that the new polymer banknote series is quite difficult for many blind and vision-impaired Australians to denominate with ease and confidence. This is especially the case for newly blinded and elderly people who often do not have the dexterity or finger sensitivity required to easily use Cash Test Australia. Loss of width variation and the anti- creasing characteristics were reported as the biggest frustrations with the new note series.
Nevertheless, it was acknowledged by focus group participants that the currency did contain some positive design features such as length differentiation, good colour contrast, large numerals and tactility of raised intaglio printing. The colour contrast makes the polymer notes quite manageable in good light for many vision-impaired Australians while length differentiation (and Cash Test Australia) greatly increases the confidence of many blind people when denominating notes.
This research concluded that while the development of an electronic note identifier would be of use to many blind and severely vision- impaired Australians, it is unlikely that its design and manufacture could be financially viable unless a Government body largely subsidised the project. Most people at the focus groups or who were interviewed by the researcher were not prepared to spend more than $100 for such a device, and several expressed strong resentment at being expected to spend money just so they could use the Nation's currency.
Recommendations from the research included: that the Reserve Bank commission a handbook to be written containing tips and techniques on denomination and use of Australian banknotes for blind and vision- impaired Australians; that research be conducted on the implications of emerging smart card technologies for blind and vision-impaired Australians; that the Reserve Bank continue investigating methods of increasing the tactility of notes; and that the reserve bank take the denominating needs of blind and vision-impaired people into account when looking at future enhancements to the polymer currency. NFBCA has had further discussions with the Reserve Bank about the handbook, but as yet we have no major progress to report.
An area beyond the primary scope of the project was the impact of smart card technology and electronic cash on people who are blind and vision-impaired. Such technologies need to be looked into by appropriate bodies earlier rather than later to ensure their wide- scale useability by all sectors of the community. An introductory discussion of smart card issues was included in the report.
UBP Income Generation and Development
United Blind Persons of Fiji (UBP) was formed in 1992 with primary interests in advocacy, peer support, access to services and prevention of blindness. It received establishment and ongoing funding from Sight Savers (UK), but when funding was redirected from South Pacific projects in early 1996 the organisation was left with uncertainty and without an income generation and development plan.
With the help of ACROD, which has the necessary credentials with AusAID, NFBCA has undertaken a three-year sister-agency project with UBP to support the income generation and development of the organisation. NFBCA's contribution is $2,000 per year plus advice to UBP, and AusAID is contributing $4,900 per year to the project. UBP receives $6,000 for each of three years to employ a part-time fundraiser and to undertake some organisational development activities.
NFBCA knows the trial of trying to raise funds when survival is paramount. We know how such fundraising is frustrating, distracting and demoralising. We know that organisations need a break - some stability to enable them to raise funds and continue to do their work for the blind people whom they represent. We hope that for United Blind Persons of Fiji this project will bring stability and confidence, and enable it to develop income streams that will flow to the organisation regularly and reliably in the future.
We thank ACROD, especially project officer Helen McAuley, for support and advice in carrying out this project. I also thank members of UBP for their friendship and hospitality when I visited Fiji earlier this year.
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INTRODUCTION
The National Advocacy Service (Service) is funded under the Disability Services Act (1986). The Service consults with and represents the collective interests of People with a Print Disability throughout Australia, and now incorporates individual advocacy to support people who are blind or printdisabled to assert their rights under Disability Discrimination, Social Security and other laws. Its objective is to enhance the equality of opportunity for people who are blind or have other print disabilities by the removal of barriers to access by this group and through individual advocacy support.
NFBCA records its appreciation to staff of the Office of Disability in the Federal Department of Health and Family Services for their support and advice throughout the year.
The broad strategy of the Service is to use and promote tools, including the Commonwealth Disability Strategy (Strategy) and the Disability Discrimination Act (1992) (DDA) to raise awareness, monitor change, and develop and promote policies on specific issues.
The work carried out under the Service is recorded in various articles throughout this Report, and the following paragraphs summarise the Activity Plan for 1996-97 which we expect to form the basis for ongoing work into 1998.
Consumer Awareness Raising and Advice
The Service has aimed to:
Increase awareness among people with a print disability of their right to access publicly available information, and the options they have to assert their rights.
The principal activities have been:
The Service has aimed to:
Raise the awareness of, and provide advice to, Government Departments, large corporations and the Community generally, of obligations and opportunities for making their services and facilities accessible to people with a print disability.
The principal activities have been:
The Service has aimed to:
Monitor legislative, social and technological change to minimise any disadvantage to people with a print disability from such change; and to take full advantage of the potential of such change to reduce the handicapping nature of print disability.
The principal activities have been:
. in the review of the Disability Services Act, Aileen McFadzean; . on the Technical Advisory Group on Funding and Assessment of Services, June Ashmore;
. on the Disability Services Consultative Committee of the Telstra Consumer Consultative Council, Bill Jolley;
. Transport Standard, Kevin Murfitt
. Employment Standard, John Simpson
. Review of the Building Code of Australia, June Ashmore
. Commonwealth Communication and Information Standard, Bill Jolley;
The service has aimed to:
Develop and promote policy positions on issues as they arise and are determined to be important to individuals or groups of people who have a print disability. NFBCA determines its policy priorities for each year at the first full Council meeting following the June Convention. This was done at the Council meeting last August.
Individual Advocacy
The Service has aimed to: Provide an individual advocacy service for people who are blind or vision-impaired.
As detailed elsewhere in this Report, this has included:
NFBCA has continued to discharge its responsibility as the peak body in the blindness field. NFBCA has been consulted on many questions and has been invited to make submissions to reviews of government programs and services.
It is clear from the above information that there is a vast range of issues that NFBCA must involve itself in: firstly, as the national voice of blind and vision-impaired Australians; and secondly, as the peak body in the blindness field. During the year, NFBCA has enjoyed good relations with Departmental Officers and politicians of both parties, and we thank all of them for their support and co-operation.
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Editor's Note: My thanks to Ivan Peterson, NFBCA's newest member of staff as Victorian Advocacy & Information Officer, who contributed the following report. Ivan joined NFBCA in April, following the resignation in December of Leslye Thies.
FUNDING
In September 1996 NFBCA and the Victorian Department of Department of Human Services jointly signed a new three year Funding and Service Agreement. The purpose of this funding is specifically to provide an advocacy and information service for individuals, their families and carers; and to make representation to all levels of government, to service providers and policy makers on behalf of the rights of blind and vision-impaired Victorians to all aspects of least restrictive lifestyles.
ADVOCACY and INFORMATION
During the year NFBCA received more than 500 requests for information or support from blind or vision-impaired Victorians, carers and family members or from service providers on their behalf.
Once again many of the requests for advocacy and support were related to issues of pedestrian safety. We worked with individual councils and government departments to address safety hazards preventing blind and vision-impaired people from accessing their own communities in safety.
AUDIBLE TRAFFIC SIGNALS
We are grateful to orientation and Mobility Instructors at the blindness agencies for their work in carrying out assessments of hazards at locations reported to us.
It is true that audible signals are being installed by Vicroads each year as budgets allow, but we are still a long way from our stated target. It is NFBCA policy that Audible Traffic Signals should be installed at all sites where there are visual traffic signals used by pedestrians. There is a n