The referendum process has been difficult and demanding for First Nations people. Mob only support services are available at Healing Foundation and can be found here: www.healingfoundation.org.au
For others in our community support can be found here:
The Blue Knot website
The Life Line website
Photo by Ondrej Machart
Women with Disabilities Victoria’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held on Tuesday 14th November! In light of our commitment to access for all Victorian women and non-binary people with disabilities, the 2023 AGM will be held online via Zoom. Auslan Interpreters and Live Captioning will be provided. The meeting will include the annual elections to the Board of WDV.
Conversations with women with disability, living and working in regional Victoria. Find all episodes here: From the Outskirts Podcast
The Voice to Parliament Referendum Statement from the WDV Board- Word
The Voice to Parliament Referendum Statement from the WDV Board- PDF
WDV acknowledges the diversity of opinion on the Voice to Parliament. There is also a lot of information on voting Yes and voting No. We encourage our members and women with disability in the community to make their own informed choice when voting on October 14.
The First Peoples Disability Network (FPDN) is the peak organisation of and for Australia’s First Peoples with disability, their families and communities. You can access their website here fpdn.org.au
The upcoming referendum may be upsetting for some First Nations people. If you are a First Nations person and would like support, there are culturally safe services available 13Yarn. Visit the 13 Yarn website.
WDV are part of the broader human rights movement and advocate for people with disabilities to be enabled to fully participate in all areas of life. The right to vote is essential to enabling full citizenship (Source: International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights [ICCPR], Article 25). Voting processes and information has often been inaccessible for people with disabilities. Here are some resources:
The Council for Intellectual Disability have created this document in Easy Read that explains the referendum, voting and what voting Yes or No will mean for Australia and First Nations people.
Council for Intellectual Disability -Easy Read – The Voice to Parliament
Life Without Borders have several documents available on their website, in multiple languages to support everyone to understand the referendum.
Add link to 9328 Factsheet Easy Read LR2 – Life Without Barriers
Add link to 9328 Factsheet Plain English final LR2 – Life Without Barriers
· Voting accessibility https://icanvote.org.au/
· Accessibility of AEC services Referendum 2023 – Accessibility of AEC services
· Easy read guides which explain referendums, how to vote and enrol to vote https://www.aec.gov.au/About_AEC/Publications/easy-read/
· The official YES/NO Referendum pamphlet
· ‘Your Answer Matters’ a podcast released by the AEC, described as:
“an unbiased and detailed look at why the referendum is important, how you can make your vote count, and why your answer matters”
As of 6th September 2023, there is currently no Easy Read/ Easy English version of the official Referendum pamphlet available. The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) notes:
Your official referendum booklet will be available in accessible formats progressively throughout September on this page https://www.aec.gov.au/referendums/learn/your-official-referendum-booklet.html.
Blind and low vision
Your official referendum booklet is currently being converted into formats accessible to voters who are blind or have low vision, and will available here, once completed. Once these materials are completed, they will also be available to request in hard copy through the AEC Contact Centre on 13 23 26.
Easy Read
Your official guide to the referendum is currently being converted into Easy Read and will be available here, for voters with different reading abilities once completed.
If you would like any further information, there are a variety of ways you can contact the Australian Electoral Commission: https://www.aec.gov.au/About_AEC/Contact_the_AEC/index.htm
With the rise of online scamming and fraudulent emails, it is becoming increasingly important to be wary of suspicious emails. We would like to remind you that WDV will not ask for financial donations via email.
In certain cases, scammers can send emails or text messages coming from a different email. For instance, a spam email which appears to be from Nadia asking for donations via email. Due to the fraudulent nature of scammers posing as someone else online, please note it is best to never give away any personal or financial information unless you have had a verbal conversation with one of our staff members.
If you receive these types of emails, please delete these from your inbox and do not click on any of the links.
If you have any questions please contact us on (03) 9286 7800