Voice for Choice

23/02/2026

23/02/2026

What is the Young Producers Program?  Do you have an interest in learning how to design and produce an event for young people?  Are you aged 12 to 25 and live in Baw Baw Shire?  The West Gippsland Arts Centre Young Producers Program is a unique opportunity for young people to gain han...

20/02/2026

As a former L2P mentor, I can 100% guarantee you will have an amazing experience as both a mentor and learner. The trust and rapport you build with each other is so memorable. Seeing a learner gain independence towards their future goals is priceless.

At 16, Dean’s* life was in a state of constant flux. He was couch surfing and navigating the massive responsibility of being a new dad to his baby daughter, Daphne*. Without a stable home or a car, even simple tasks like getting Daphne to maternal health appointments or buying groceries meant long, stressful trips on public transport.

To get a probationary license in Victoria, you need 120 hours of supervised driving. For a young person like Dean, who lacked access to a vehicle and a supervising driver, that 120-hour requirement felt impossible.

Dean was able to join our TAC L2P Program. We matched Dean with a volunteer mentor in his area and provided a safe vehicle for him to practice in. Then, on his 18th birthday, Dean sat his test and passed with flying colours! Today, he no longer has to plan his life around bus timetables. He has the independence to get Daphne where she needs to go, safely and on his own terms.

As a TAC L2P Program Coordinator, I love to hear stories like Dean's. Having a licence allows young people easier access to employment, education, and helps them to feel part of their local community. It's absolutely vital!

— Rebecca, L2P Program Coordinator

Could you be the passenger who changes a life?
Many young people need support to get driving experience. Our TAC L2P Program matches volunteer mentors with learner drivers to help them gain independence. If you have a full licence and a bit of time to share, we’d love to hear from you.

Learn more about the L2P Program via the link below:

https://www.berrystreet.org.au/what-we-do/young-people/driving-support-and-mentoring-tac-l2p-program

19/02/2026

What does it take to create meaningful career pathways for people with disability?

Join us on Thursday, 26 February, as Australian Disability Network's Training Consultant, Sarah W and guests Isabella Swanston and Brent Phillips from Deaf Connect explore the business case for disability inclusion.

Discover how Deaf Connect's Signs of Success framework creates meaningful career pathways for Deaf and Hard of Hearing talent and learn practical strategies you can apply to build a more inclusive workforce.

⛓️‍💥 Register here:
b0691e1c-cbfe-4eac-b149-1af49ba3f7a6@1ce6baa1-e79d-4c5a-87e4-4a198f3c43b8" rel="ugc" target="_blank">https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/b0691e1c-cbfe-4eac-b149-1af49ba3f7a6@1ce6baa1-e79d-4c5a-87e4-4a198f3c43b8



ID: Text reading "Inclusive by Design Webinar (free registration). Signs of Success - Creating career pathways with Deaf Connect. Thursday 26 February 2026. 12:30 - 1:15pm AEST (Online event)"

13/02/2026

Today we mark the anniversary of the National Apology to the Stolen Generations.

On 13 February 2008, the Australian Government formally apologised to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples - particularly the Stolen Generations for the profound grief, suffering and loss caused by past government policies.

For many First Nations families, the impacts of forced removal continue across generations.

For First Nations people with disability, these impacts are often compounded through intergenerational trauma, systemic discrimination, institutionalisation, and ongoing barriers to culturally safe and accessible supports.

The Apology was a powerful and necessary step. But words must continue to be matched with action.

FPDN stands with Stolen Generations survivors, their families and communities. We honour their strength and resilience, and we reaffirm our commitment to justice, healing, truth-telling and the full inclusion and rights of First Nations people with disability.

Image description (alt text): A commemorative graphic tile with a white centre panel framed by rich Aboriginal artwork patterns in teal, red, and orange. At the top, the First Peoples Disability Network logo appears inside a white rounded rectangle. Elegant script text reads “Anniversary of the,” followed by bold red text stating “National Apology to Stolen Generations.” Beneath, smaller orange text reads “13 February 2008.”

11/02/2026

We did some research about mental health and people with intellectual disability. It showed that almost 1 in 2 people with intellectual disability experience mental illness.

We are having a webinar to talk about this research.

We will talk about:
- when and why people with intellectual disability experience mental illness
- what we can do to make mental health care better

Sign up for the webinar here: https://mental-health-intellectual-disability-research.eventbrite.com.au/

11/02/2026

Our friends at Children and Young People with Disability Australia are recruiting 40 new young people with disability, parents and caregivers to help design practical resources for navigating life’s big changes.

You can join one of four co-design groups for:

👩‍👦 Parents and caregivers of children with disability aged 0 – 7
👨‍👧 Parents and caregivers of children with disability aged 8 – 12
🧑‍🎓 Young people with disability aged 13 – 17
🧑‍⚕️ Young people with disability aged 18 – 25

Participants will meet online regularly from March to December 2026.

Applications close Sunday 15 February: https://buff.ly/x2DRev5



[ID: Co-design opportunity for disabled young people, parents, and caregivers. Apply by Sunday 15 February 2026. Take Charge of Change. Includes a photo of a young person studying and wearing headphones and glasses.]

11/02/2026

Dear SMART Community,

It’s time to yarn, learn and heal together 🖤💛❤️

We’re growing our Yarn SMART family across Australia and are excited to bring in-person Yarn SMART training to communities in WA, SA, NT and QLD. This two-day course has been designed for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It focuses on supporting recovery in individual community members, their families, communities and services.
Yarn SMART is grounded in Culture, Country, Community and Connection. It brings together Aboriginal ways of knowing, being and doing with practical SMART Recovery tools for creating culturally safe spaces where people experiencing behaviours of concern are respected, heard and supported.

During the training, you’ll explore:
🌿 Mutual aid, Peer support and Narrative Therapy
🌿 Ways to embed culture as a healing factor
🌿 Relapse prevention and coping skills shaped by community strengths
🌿 Facilitating recovery that supports self-determination and belonging
The program is led by exptronger when it’s shared.

📍 Save the Dates https://lnkd.in/gef8WeWR
• Mparntwe / Alice Springs | Tue–Wed 5–6 May 2026
• Gimuy / Cairns | Mon–Tue 20–21 July 2026
• Tarndanya / Adelaide | June 2026 (TBC)
• Boorloo / Perth | Dates TBC
🎓 Scholarships are available

Have questions or need help choosing the right training? Email smartrecovery@srau.org.au, we’re here to support you.

trainers and creates space to connect, reflect and grow together because recovery is s

11/02/2026

🙋‍♀️ Handy tips for self managing your plan? Yes, please!
💡We have our first Self Management live session of the year coming up, and Sam has got some helpful tips and updates to share for self managers.

👇 Some of these tips:

1️⃣ Make a single claim for several invoices for the same support category, provider, date and price
🤔 If you separate them, the NDIS portal will often think you are accidentally claiming the same thing twice.

2️⃣ Make individual claims for individual invoices for easy tracking
🧾 You can no longer group bills together (unless from the same provider in the same support category).

3️⃣ Get permission from the NDIA for payment of term/session fees
💳 It may be safer to pay at the end or ask the provider for a payment arrangement.

4️⃣ Use AI to help understand
🤖 These tools can be great for working through all things NDIS (remember to keep personal info private!).

📂 The Self Management Resource Kit includes more practical tips, checklists and resources, as well as the peer session recording and auto transcription.

💻 Live online session details:

📆 Thursday 26 February, 12:30pm – 2:30pm (SA Time)

💵 Cost: $168.90 (you can choose the best fit line item/support category for your invoice)

📩You can send the invoice to your plan manager for payment or reimbursement, or claim as a self-manager if it is in line with your plan.

🔗 For more info and to book, visit: www.thegrowingspace.com.au/events

Pic desc: Our white, purple and orange ‘Self Management’ slide. Sam’s caricature, her name, and TGS logo are at the bottom right. On the left is a clipart picture of a person sitting on a chair on their laptop with the NDIS logo floating in a thought bubble to the right.

11/02/2026

Love this from Primrose Supports. For some, stillness and quiet can feel scary because we aren't taught how to rest. Surprisingly these moments often provide us with our best clarity.

Today, sitting in the garden with my morning coffee, I was reflecting on our collective need to always be doing something — and the idea that only when we’ve done something is it worth sharing.

At my last meditation class, I shared that I’ve been feeling very slow returning to routine this year. Instead of giving myself a hard time, I decided to practice acceptance and simply be with that feeling.

Even though my body feels tired and unmotivated for work, school, and family routines, my heart feels alive — content, excited, and wanting to share my love of presence, awareness, body connection, and a regulated nervous system.

I genuinely love learning: doing courses, listening to podcasts that support my wellbeing and my craft of supporting others, and reading fiction just for fun. But last week, in the evenings, I just wasn’t feeling it. So instead of reaching for something to read or listen to… I just sat.

My mind needed a break from information and learning. It needed time to be and to integrate. It felt uncomfortable at first — but when I gave myself permission, my body softened. I noticed the scent of my peppermint tea, the simple feeling of my body relaxing into the evening, gently unwinding.

So I guess this is a little story of my “non-doing.” And I felt called to share it — in case you needed to hear this too.

An invitation to accept where you are physically and emotionally.
To let go of the mental story that you need to be doing something.
And to remember that if your body and mind are asking for quiet, for rest, for non-doing… that is worth doing 🤍

10/02/2026

is only a month away! Download resources at https://bit.ly/FREEiwd to help mark the day, or order Event Packs at bit.ly/IWDpacks. Learn more about how we can all support via the campaign. Identify to support in the ecosystem. Search or publish and . Upload IWD statements and images promoting your organization, and much more https://bit.ly/IWD2026

10/02/2026