Spreading the Inclusion Revolution

Welcome Zoe and Victoria!

Fri, 13 Mar 2026 08:32:01 GMT

Introducing our new interns from the ANU!

We are thrilled to welcome Zoe and Victoria from ANU (Canberra) as Strategy & Capability Interns to The Easy Read Toolbox. These two very talented postgraduate students will help the Toolbox elevate its innovative products to make information more accessible.

Zoe and Victoria come with business strategy experience both in Australia and overseas. They are both excited to contribute to the Inclusion Revolution by supporting the team’s strategic goals and learning from the lived and professional expertise of the team.

Here at the Toolbox, we are very much looking forward to working with them. Read about their journey so far.

Zoe Zhou

https://www.linkedin.com/in/shiyu-zhou-05a409383

Zoe is currently completing her Master of Business Information Systems at the ANU.

She’s interested in how technology and clear communication can make information more accessible and inclusive. ‘’I value clarity, empathy, and collaboration, and am motivated by work that creates meaningful, positive impact’’, Zoe says.

Zoe has a background in accounting and operations. She has experience in digital marketing, including managing e-commerce products, supporting live broadcast operations and data analysis to drive business decisions. Zoe is also committed to volunteering and community involvement which she has done for the past 6 years.

Outside work and study Zoe enjoys cooking, exploring restaurants, and travelling, as well as spending time outdoors, whether it’s walking, exploring nature, or discovering new places.

Victoria Li

http://www.linkedin.com/in/victoria-li-744595384

Victoria is currently completing a Master of Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the ANU.

Victoria is passionate about accessibility and social impact. ‘’I believe that clear communication is a catalyst for change’’, Victoria told us.

Victoria has experience as team leader at the joint Winter School, Imperial College London and Royal College of Art. Here she led her team to win the Most Innovative Design Award. She has earned equal accolades while leading a team at Tsinghua University.

She also has experience in financial management, community operations, and cross-cultural collaboration. Victoria has worked with top-tier organisations such as Bank of China and Conarium Research Institute, where she gained skills in strategic communication, data analysis, and inclusive engagement.

Outside of work, Victoria enjoys exploring creative outlets, connecting with diverse communities, and championing initiatives that empower others.

She brings a unique blend of analytical thinking and creative problem-solving to the Toolbox.

How much do you know about the Easy Read Toolbox?

If you haven’t looked through the Toolbox’s portfolio, achievements and offerings, do it now! You’ll be surprised at the range and scale of what we do and how we do it. Visit www.easyreadtoolbox.info or subscribe to our newsletter .

3 women, 1 non-binary person, building a more inclusive community

Thu, 26 Feb 2026 04:31:22 GMT

When disability has nothing but everything to do with success

As part of celebrating UN’s International Women’s Day we profiled 4 people from our own patch, whose disability has nothing but everything to do with their success. When we live in a world that is not designed for us, the need to be resilient, resourceful and innovative becomes a necessity.

Karen Hedley – Founder, Easy Read Toolbox

Innovation making Easy Read easy

Karen founded the Easy Read Toolbox in 2021 – the idea came from her previous social enterprise Next level inclusion. ‘I launched my first social enterprise, Next Level Inclusion in 2021, a communication and accessibility service for disability service providers. The demand was so great and I quickly realised that I couldn’t help as many people as I wanted to, so the idea of The Easy Read Toolbox was born,’ says Karen.

Karen is the recipient of the 2015 ACT Chief Minister's Inclusion Award for Lifetime Achievement in Support Work, the 2026 Disability Leadership Innovation award and is 2025-26 SECNA Women in Social Enterprise Champion. This is no surprise as she runs a workplace with highly productive and skilled individuals and a very low staff turnover, a sign of the very successful and inclusive workplace model she’s set up.

Karen was diagnosed with ADHD in 2014 an after earlier diagnosis with multiple disabling autoimmune conditions. She suffers fatigue, pain and memory problems which are just but a few of the symptoms. ‘These were unexpected (I thought it would just be pain!). Trying to set up and oversee a business has been challenging. I still struggle with networking, as most is in the evening, when my conditions mean I'm unable to attend’ says Karen.

Karen has 30 years of experience in the disability sector and started taking an interest in easy-to-read communication around 12 years ago when it first arrived in Australia.

Having her 3 children diagnosed with autism and acquiring her own disabilities added to her passion to make our community more inclusive and accessible for people with disabilities. Even though Karen identified as a person with disability she did not really ‘use’ it, until the Easy Read Toolbox began promoting lived experience, as the team’s biggest strength.

To be able to function despite her disabilities and her role as a carer for three neurodivergent young people, Karen set up the business in a way that suits her needs and allows all team members the same courtesy. Also, she’s worked hard with the team's support to put things in place to make work easier for her, such as using apps and physical reminders to jog memory, having other team members attend events either with or in her place, as well as building in flexible hours.

‘Running a social enterprise has made for some satisfying moments’ says Karen. For a number of Karen’s team, this is their first employment opportunity. “Several of our younger contractors have said we were the first to give them a chance at working. Knowing we are paying them fairly is amazing too,” she said.

The Easy Read Toolbox is a certified Social Enterprise and has completed projects for medium and large organisations such as banks, educational institutions and government agencies.

You can read more about the Easy Read Toolbox here .

Sonya Kunawicz - Training and Development, Disability Equality Scotland

Easy Read beyond borders

Sonya is a Training and Development Worker with Disability Equality Scotland . Her job includes developing and delivering training and support to Easy Read writers. Sonya’s background is in education, language, and editing.

Sonya is neurodivergent. Lived and learned experience drive everything she does in her work. ‘I have a strong interest in communication, inclusion, and accessibility. I finally have a job that makes sense to me!’ Sonya says.

Since September 2024, Sonya has, with Disability Equality Scotland, been researching and testing a set of minimum standards for Easy Read, making sure everything is people-centred and adaptable for different communication needs. Sonya was instrumental in establishing a long-term project in the UK, to develop and test national standards for Easy Read . She explains that, across the UK (and beyond) the quality of published Easy Read is quite variable. Most Easy Read is excellent - written by experienced professionals who work closely with users. But some Easy Read does not communicate clearly.

‘We are working with disabled people and researchers to make sure our standards work in reality. The first public version of our standards will be published in October 2026, supported by public bodies, disabled people's organisations, and (most importantly) by Easy Read users across the UK’, says Sonya.

One of Sonya’s greatest achievements was the establishment of the International Easy Read Community of Practice (CoP) two years ago. Sonya worked with Karen Hedley to set up the CoP which meets monthly. Easy Read writers often work in small teams, or in isolation. ‘It’s been very exciting to get such a big group together to share ideas about how we work. It's hard to find a meeting time that works for everyone, because we work across such different time zones, but somehow, we manage,’ says Sonya.

Across the English speaking world, accessible communication professionals like Sonya are working to promote Easy Read to ensure that everyone has access to the information they need.

You can find out more about the International Community of Practice here .

Debbie McKenna – Business owner, Adapt Virtual Assistance

Filling gaps and creating opportunities

Debbie built a thriving virtual assistant business, Adapt Virtual Assistance with little to no experience. Since then, she’s trained other people with disability to also become virtual assistants, creating custom-fit careers built to their needs.

Debbie has a rare condition called Oculo-facio-cardio-dental syndrome (what a name!). She’s had multiple surgeries on her eyes, heart and face, but Debbie says, “the biggest difference I navigate each day is being vision impaired.”

Debbie’s vision impairment impacts both her working and personal life. She’s restricted in screen time, which results in not always being able to grow and shape her business at the rate she would like to. It also means that if she’s had a particularly long screen day, the rest of the week will be impacted too. “It's a lot to manage mentally, doing the math gymnastics on if I work to finish X thing, then I may have to sacrifice doing Y thing tomorrow,” says Debbie.

Her vision impairment impacts her personal life in various ways, such as not being able to drive, and household chores can be a drain on her eyes and energy levels. “Like many of us, I adapted through school and even earned a degree in visual communication. The irony still makes me smile,” Debbie quips. However, living in a world that was not set up for people with disability, all the effort in the world did not make graphic design roles accessible at the time, and in Debbie’s words “my degree collected dust for years.”

Like a lot of determined people, Debbie was resistant to support growing up, but she’s learnt to accept it whenever and wherever she can these days. In spite, or despite her struggles, she’s succeeded in building a solid career and business that also helps people with disability build their own career and business.

“I think there is a lot of value in community. Community of those around you who understand and are willing to help you out, and a community of those who face similar challenges and can relate to those little struggles we often face each day!” says Debbie.

As Debbie very eloquently puts it, and will resonate with a lot of us, “It's important to me both personally and professionally, to prove to myself and encourage others that your disability doesn't have to define your career choices. We should all have the flexibility to work in industries and career paths that bring us joy, challenge us, motivate us and encourage us to see what's possible. I took an un-used degree, a passion for social media and a drive to work with disabled founders and created a career I adore, that also gives me the flexibility to meet my disability needs.”

You can learn more about Debbie’s work here

Megan Munro – artist, performer and producer

Art as activism, advocacy and healing

Megan is a queer, disabled artist, activist, performer and producer, having worked a ‘day job’ for 25 years, in various education, advocacy and policy roles in the Canberra Community sector. Megan is the founder of the Queer Variety Show, which is for SGLGBTIQA+/queer and disabled people and allies.

Megan has ME/CFS or Myalgic Encephalomyelitis or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia and was diagnosed with autism only 15 months ago at the age of 56. ‘’The ME/CFS is the most debilitating of the three conditions’’, explains Megan, ‘’It really means I’m limited with my energy. Most people have no idea what it’s like and there’s a lot of misinformation out there. It often gets shortened to Chronic Fatigue, but chronic fatigue is only just a symptom of many different illnesses’

Megan has been sick for about 15 years with symptoms of ME/CFS starting out as mild then, getting worse over a period of time. ‘’I hit a wall in 2018 with it and had to stop work and nearly everything I was doing entirely. I could hardly move and I hardly left my house. My world became very small. I felt very socially isolated, as I couldn’t get most of the people around me to really understand how limited I was’’, Megan says.

People with ME cannot ‘push through’ or the condition can become permanently worse. In the last few years Megan was also diagnosed with Fibromyalgia, which is close to ME/CFS, but it tends to include more painful symptoms. Megan says ‘’It’s relatively new to me, so I don’t really understand what triggers it yet’’.

The two conditions combined can make life very unpredictable. For example, exercise is believed to help with Fibromyalgia symptoms but because of ME, Megan is limited to what type of exercise they engage in as it can be dangerous, unless it is very gentle. ‘’It’s a constant balancing act. I got a bit better over the last 8 years through pacing, using a heart monitor and a very slow return to some physical activity. I’m still unable to go out very much and I have to constantly watch my energy,” Megan tells us.

But being diagnosed with autism has been liberating, although a lot to process. That’s 56 years of events and trauma. Megan says, ‘’I have days where I am filled with anger at everything. The way I have been bullied in the past, the way people have taken advantage of me and the way I’ve had problems connecting to people and loss of friends. However, I try to tell myself that I did very well at looking after myself through years of the world having little knowledge of what autism really is. Not masking now means that I can access the better and more interesting parts of who I really am and this is very exciting when it comes to my creative expression’’.

Upon not being able to work, Megan returned to making visual art. Megan has been a performer for many years now and continues to be when energy levels and symptoms allow. ‘’I am very proud of the way I have used my art and performance to enrich my life. We produce a bi monthly variety show that platforms queer and disabled performers. I proudly identify as queer and disabled and these identities are the focus of all my creative endeavours’’.

You can follow Megan’s art at @meganmunro1968, @sparklemuffin_Mena.Paws, @Queer_Variety_Show and learn more at https://www.arachneart.com.au. Megan was also a finalist in the 2025 Creative Challenge Finalists Exhibition Online, check it out at https://craftanddesigncanberra.org

New Work Coaching with ELSEY!

Sun, 25 Jan 2026 08:31:29 GMT

Our coaches are amazing!

Perfect for any young people feeling stuck thinking about work, our ELSEY Work Coaching is launching this January 2026.

ELSEY's* Work Coaching is here!

• One-on-one support

• Flexible and at the young person's pace

• Build confidence and skills

• Report with goals and next steps

Our coaches have both lived and professional personal experience with coaching young people, and in many types of employment.

We specialise in supporting young people with disabilities, neurodivergence (autism, ADHD and more), mental health conditions and more, but anyone finding it hard to find work should get in touch!

We are launching with our Starter Package - $500 for 3 x 1 hour one on one sessions.

Email ELSEY@easyreadtoolbox.info to learn more.

* ELSEY is part of The Easy Read Toolbox. It stands for Easy Life Skills for Every Youth. You'll get easy to understand resources plus individual support.

[Image: Young hairdresser with a comb in her hand. Text: ELSEY Work Coaching; for young people finding it hard to find work. An initiative of The Easy Read Toolbox.]

Innovation award goes to Karen Hedley

Thu, 15 Jan 2026 07:04:16 GMT

Innova tion reaps rewards for ERT founder

It was a super proud moment in December 2025 when our founder Karen Hedley became the 2025 recipient of the National Award for Disability Leadership Innovation award. The award celebrates leaders who achieve ‘outcomes to the status of disabled people by working outside the box, developing new systems, technology or tools.’

The write up in the Award’s page rightly describes Karen as an ' Easy Read specialist, [who] is driving visibility of people with disability through accessible communication. As founder of The Easy Read Toolbox and co-founder of the International Easy Read Community of Practice, she’s transforming how organisations represent and engage disabled people.'

The award, presented by the Disability Leadership Institute looks at leadership ‘…through a disability perspective’ and acknowledges ‘the specific attributes of disability leaders.’ They recognise outstanding achievements by individuals, or disabled people’s organisations, who significantly contribute to advancing the status of disabled people.

The Easy Read Toolbox (the Toolbox) under Karen’s leadership grew from its beginnings in 2021 to demonstrate what can be achieved by embedding inclusive and innovative thinking in everything from hiring practices to the development of tools that help organisations to make their communications accessible to all.

The Toolbox works on the premise that access to information is a human right, not a privilege. Recognising that information is key to living a full life, the Toolbox advocates for language to be used to enable rather than exclude.

The Toolbox provides resources through a variety of options meeting the needs of individuals, business and organisations to match their budget and operational needs. Prices start from $27.50 monthly or $275 annually. Check out the full range of offerings .

Finally, our congratulations to the other amazing award recipients :

Lesley Hall Award for Lifetime Achievement – Damian Griffis
Rights Activism – Sarah Langston
Inclusion – George Ayoub
Social Impact – Danielle Kutchel
Change Making – Clare Gibellini and Wayne Herbert
Arts – Fi Peel

Sources

Disability Leadership Institute | 2025 Recipients – accessed 12 January 2026.

How ERT is fostering a disability inclusive society

Fri, 28 Nov 2025 06:46:49 GMT

Inclusion is our norm and it's also intentional

The 2025 theme commemorating International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPwD) is ‘Fostering disability-inclusive societies for advancing social progress.’ The UN S ecretary General in his speech, said that “there can be no sustainable development without the inclusion of people with disabilities.” [i] This year’s theme highlights the barriers to social development objectives, mainly:

Reducing poverty for people with disability
Promotion of full and productive employment and decent work for all
Social integration.

To achieve these, persons with disability need to be both agents and beneficiaries of any changes in social, cultural, economic and political life. [ii] .

At The Easy Read Toolbox, we’ve been fostering a disability inclusive society since founder Karen Hedley started this venture. We’ve experienced what it’s like to be part of an inclusive workplace that thrives.

Over 80% of our team live with disability and those who don’t are caring for people with disability. We provide flexibility, recognise and leverage each individual’s strengths, and provide the opportunity to further develop skills. All while paying award or above wages to everyone. Professionalism and expertise are never compromised.

Do we experience hard and stressful times? Yes, of course. All workplaces do. But when people are given support, freedom and an opportunity to do their best work, they produce their best work.

It’s not something that was originally put into place intentionally, instead it’s how it’s always been, it’s our normal, and now intentional. And that’s how we know that it’s achievable.

But it’s not just in our work practices that we contribute to fostering a disability inclusive society, it’s the work we do and how we do it.

Universal design principles - We promote and practice an approach that supports making inclusion not just a goal but a standard practice, both in our own products and helping organisations design better communications. We believe the use of Easy Read should be a standard practice, rather than an afterthought.

We are generous with our expertise - We freely share principles and tips to make communication more accessible to all. We gift free memberships to people with disabilities and small organisations each year.

Equity and inclusion – We have been empowering people with cognitive disabilities and low literacy to participate fully in society by making complex information accessible. We empower through information, enabling people to understand their rights, navigate services, and engage in their community life.

Valuing lived experience – Our team’s combined lived experience forms the basis of our strategy, practice design and leadership. We work alongside disabled experts and user testers, ensuring materials reflect real-world accessibility needs. We pay our disabled artists award or above wages, reflecting our recognition of the value of their skills and lived experience.

Capacity building for organisation s - We help organisations meet accessibility obligations and foster inclusive communication – we offer training and support for organisations to do their own accessibility upgrades, as well as our supportive, yet practical membership.

We are very proud of our International Easy Read Community of Practice (IERCoP) which began in 2024. It was set up by Sonya Kunawicz from Disability Equality Scotland , and our founder Karen Hedley . The International Easy Read Community of Practice is a group of people who use Easy Read in their lives either professionally or personally. By building connections globally, we both contribute and learn from other organisations who are advocating for a fully inclusive world.

The IERCoP has been discussing inclusive images, and Easy Read in fiction writing, and we are always looking for innovative ways to implement Easy Read and accessible communication into everyday life.

At a small scale the ERT is an example of what small and large organisations can achieve.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Endnotes
[1] Message | International Day of Persons with Disabilities | United Nations – accessed 26/11/2025

[1] International Day of Persons with Disabilities | United Nations – accessed 26/11/2026

Jargon excludes - the case for clear, meaningful writing

Wed, 19 Nov 2025 07:10:16 GMT

Why not make information accessible to as many people as possible?

‘’Now's a good time — if you have the bandwidth — to touch base about a pain point…’’ 1

What????

Here, Rachel Treisman 2 is using humour to show what a lot of people are battling with – jargon. The above example is of office jargon, but it exists everywhere. The workplace, however, is a particularly tricky place. You battle with feelings of vulnerability and inadequacy when forced, time and time again, to ask what on earth others are talking about.

For people with cognitive disabilities, it’s a significant barrier to accessing information quickly and independently (rather than having to look it up or asking others). Everyone has a right to understanding the world we live in, how our democracy works, why the moon and the sky are that colour and so on.

The queen of content design (at least in the UK ��), Sarah Richards 3 writes that using jargon without an explanation makes huge assumptions. Often, we hear people say that the content is for ‘specialists’ and they know what they are talking about. Richards argues that’s assuming there are never new players in the field or that those who are curious about that field might want to expand their knowledge. Often it appears the writer is cleverer than us. But of course, that is not necessarily true. It only serves to frustrate readers or make them feel that they are less clever.

‘’…wanting to understand quickly has little to do with intelligence. It has a lot to do with time and respect.’’ 4 There’s that word ‘respect’. Communication has a lot to do with respect and making sure that that sectors of your audience are not being excluded. Whether intentionally or unintentionally.

I love this definition of jargon:

''By its nature, jargon is exclusive. It creates a linguistic boundary between those “in the know” and outsiders. This reinforces the group’s unique identity, forged through a shared experience that is difficult for outsiders to comprehend. As one former winterer noted, he could “construct sentences that would be gibberish to most people but clearly understood by ‘ice’ folks”. 5

Here, Rupendra Brahambhatt is talking about how people living in Antarctica, over time, developed a unique accent as well as words and phrases of their own largely due to their isolation. However, jargon indiscriminately used in a diverse society like ours, excludes and can often create an us and them environment.

Back to the workplace, do people who understand and speak the jargon get ahead and win the promotions?

To quote Treisman 6 again ‘’Forty percent of workers said they've had a misunderstanding or made a mistake at work because they didn't know the meaning of jargon or used it incorrectly. And 61% believe that workers with a better understanding of such jargon are able to get ahead, such as through promotions or raises.’’

Jargon plays a variety of roles, such as masking the severity of what we are talking about. For example, an issue, is preferable to a problem or a concern. You can still call it a problem or a concern…

Jargon creates emotional detachment from the uncomfortable reality of the subject discussed. ‘Workforce reduction’ sounds better than ‘some people will lose their jobs’, as well as creating an artificial distance between the action and those completing it. To quote Peter Sokolowski, editor of Merriam Webster dictionary, "We make fun of them [jargon] and slowly they lose their power…And maybe more intelligent communicators will find other and more direct ways to say the same thing." 7

Jargon is also used as a way to obfuscate the truth, for example in science – if you can’t understand, you tend to assume that it’s your understanding that is at fault not the information.

Some journalists say that science writing has gotten more complicated. Why? Don’t scientists want us to learn about the wonderful world of science and its discoveries? Or is it just that they don’t know how to express themselves in layperson’s language? There is a complete disregard for the reader.

And the worst news is, as Tania Lambrozo wrote in NPR 8 :

‘‘Jargon is often used to mask fraudulent research results in science. In 2015 a study found that fraudulent papers use significantly more jargon’’. 9

In fact, about 60% more.

Guardian journalist Adrian Chiles 10 , said in an article 4 years ago:

‘’I hate it when language is used to exclude and obscure. But it takes guts to resist’’. When starting a job in business news, while not being totally ignorant of business principles, he had to constantly ask what words and acronyms meant and ask, ask, ask.

Here’s a sample of some common, and for many, irritating examples 11 :

Revert = get back to you
At pace = quickly
C-suite – what does the C stand for? It’s not immediately obvious (no, it’s not)
Get our ducks in a row = get organized
Drilldown = look at the detail
Leverage = use or exploit (oh, there’s that uncomfortable reality)
Circling back = come back to
Evidence based policy – was policy not evidence based before we started using that word?

Chiles also touches on the use of ‘buzzwords’ as a form of control. When using buzzwords or jargon ‘’…if you can get people to talk like you, you can get them to think like you.”

In his book T o Be Clear: A Style Guide for Business Writing , Phillip Collins 12 urges business to stop using ‘the language of nonsense’ and use clear and meaningful language.

There are so many reasons why clear, meaningful writing that is free of jargon is something to aim for. We will always need to use complex words and expressions, but we can minimise the cognitive load on our audience and make information accessible to as many people as possible.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Quotes and sources

Treisman, Rachel; 2023, Why business speak is so irritating — and what we can do about it : NPR , accessed 12/11/2025
Treisman, Rachel; 2023, Why business speak is so irritating — and what we can do about it : NPR , accessed 12/11/2025
Sarah Richards, Content Design, 2017, Content Design London, London
Sarah Richards, Content Design, 2017, Content Design London, London, p149
Brahambhatt, Rupendra, People living in Antarctica are developing a new accent , accessed 12/11/2025
Treisman, Rachel; 2023, Why business speak is so irritating — and what we can do about it : NPR , accessed 12/11/2025
Zokolowski, Peter, as quoted in Treisman, Rachel; 2023, Why business speak is so irritating — and what we can do about it : NPR , accessed 12/11/2025
Tania Lombrozo, 2017, The Dangers Of Hidden Jargon In Communicating Science : 13.7: Cosmos And Culture : NPR , accessed 11/112025
Bad scientists use puzzling jargon to mask wrongdoings , accessed 11/11/2015
Chiles, Adrian; 2021, We need to get rid of business jargon. Do I have your buy-in? | Adrian Chiles | The Guardian , accessed 11/11/2025
Poole, Steven, 2013, An A-Z of modern office jargon | Work & careers | The Guardian , accessed 11/11/2025
Collins, Phillip, quoted in Chiles, Adrian; 2021 We need to get rid of business jargon. Do I have your buy-in? | Adrian Chiles | The Guardian

Why partner with a social enterprise like ERT?

Fri, 07 Nov 2025 03:53:38 GMT

It's a win win when you partner with a social enterprise

We’ve told you that we are a certified social enterprise. And, that we are (as far as we know!) the only certified social enterprise providing accessible communication services in Australia. But why partner with a social enterprise like the Easy Read Toolbox?

While globally ESG – Environmental, Social, Governance – may be gathering attention for the wrong reasons, in Australia, investors, customers, suppliers and regulators still firmly expect organisations to be doing good. (Social Traders, 2025)

When you partner with the Easy Read Toolbox, you are not just getting accessible content developed by an expert team with lived experience. Your social procurement strategy is creating a chain reaction of value. You are:

Investing in the lives of people with disability – artists, writers, administrators and more – who are being paid award or above wages and are less (or not at all) dependent on welfare.
Using procurement as a tool for job creation, community development, and inclusion—especially for people facing barriers to employment
demonstrating values in action, not just policy.

Your business/organisation benefits from:

Increased customer loyalty
Attracting employees who share your values
Gaining a competitive edge over other businesses
Enhancing brand and stakeholder trust
Unlocking innovation and value.

Being a certified social enterprise, we've demonstrated that we:

Have a defined primary social, cultural or environmental purpose consistent with a public or community benefit
Derive a substantial portion of our income from trade (as opposed to funding), and
Invest efforts and resources into our purpose such that public/community benefit outweighs private benefit. (Social Traders, n.d.)

Our purpose is to give young (and not so young) artists, writers and business strategists with disability, the opportunity to perform meaningful and interesting work, and pay them award or above wages.

Businesses that partner with social enterprises channel procurement dollars into community development, inclusive employment, and poverty reduction—directly supporting your environmental, social and governance (ESG) and policy and your diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) strategy.

It’s not hard to work toward a sustainable future when you partner with ERT.

Apart from fulfilling your ESG and DEI commitments you’re showing today’s discerning consumers that your commitments are genuine. They are looking for more than value for money and spend more time checking an organisation's social value credentials before they engage.

If you want to learn more about social enterprise and how they are helping businesses and governments invest in a better future for all, visit socialtraders.com.au .

Chat to us about how we can help your business reach more people. Contact ladina@easyreadtoolbox.info or karen@easyreadtoolbox.info .

References:

Social Traders. (2025, April 14). Social Traders. Retrieved from https://www.socialtraders.com.au/news/step-up-and-stand-out-through-social-performance
Social Traders. (n.d.). What is a social enterprise. Retrieved from Social Traders: https://www.socialtraders.com.au/what-is-a-social-enterprise

A laugh out loud children story by our outstanding artist Matthew Anderson

Fri, 31 Oct 2025 00:45:00 GMT

Meet the New Reindeer Saving Christmas!

You’ve heard of Rudolph, the red nosed reindeer who guides Santa through the night for safe delivery of all presents. But have you heard of Ginger? You see, Santa has, in past years, been eating too many cookies…and his waistline is getting bigger than his GP feels comfortable with. That’s where Ginger comes in. It would be rude to refuse the cookies that the children put out for Santa after all. So, Ginger helps Santa by eating the cookies herself! Saved!

Matthew’s new rhyming story book, Ginger the Cookie Eating Reindeer is an absolutely witty and laugh out loud delight rivalling Dr Suess. Not to mention the amazing illustrations, because that’s why we hired Matthew. He’s a hugely talented artist and cartoonist.

Ginger the Cookie Eating Reindeer is out now on Amazon . Get your little person their copy today!

When art is a tool for inclusion – congratulations Megan!

Wed, 29 Oct 2025 00:45:00 GMT

Weaving Lived Experience into Art

We’re so proud to celebrate Easy Read Toolbox’s very own Megan Munro , who has been named a finalist in the 2025 Craft + Design Canberra Daily Creative Challenge !

For Megan, crochet isn’t just a craft; it’s a form of storytelling, reflection, and resistance.

Through 50 years of crocheting, they’ve explored new techniques and materials from yarns and wires to recycled plastics, creating work that weaves together art, environment, and the lived experience of disability.

In Megan’s words:
“Disabled people contribute to the diversity of the human race. Both disabled people and the environment and animal populations could do with more care and nurturing, whether we are ‘ugly’ or ‘broken’, we all have a place.”

Megan’s work reminds us that creativity and inclusion go hand in hand, and that art has the power to challenge ableism and celebrate diversity in all its forms.

- See our socials by Teigan

See behind the scenes at our next Mini Showcase

Wed, 15 Oct 2025 04:18:45 GMT

Book now for October 27

If you're curious about the Toolbox, or have questions about:

the work we do
what the membership includes
how to get yourself or someone you know involved

please join us at this free event.

We go behind the scenes so you can see what members have access to. We answer all your questions and get to show off our amazing social enterprise.

Book now for our last showcase of 2025!

Why use Plain English/Language?

Tue, 07 Oct 2025 02:20:14 GMT

The Case for the Use of Plain English or Plain Language?

How many times have you looked at a medical document, a set of criteria for a job, or even media articles and had no idea what it meant?

It happens to most people at some point. Many things are written for audiences, or for purposes , that exclude many people who need to understand what the text is about.

Plain English and plain language are writing or talking in a direct, clear, simple way. It’s using simple words and phrases, avoiding acronyms and jargon. It involves using an active voice and structuring written information in a logical way, with headings and lists. The purpose of communicating this way is to improve comprehension, so that a broad audience can understand. Plain English makes it easier for people who have English as a second language to understand, people with various learning disability and cognitive challenges.

In 2002 I started my career as an educator in the Canberra Community Sector. I was employed by a small Registered Training Organisation to teach literacy to young people who had fallen through the cracks of mainstream education. I had recently completed my Graduate Diploma in teaching, to teach art to high school students. It was through this role that I learnt the importance of using plain English and plain language.

The students were all young people between 12 and 25 who had low literacy. This meant that they had trouble with reading and writing, which also meant they had trouble doing well at school and just about anything they were trying to do in their lives. It affected their self-esteem, their ability to engage in a regular classroom and to learn new things.

An essential part of being around these young people and teaching them, involved me using plain language. One time, early in my employment, I said something and one of the young people said ‘don’t go using those long words’. Basically, he didn’t understand me and at this point we had enough of a rapport for him to tell me.

The young people came from a variety of backgrounds, with an array of challenges to them as students and as people. This included: young carers, young offenders, homeless young people, migrant and refugee young people, First Nations young people. Also in the group were young people with mental illness, disabled young people (often not diagnosed), young people who were drug users, young people from low socio-economic backgrounds.

To build a rapport with the young people, it was necessary for me to use plain language and plain English with them. Otherwise, I would not have been approachable, and I would not have been able to teach them. This was before I gave them any type of tuition, where the second layer of any written information came in and needed to be plain English.

I have continued to use plain English and plain language through my 25-year career in working with people. Plain language and plain English cut through any class structures and mean that everyone understands. You don’t need a university degree; you don’t need to have spent years working in a particular area to get all the words and jargon - you can understand.

Plain English is a gateway to understanding for everyone. Using it means that most people will understand what is being said, without being alienated.

If you would like to learn how to write more simply and jargon free visit our website or contact us for a chat.

Spreading the Inclusion Revolution

Fri, 26 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Our week in Melbourne events!

What a week!

It began with our attendance by invitation, at the Social Traders Social Enterprise Trade Fair on Tuesday 16 September - a gathering of certified social enterprises. We were invited to exhibit which proudly displayed information and samples of the work that we do. Stallholders were all member of the Social Traders Grow Program which exists to support certified social enterprises who are actively looking to provide employment to disabled people, while growing trade revenue through social procurement. It was great to see people keen to learn more about Easy Read.

The Easy Read Toolbox was so excited to attend the Social Traders Convene 2025 conference, which took place on Wednesday 17 September. It was a fantastic turnout, with all the invitees representing or supporting social enterprises, or in short, businesses for good.

Hosted in Melbourne’s CBD, the event was beautifully catered, and the Convene staff were warm and welcoming throughout the day. There was a truly warm and overwhelming feeling being surrounded by people who run a business with their head, while actively creating change with their heart.

Social enterprises are so diverse. We met with and listened to social enterprises talking about the amazing work they do, people such as Jehan Retnatunga, co-founder of Who Gives a Crap, and Sarah Sheridan Deputy CEO of Clothing the Gap. We also learned from people such as Human Rights Commissioner Lorraine Finlay.

The most encouraging thing was seeing a lot of regular businesses who were there to simply learn how they could make changes to their procurement process, hiring etc, to make an impact and do good.

The Toolbox team had the chance to connect with other social enterprises and some of the inspiring presenters. We’re already looking forward to being invited back next year!

The highlight of our week however was to attend and exhibit at the National Disability Summit which was held in Melbourne’s Southbank District on 18 and 19 September. An impressive list of inspiring speakers was on the programme, such as disability advocate Emma Bennison from Bennison and Associates, Jill  Gallagher AO , Aboriginal leader and CEO of VACCHO and Sharon Xabregas , CEO from Sign Hear.

We connected with so many people from different disability focus areas. It was great to see the interest attendees and exhibitors showed in accessible communication.

It was great to see robust discussion on panels about the need for the mainstream world to take on the advice of people with disability when designing their physical spaces and developing their policies. So much to do, but thanks to these forums, we can raise our voice.

If you were at any of these events but missed us, or, if you missed the events altogether, head for our website and subscribe to our newsletter to get your free resource. Get started on your accessibility journey and join us in the inclusion revolution!

How to spot a dodgy NDIS service provider

Wed, 24 Sep 2025 02:15:04 GMT

Your Guide to Staying Safe in the NDIS

Some of you will know this feeling. You realise that the service provider you’ve engaged for yourself or your family member is not doing what they promised. Something does not feel right. There are a few things that you can check before you engage the service and even after you’ve engaged with the service. This can apply to the provider or its workers.

If you discover a provider doing the wrong thing you can report it to the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission. For example, when a provider:

Does not provide you invoices for the services they charged for
Lists services they have not provided or the dates of services do not match the services you or your family member received support
Does not provide you with a clear service agreement for SDA - mandatory when providing specialist disability accommodation (SDA) but not for other services
Does not communicate or you cannot get through to a customer representative when you ring or email them
Pressures you to take up services you do not need
Recently bought the business and you do not have evidence that they have experience providing disability care
Makes unsolicited contact with you or pressures you to engage them as provider.

If you have already engaged a service provider

If you have already engaged a service provider, you can check that they have provided you with:

a service agreement if one is mandatory – see Specialist disability accommodation
invoices for the services they are charging you for.

Check all invoices carefully. It should only list services that have actually been provided to you. Also, check that the dates of services charged match the date you received that particular support.

If you are considering a NDIS provider

If you are already using a provider, you can still check they are complying, but if you have not yet engaged them, it can save you from stress and inconvenience.

Before engaging a NDIS service provider, check that they are registered . You can search a provider by business name or legal name. While some providers may not require registration , registered providers have been audited against NDIS Practice Standards and undergone suitability assessment including of their key personnel. However, even unregistered providers must meet the standards set out in the NDIS Code of Conduct .

Check their compliance record. This means checking that the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission has not issued b anning orders or other compliance decisions . You can also check to see if a provider or worker has been given an infringement notice and what this means.
Check the phone numbers and email addresses they have provided. Does the email address match the name of the provider? Do you get answers to your questions when you call their office?
Check how long they have been operating. Did they recently purchase a ‘turnkey business’? This is when someone purchases a ready to operate business with established clients, workers etc. While in itself there is nothing wrong with buying a ready to operate business, there is a trend for people with no disability sector experience buying these businesses, potentially putting vulnerable participants at risk.

‘Providers can be compliant on paper, many obtaining audit coaching so that the flaws are not visible’, reports Disability Advocacy in a recent Facebook post .

To avoid this, ask how long they have been providing disability services, ownership history and what qualifications their workers have. Ask to meet the team.

You can also ask them for evidence of compliance with NDIA legislation, rules and regulations. This includes:

The NDIS Code of Conduct
NDIS Legislation, rules and regulations
The NDIS Workforce Capability Framework
worker screening requirements
the rules in the  NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Pricing Limits  and  previous NDIS Price Guides .

What to do if you come across dodgy activity?

If you think it’s fraud, see How to report fraud | NDIS . Fraud is when a person, business or organisation dishonestly obtains something they are not entitled to. They do this by deceiving the client or the government. It causes loss to the other party, in this case the disabled client and the government. The conduct is never right, even if it does not result in criminal charges or a conviction.
You can also make a complaint about a NDIS provider or worker.

If you need further help, seek advice from an advocacy organisation such as Disability Advocacy Network Australia and there are several state-based organisations as well such as the ones listed in the Queensland Disability Network website.

We are a social enterprise What does it mean?

Wed, 10 Sep 2025 02:45:00 GMT

Why be a business for good?

Did you know that The Easy Read Toolbox is a certified social enterprise through Social Traders Australia? Did you also know that there are 12000 social enterprises in Australia contributing $21.3 billion to the Australian economy each year, and employ over 200,000 people?

SECNA or Social Enterprise Council of NSW & ACT defines a social enterprise as:

A social enterprise is a business that puts people and planet first. They trade like any other business but exist specifically to make the world a better place. [1]

We do exactly that. The Easy Read Toolbox employs people with disabilities and pays them award or above wages. At least 80% of our team live with disabilities ranging from chronic conditions to forms of neurodiversity. Those who do not live with disability are carers of people with disability.

The Toolbox creates real impact and supports organisations and businesses to make a real difference.

Our workplace model reflects our ethos. We look after our team and support them to do their best work. Productivity does not suffer because each person is encouraged to play to their strengths. Our diverse team consists of several part-time staff and a dedicated team of over twenty contractors, all of whom bring unique perspectives and experiences to our projects. For some team members, this is their inaugural foray into the workforce, symbolising a significant milestone in their lives.

Their enthusiasm, fresh ideas and untapped potential infuse our team with vigour and fresh ideas. We have an understanding of diversity and intersectionality and aim to recognise and represent it in our work and team. We work within a human rights framework.

The Australian Human Rights Commission lists Freedom of Information, opinion and expression as a basic human right [2] . The right to access to information is crucial to people exercising that human right. However, they’re unable to use freely given information if they cannot understand it. Yet we see repeatedly that content is written in language and formats that large sectors of our population cannot understand or access.

Our impact lies in our tireless effort to help make important and essential information accessible to all. Social enterprise is business for good. Shouldn’t all business be business for good?

Watch our video to find out more about The Easy Read Toolbox.

[1] Freedom of information, opinion and expression | Australian Human Rights Commission accessed 4/9/2025
[2] What is a social enterprise? — SECNA accessed 4/9/2025

What is the Toolbox team up to in September?

Sat, 30 Aug 2025 08:53:53 GMT

Melbourne, we'll be in you, soon!

The month of September is shaping up to be a busy but exciting one (more than usual ��).

Our CEO, Karen Hedley is running our latest series of “Introduction to Easy Read” workshops through most of September. The International Easy Read Community of Practice is getting together on Tuesday 2nd, for the regular monthly meeting. All welcome – send us an email for the details.

Starting on the 16 September we'll be in Melbourne, with the Social Enterprise Trade Fair the first event where we’ll be showcasing our products and services and spreading the word about the need for inclusive communication and design.

The next day on 17 September we’ll be at Social Traders Australia Convene 2025 which is Australia's largest social impact conference, again we’ll be showcasing how our work and business model contributes to social impact. The conference brings together business professionals, social entrepreneurs, funders and policy makers.

And on 17 and 18 September we are at the National Disability Summit to learn about the latest developments in disability care and support. We’ll again be running a stall.

If you’re in Melbourne during these events come and say Hi!

[Image description: 2 women (Ladina and Karen) are standing in front of 2 banners, at a table full of Toolbox information.]

Fresh off our stall at SECNA Conference 2025

Tue, 19 Aug 2025 23:28:41 GMT

We had such a great time attending the SECNA (Social Enterprise Council of NSW & ACT) Social Enterprise Festival 2025 . We were kept busy meeting new people and telling them all about Easy Read including our huge library of inclusive images.

We spoke to a lot of people who were new to Easy Read, who expressed shock when learning that 44% of Australians read at primary school level or below! We were able to demonstrate the difference a translated Easy Read document makes with our before and after samples.

We welcome those who subscribed to our mini showcase where we share what goes on behind the scenes at ERT and showcase all the resources our members have access to. We also had lots of interest in our Introduction to Easy Read Workshop .

It was a great warm up for our stall at the National Disability Summit , 18 and 19 September. Be sure to come and say Hi if you’re attending!

- Adriana Pamplin

Exciting New Collab with Australian Artificial Intelligence Institute!!

Tue, 12 Aug 2025 23:15:29 GMT

The Future of Easy Read: Partnering with AI to Simplify Content

On Tuesday 29 July our CEO Karen Hedley and our consultant Irene Farrugia met with staff and students at a lecture at the University of Technology Sydney.

Here at The Easy Read Toolbox we are super excited to be working with the Australian Artificial Intelligence Institute, to develop an app for The Easy Read Toolbox, using current Large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT and CoPilot. The app will help translate content into Easy Read.

Irene is thrilled to be involved with this project. Irene has a special interest in AI and has a background in IT and project management in both government and private industry. Read about Irene on our blog .

Irene is BACK with ERT!

Mon, 11 Aug 2025 02:56:36 GMT

We are so lucky to have Irene back in the ERT team!

Irene has had a long career with a background in information technology and project delivery.

She started her career as an ICT graduate in private industry, delivering projects in Australia and overseas, before moving into executive level roles in government in Canberra. Her strengths include strategic investment planning, leading teams, and working with different stakeholders to deliver outcomes.

Since The Easy Read Toolbox began, Irene has supported Karen and the team through pro bono work—helping with business planning, writing grant applications, and contributing content to our famous image packs.

Irene is passionate about inclusion, especially improving communication for people with disability, and draws on her personal experience as a carer and knowledge to guide her work.

Irene believes in creating spaces where everyone feels welcome. She values empathy, teamwork, and clear communication, and is enthusiastic about continuing to learn about inclusive design and new technologies like AI and assistive tools to help improve accessibility.

Most exciting Irene is working with ERT on an Easy Read app. Watch this space…

- Adriana Pamplin

Words that Welcome – Inclusive Communication

Wed, 25 Jun 2025 03:54:32 GMT

Two New On-Demand Workshops

The Easy Read Toolbox is excited to share that we are creating two new on-demand workshops, thanks to an ACT Disability Inclusion Grant. The workshops will help us shine a light on the importance of communication accessibility. Martina Johnson has joined the Easy Read team to get the project up and running . These workshops will help change how the ACT community thinks about information sharing and how to make communication inclusive and accessible for everyone.

Did you know 44% of Australians read at primary school level or below? That means the benefits of inclusive communication and accessible communication support many people including people with disabilities, people who speak different languages, and people with different levels of literacy as well as Neurodivergent people, people with vision issues and those with dementia. At The Easy Read Toolbox, we believe everyone has the right to equal access to information.

The first workshop, Introduction to Accessible Communication , will provide practical advice for employers, businesses, organisations, and individuals to better include people who are not confident readers. It will explain different types of accessible communication including Plain English, Easy English and Easy Read. It will also look at how to remove barriers when communicating with people with disability.

The second workshop, Introduction to Easy Read , will explore why accessible formats matter and how they help. It will cover how to use the Easy Read format to create documents that more people can understand and the benefits in doing so.

What makes these workshops important is the inclusive way they’re being made . People with disability are helping shape the content from the start, sharing real experiences. Once the pilot workshops are ready to run in the ACT, we’ll engage more people with disability for feedback to make sure the final workshops are useful and relevant.

Another key feature of the workshops is that people with disability will write and deliver them . This isn’t just about having their voices heard, it’s about recognising their expertise. We recognise that people who face barriers every day are the best ones to teach others how to break them down.

Because the workshops are on-demand, people can access them anytime, from anywhere. This flexibility helps more people learn and helps build a culture where equal access for all is better understood. The resources we’re building are designed with you in mind, and with accessibility at the centre.

We’ll share more as the workshops develop. If you’re part of an organisation that wants to improve inclusion, or just want to learn more, stay tuned!

- Martina Johnson

Matthew’s One-Year Work Anniversary

admin@easyreadtoolbox.info (Easy Read Team) — Tue, 10 Jun 2025 00:31:57 GMT

Celebrate Your Achievements

Just over a year ago, Matthew Anderson decided he wanted more than washing dishes - he also wanted skilled work that mattered to him. He approached MaxEmployment for help, and they put him in touch with The Easy Read Toolbox at a time when our founder, Karen Headley, was developing the ELSEY project.

ELSEY stands for Easy Life Skills for Every Youth. The Easy Read Toolbox has been a first employment opportunity for many young people with disability, and they were unanimous in saying they weren’t getting the information they needed about life and employment in a way and style that was right for them. So, we’re looking to help fill that gap, but with easy-to-understand resources created by young people with disability under the mentorship of adults with lived experience.

As a self-published children’s author and cartoonist, Matthew was a natural fit for creating some ELSEY comic strips to illustrate simple life tips for youth, from choosing the right suit for an interview to dealing with task overwhelm at Christmas. To date, he has published over 40 strips for the Toolbox, and as his confidence grew, so did his ability to identify useful tips for other young people and portray them with humour and understanding.

But the skills development has been so much more than cartoons. He’s learnt “how to have meetings with my employers using the Teams app”, and when and how to ask for feedback and input in an asynchronous environment, that is an environment where people are not always working at the same time. He has also learned to use Canva and has recently expanded his drawing skills to include diverse cartoon images of people. All of these skills were part of his personal development journey as an artist, but also an employee in a remote, flexible working environment. He now creates Easy Read images on demand for clients and is proud to be part of the team.

“I am most proud to be working for the Easy Read Toolbox, mainly because they hired me thanks to my passion of cartoon drawing, a job that was suitable for me because of my drawing skills.”

See Matthew’s comics at the bottom of our ELSEY Project Page .

The Images you use always derive a meaning

admin@easyreadtoolbox.info (Easy Read Team) — Mon, 26 May 2025 00:55:48 GMT

* They will never be neutral.

‘Our daily access to reality is mainly based on visual media and visual representations…They act to frame our perception of the world, including gender, age, ethnicity, and social behaviour. They act to confirm, reinforce, or dispel stereotypes. They act to constitute reality and to form identity.’ 1 This is a snippet from research published in the Frontiers of Communication journal, about the way we interact with images.

This is a snippet from research published in the Frontiers in Communication journal about the way we interact with images.

It’s not hard to see why the images we use in our communications take on next-level significance. Images add context to your words and support your narrative. Whether your communication is an official government report or an advert for socks, the images you use will always carry meaning. They are never neutral.

That’s why it’s so important to ensure the images you use in your communication are respectful and inclusive. They convey the diversity of the humans who inhabit this planet (or at least your audience).

If you want to speak to a wider audience that includes people with disabilities, neurodivergence, gender diversity, cultural diversity and people of all ages, your images need to reflect that audience.

Inclusion is one of our key values at The Easy Read Toolbox. More and more organisations are recognising that we are all different and that’s a good thing!

We are currently the only supplier of photos of disabled Australians, who do so with a focus on authentically representing people with disabilities. We're also a social enterprise that makes a difference by employing disabled people on full wages. Our cartoons and illustrations are primarily created by disabled Australians, for all Australians.

We have over 3,000 images available to purchase individually or as a bundle. We’d love to support you and your organisation or business in creating accessible communications that speak to everyone.

1 Weber W, Eriksson Y and Tan S (2023) Editorial: The power of images: how they act and how we act with them. Front. Commun. 8:1320409. doi: 10.3389/fcomm.2023.1320409

Written by The Easy Read Toolbox Senior Writer, Adriana Pamplin

Join our reference group for ELSEY Academy!

Thu, 22 May 2025 00:57:40 GMT

We need your help

At our new ELSEY Academy , we’re all about making sure advice is accessible. We need your help to shape how we create and share information.

We want young people with disability to help shape our advice and make it accessible. This will make you part of our reference group.

As a Reference Group member, you’ll:

Share ideas & feedback
Review documents
Meet online & in person

You can give feedback however you like. You can write us an email, send us a video or call us.

We’d love you to be part of the ELSEY team.

To get in touch

Fill in this survey: https://forms.office.com/r/6LS4j2YuxM

Image description: Illustrations of a Platypus, a Marsupial rat, an Ibis and a Wombat all dressed in airline uniforms. Text reads: Our flight crew needs your help.

Images created by Matthew Anderson , our on-team cartoonist.

A Fair Go?

Thu, 24 Apr 2025 00:40:01 GMT

Australia is portrayed as an egalitarian society - meaning that everyone gets a fair go. But do they?

What is the Support Wage System

The Supported Wage System (SWS) allows employers to pay disabled employees less than the full minimum wage if their capacity is assessed as being less than 100%. For example, if they are assessed as having a capacity of 70% then they will receive 70% of the minimum wage.

The Department of Social Services states “The SWS was designed to address the barriers to employment in the open workforce faced by people with a disability whose productivity and employment competitive are reduced because of their disability”. It also states that the goal is that eventually they will improve or reach 100% productivity, enabling payment of the full minimum wage.

However, very few of them reach the full minimum wage. The majority of those on the SWS are employed by Australian Disability Enterprises (ADE), previously known as sheltered workshops. There are around 600 ADE who provide supported employment for those with moderate to severe disability, separate to the mainstream workforce.

The SWS is unfair

In practice, this means that some people are being paid less than $3 per hour – 12 times less than the national minimum wage of $24.10. So, a company could hire 12 people with disabilities for the same cost as 1 person without disability.

Until very recently, disabled people were also legally paid less superannuation due to an outdated law.

Whilst the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 makes it illegal to discriminate against disabled people, disabled people face high levels of inequality and poverty. And in some cases, this discrimination is legally allowed. Little impact has been made to reduce this inequality for disabled people in Australia in the last 3 decades.

The SWS is a legalised form of wage discrimination, where wages equivalent to slave labour are allowed. Both the segregation of ADE and sub-minimum wages were called out by the Disability Royal Commission as unacceptable. They recommended that the government phase these out, integrate the workforce and pay everyone a fair wage.

Australia’s political philosophy has changed

In the 1980s and 1990s Australia moved from an egalitarian society, to a neoliberal one, which promotes choice, individualism and deregulation. Whilst politicians tell us that we are a generous society, because we provide welfare payments to those in need, our welfare payments are so low that they actually contribute to poverty.

The narrative of shame of disability is strong in neoliberalism capitalist society. Disabled people are perceived as a burden on society, and one, they say, that our society and economy cannot afford. The recent rhetoric around the unaffordability around the NDIS (which is only accessed by approx. 15% of disabled people) and the DSP (accessed by around 18% of disabled people) has reminded disabled people of the uncertainty around supports for their basic needs.

Managers are underprepared to make workplace adjustments, and disabled people are often reluctant to ask for workplace adjustment, fearing stigma and discrimination. Through the lens of neoliberalism and the medical model, the focus is on broken individuals to improve themselves, meaning that disabled people must be upskilled to gain employment. Additionally, capitalism has meant that work has intensified, and companies justify everything to honour the bottom line. Workloads and the pace of work have increased, with more people experiencing higher physical exhaustion and mental stress. This also disproportionately impacts disabled people’s ability to work.

The Social Model of Disability

The social model of disability believes that societal barriers cause disability, rather than a person’s condition or impairments. There are many barriers in the workplace and in society, and if they were addressed, they would make it significantly easier for disabled people to engage in employment. Barriers such as increasing physical and digital accessibility and addressing attitudinal barriers of employers and managers should be addressed.

What can you do:

Join a grassroots campaign
Unfortunately, despite this issue having much publicity, 85% of people are unaware that disabled people are legally paid sub-minimum wage. The Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disabilities has sparked grassroots campaigns to bring this issue back to light.

You can get involved in these campaigns, for example, like the Down Syndrome Right to Work Campaign
Make your vote count this election
Despite being close to the end of this election campaign, disability has been largely invisible in the election. However, there are Independents and other parties who have policies that include abolishing the Supported Wage System. You can see how your local politicians and parties align with your views through using the Vote Compass Tool . This election, make your vote count for disabled people.
Support Disability Led Businesses
Specifically, those who pay disabled people at or above award wage.
In addition to paying a fair wage, these businesses often spend significant amounts of time and effort into supporting their employees. These businesses are at the forefront of inclusive employment practices. Many of these provide services to disabled people, so purchasing them from them helps promote economic equity.

At the Easy Read Toolbox, which is disability led, we firmly believe in equitable wages. The majority of people who are hired have disabilities and all are paid at or above minimum wage or have negotiated fair contracts. Accommodations are made for disabled people to allow for safe, flexible and equitable working spaces.

You can use this directory to find disability led businesses near you

Readings that informed this blog:

Australian Council of Social Service. (2024). Poverty in Australia: Facts and Solutions. https://www.acoss.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/241014-ACOSS-policy-solutions-to-poverty-for-Anti-Poverty-Week.pdf

Australian Disability Network Research Report. (2024). Getting Workplace Adjustments out of the “too hard basket” [Research Report]. Retrieved from https://australiandisabilitynetwork.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Workplace_Adjustments_Research_Report_Accessible_PDF_Version.pdf

Chapman, R. (2023). Empire of Normality: Neurodiversity and Capitalism . Pluto Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/jj.8501594

Department of Social Services. (n.d.). The Support Wage System . Retrieved from

https://www.dss.gov.au/research-pro-rata-wage-assessment-tools-people-working-business-services/2-supported-wage-system

Kayess, R. (2024, December 4). It’s time disability reform became an election commitment. Australian Human Rights Commission. Retrieved from https://humanrights.gov.au/about/news/opinions/its-time-disability-reform-became-election-commitment

The Queer Variety Show

admin@easyreadtoolbox.info (Easy Read Team) — Mon, 13 Jan 2025 22:02:35 GMT

Let's Hear Direct From Megan

I am a practicing artist and performer, with all my work reflecting my queer and disabled identities. As such I like my exhibitions and the shows I produce to be as accessible as possible.

The Queer Variety Show is a show I produce on a bi-monthly basis. The first Queer Variety Show occurred in 2022, thanks to an ACT Government Grant. In 2024 I started the show up again. The show features Queer and Disabled Performers, and the occasional ally.

The show is held at Smith’s Alternative, which is a venue that I can access reasonably easily. To get there I don’t have to drive my car very far, and I nearly always find a disabled park nearby. It is in an old building in Civic (Canberra), but the owners, Nigel and Beth have done what they can to make it a bit more accessible than most buildings.

Nigel and Beth have put a wooden ramp at the main entry and in the main room where we have our shows, there is a ramp of sorts that means that wheelchair and other mobility aid users can get onto the stage to perform. The toilets are a bit tricky and not everyone can access them.

With the Queer Variety Show Nigel and Beth look after the ticketing, which saves me a lot of work. On the day of the show, we have a sound/tech/lighting man, Bevan. The furniture within the venue can be moved around, which means we can move it to suit ourselves.

In producing this show, I knew I couldn’t do it alone. This is because my health can be somewhat unpredictable, and I may not be able to do any work on it or turn up for the show at any given time. Knowing this, I called upon two friends, Velvet Garnet and Temerity Outře to help me with producing the show. They have been assisting me all year, and this will continue into next year. The aim being that they will know how to put a show together on their own. We also have several helpers with each show. These people help us by filming the event, and one person is Stage Kitten – stagehand.

In the lead up to the show, Velvet, Daria and I have developed a system of shared files so that any one of us knows what is going on at any time should one of us not be available. This includes show day.

We ‘hold space’ for all our performers. We understand that they might not be able to perform at any given time and we don’t hold this against them. They will be given another chance at the nearest possible time.

For the actual show we do a few things to make it a bit more accessible than a usual event. We use a screen and with every performer introduction we project this onto the screen. We have adjusted the sound and lighting so that it is low sensory, we don’t play loud music before, after or during the breaks. We have available a simple, large print program at each show. The emcee addresses the crowd at the beginning of the show and explains that the show is a ‘relaxed’ show. This means that the audience is encouraged to do whatever they need to do to feel comfortable. This includes moving around if they need to, stimming, leaving the room, even if it is in the middle of an act. The audience is also encouraged to dress in whatever way makes them comfortable, so this might be their oodies or track suits or it could be an evening gown. With clapping and cheering the audience is encouraged, but it is also acknowledged that this can be hard, and they don’t have to if they don’t want to. At the beginning of the show the Emcee also explains the format of the show, this is to alleviate any anxiety around not understanding what is going on.

Each show we have an educational element. In the past we have had, ‘What makes a good disability ally?’ and ‘What not to say to an Autistic person’. People write their name and answers on a piece of paper and entries are drawn out and discussed. The two entries win a donated prize.

We have also introduced ‘Love notes’. This happened after one show where people were leaving little messages for the performers and crew in the competition box.

After each show all the entries are posted on our Facebook page. Our Love Notes are checked by the Producers, and then given to the relevant performers and shared on our Facebook page.

We are very proud of our show, as I write this, we’ve only had three shows, but our audience is growing, and we are getting excellent feedback from people about all aspects of the show.

We look forward to planning our shows for 2025.

Introducing Megan

admin@easyreadtoolbox.info (Easy Read Team) — Mon, 13 Jan 2025 21:54:23 GMT

I am a queer, disabled artist, activist, performer and producer. I have worked in my ‘day job’ for 25 years, this has been working in various education, advocacy and policy roles in the Canberra Community sector. This background set me up as an activist for life.

I started my queer identity journey in 2004, at the age of 36. It took some years to arrive at all my various shades of queer.

In 2018 I was diagnosed with I ME/CFS (Myalgic Encephomyalitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) and, later Fibromyalgia. I have lived a very limited life since. In August 2024, at age 56 I got the final piece of the puzzle of myself when I was assessed as being Autistic.

After becoming sick in 2018 I had to change my life dramatically and have returned to almost full-time art making. My art is everything to me. It gives me a voice to express my identities and helps me balance my mental health through the processes of making.

In 2022 I won the Chief Minister’s Inclusion Award for Excellence in Making Inclusion Happen.

I like working for the Easy Read Tool Box as it gives me a chance to use some of my skills and feel connected to a group of people who believe in the work we do.

I make digital drawings, I crochet, I also do performance and produce shows & I have various social media accounts.

Volunteer Opportunity: Image Bank and Image Management

karen@easyreadtoolbox.info (Karen Hedley) — Sat, 11 Jan 2025 06:44:56 GMT

Are you looking for a rewarding work experience opportunity with a social enterprise?

The Easy Read Toolbox is seeking a dedicated volunteer to assist us with sorting and managing our image bank.

* Duration:
1 month (with potential for extension and paid role)

* Responsibilities:
- Organise and manage our image bank.
- Analyse images for possible keywords.

* Requirements:
- Familiarity with Microsoft tools.
- Ability to analyse and categorise images effectively.

* What We Offer:
- Training provided before you start.
- Flexible and supportive remote working environment.

* Interested?
This is a great chance to gain valuable experience and contribute to a meaningful cause. Please send us an email: info@easyreadtoolbox.info

Join us, and the inclusion revolution!!

[Image: screen capture of a folder in our image bank.]

2024 in a nutshell

karen@easyreadtoolbox.info (Karen Hedley) — Wed, 18 Dec 2024 08:42:23 GMT

(It needs to be a HUGE nutshell!!)

I've tried to write a summary of 2024 for the Toolbox so many times, but keep getting stuck! Too much has happened!

So I started by asking my team what their highlights of 2024 with the Toolbox were:

Easy Read Writer Jacque said that the photos from our most recent photoshoot (stay tuned as we launch those early next year!) and our team Christmas lunch were her favourites.
For Megan, their highlights were switching roles from social media creator, to writer. Megan is starting out as an Easy Read writer, and has been writing blog articles, grant applications and more.
Karlie, from our VA team, told me that she really enjoyed the updated process we have for setting up a photoshoot, including Easy Read information, and taking over producing our newsletters has been fun for her to learn and do! She also looking forward to learning about our new CRM (Customer Relationship Manager) in 2025.
Kathryn, our Senior Writer has really enjoyed learning to use Canva, and supporting Matthew (our Cartoonist) to learn it too. She has loved working closely with Matthew, who came to us through MAX Solutions, and helping him learn about employment generally, as well as with the Toolbox. She has also enjoyed joining the International Easy Read Community of Practice.

For myself, I would sum it up as:

Watching our team grow in skills, confidence, and size. I have focused on helping the team learn, and believe in themselves, and then watched the magic that happens through that.
Examples: Definitely our experience with Matthew. Alina and Megan joining us and Ladina coming back. Meg going to uni! Sezi needing a reference for a job too! Celebrating with Deb when she was here in Canberra and our coworking days. what else???!!! Seeing Kathryn working and developing, supporting Matthew, Akiko and more. Being selected as a Social Enterprise Champion for SECNA.
It has been a difficult year financially, as I worked out that writing Easy Read doesn't bring enough profit for us to grow and be sustainable. The highlights have been interacting with the team, and the many amazing people now in the Toolbox's orbit, in order to review, revise and create new opportunities for us to create profit, which - of course! - we can invest in projects such as ELSEY.
Examples: Various mentors, especially Naomi from many rivers (who I met in person today!), and Julie from Asuria. Being accepted into the Scale for Impact Program through The Mill House Ventures and facilitated by Social Impact Hub, and the mentorship provided by both teams.
Being successful in receiving one of the inaugural ACT Social Enterprise grants, and the opportunities that has brought, including marketing expertise, and the support of Luke from Webblend, who is developing a series of automations behind the scenes, making sure our client systems are robust, and I don't forget any actions I am supposed to have taken! The team has also worked hard as we switched over to Microsoft (Thanks Evan!) and refined our operations, including our policies, recruitment and more.
Having the honour of working with clients including CBM Australia and CBM Global, DFAT, ACT Office for Disability, Hands Across Canberra, IDEAS Disability Information, INtopia, The Gordon TAFE, and more. We learn so much about each client as we work on their documents and workshops, and become their supporters, as they support our vision through working with us.

Lastly, I would like to thank each of you who reads this blog, who supports us, who grows our networks and our knowledge. We appreciate every one of you.

Looking forward to an amazing 2025!!!

Karen

PS: I started painting this year, after 3+ decades of telling myself I couldn't. Imagine my surprise when I realised I actually could!! The image is a reproduction of Van Gogh's irises, painted with thick, textured paint in shades of blue and green.

In search of men with disabilities!

Mon, 21 Oct 2024 04:19:00 GMT

We need disabled men in Canberra to model for us.

✨��‍♂️‍➡️��‍�� We are looking for 3-4 men with disabilities who would like to be paid to model for our photoshoot!

Who : 3-4 men who are disabled, have mental health conditions or have chronic health conditions. You don't need to tell us your disability.

When: Sunday 3rd November 2024, 5 to 6:30 pm

Where: Gungahlin town centre (Canberra ACT)

What: We'll take casual photos of you drinking coffee, at an ATM, catching light rail etc

Why: We use images in our Easy Read work (check that out here - Portfolio (easyreadtoolbox.info ) - and we sell them to people and organisations in Australia to use in their communication.

How much: We will pay each man $120

What next: Contact us at admin@easyreadtoolbox.info to let us know that you are interested or to ask any questions. Please send us a photo of yourself.

We can't wait to meet you!

Joining the ER Toolbox & ELSEY team

admin@easyreadtoolbox.info (Easy Read Team) — Thu, 05 Sep 2024 02:25:39 GMT

Meet Akiko!

Hi, I’m Akiko. I’m excited to join the Easy Read Toolbox team as a new Junior Writer.

I am neurodivergent. I have experienced a lot of challenges that not many people have experienced.

One such example is that I became extremely sensitive to light in my 2nd semester of my Master’s degree. One day, computer, smartphone and tablet screens became too bright for me. I tried to check emails, text to my family, do my university assignments, but I found that I couldn’t read anything on screen. I got sensory overload when I tried to use my digital devices, so I had to take a long break very frequently after looking at a screen for a short time. Grocery shopping also became too challenging for me because some sections were too bright and I couldn’t read price tags or check product qualities.

I had some supportive friends and university staff, but some people didn’t understand my challenges at all. When I had energy, I tried to find somebody with similar experiences or potential solutions to my challenges, but I couldn’t find much information to make my life easier. I felt isolated.

My visual hypersensitivity gradually started recovering over time, fortunately. As I started regaining more and more energy, I became passionate to share my lived experiences and lessons learned from various challenges, including my experience with extreme visual hypersensitivity. It has been always my hope that sharing my experiences would eventually support somebody like past me to feel less isolated or to find potential solutions to get out of their challenges.

Over the past 5 years, I was fortunate that I had the opportunity to live far away from my family. That said, I still identify my independent life skills pretty low. My current dream is to move our of my home country in the near future, so I am keen to develop my life skills and confidence in independent living. On her article, “Passion and Independence”, Meg Sonsbeek says, ‘When living with a disability, completing daily tasks can be daunting. Daily tasks include personal care, cooking meals, cleaning the house, building social skills and transportation.’ Reading this, I thought “Yes, yes! I struggle with most of these tasks!” I felt somewhat pleased to know that I was not alone. The article also reads: “the fact that the majority of the time solutions, or even just information on the subject, are not accessible to those who need it.” I couldn’t agree more. I don’t know how many times I tried to find solutions to my challenges, answers to my questions, and information about daily tasks but it turned out that resources I found weren’t accessible for me or they did not solve my problems.

As you can see, I am still on my journey to develop various life skills. I believe one of the main reasons I am very excited to join the Easy Read Toolbox and the ELSEY Project team is perhaps because the project will help me to develop various skills and confidences in independent living while I pursue my passion to share my lived experiences and lessons learned.

I cannot wait to start creating Easy Read information and other accessible resources for the ELSEY Project and beyond wherever my skills and experiences are called!

Image: created in collaboration with Akiko & Matthew Anderson

New images for sale - Happy 3rd birthday to us!

Sat, 31 Aug 2024 08:17:39 GMT

Purchase our photos individually with immediate download and 10% off!

Celebrate our 3rd birthday and celebrate disabled Australians with our gorgeous photos , now available for individual sale and immediate download.

Our models are disabled Australians, and our photographers are Australian carers of disabled people.

We will be uploading additional photos all through September, so be sure to check back regularly. Use this code to get 10% off every purchase in September 2024: BN596Q9XHB7U

ELSEY's own cartoonist!

Tue, 20 Aug 2024 05:25:40 GMT

Meet Matthew Anderson

The Easy Read Toolbox is proud of our record for providing fairly paid employment to disabled people. Consistently over 80% of our team have disabilities.

In a conversation with a colleague, Chris, from Max Employment , learned about our work and wondered if we might be interested in employing Matthew Anderson, a young Queensland man who loved producing cartoons for his online followers.

Chris and Matthew reached out to Karen (the Toolbox founder) and over a chat we realised that Matthew could be the perfect fit for our ELSEY project.

ELSEY stands for 'Easy Life Skills for Every Youth', and coincidentally, the ELSEY team had started working on employment resources.

While Matthew worked on his first cartoon, as a trial, Chris worked with Karen to set up financial support for Matthew's wage. As the Toolbox's income can be unpredictable, this was a very welcome 'bonus'!

Read more about Matthew's experiences in this article by Max Employment .

[Image description for cartoon above: Employment Tips: Dressing for the Interview. A koala is dressed in a tuxedo, wondering if it is too dressy. He is then dressed in a SCUBA suit, saying "Wrong suit". In the last frame he is dressed in a collared shirt and tie, and pants. He has his thumb up, saying "Just right".]

Accessible adventures for a Melbourne city break

Mon, 05 Aug 2024 09:52:39 GMT

Time your visit with the Accessible and Inclusive Tourism Conference (AITCAP) on 27 August 2024 in Melbourne

The Accessible and Inclusive Tourism Conference (AITCAP) arrives in Melbourne/ Naarm next month on August 27 2024 at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, hosted by GetAboutAble .

Now in its fourth year, this annual event is for all tourism business owners and managers, policy makers, and industry professionals wanting to learn more on creating and developing accessible and inclusive experiences.

Hear key speakers from Tourism Australia, Victoria Tourism Industry Council, Austrade, the Department of Jobs, Skills, Industry and Regions, Metro Trains, City of Melbourne and many more as they discuss a variety of research, ideas and tourism insights focused on the accessible tourism industry.

While in Melbourne, make the most of the city break to explore its variety of accessible experiences:

Take to the water with Yarra River Waterbike Tour
Want a unique way to explore the Yarra River? Taking in Melbourne’s landmarks and iconic buildings, on a Waterbikes Australia tour. With the crew from Waterbikes Australia creating a safe and supportive environment, take to the water on a customised experience for people with disabilities.

Up, up and away with Global Ballooning Australia
There’s no greater thrill than a hot air balloon ride, for an eagle eye view over Melbourne. With daily flights, this award-winning experience tailors their trips for all abilities using their Easy Access Basket (EAB), enabling passengers who use mobility aids to experience the joy of flight along with their family and friends.

Row, row, row your GoBoat
Be the captain of your own aquatic adventure with an electric picnic boat. With GoBoat Australia you can rent a boat, pack a picnic and tour the Yarra, all without a boat licence. Wheelchair users can be accommodated with the removal of the table in the centre of the boat. They can then be assisted by experienced staff to get on board.

Extreme adventure at Melbourne CablePark
Visit Victoria’s only cable wakeboarding park, with an overhead cable system pulling riders around the lake on a wakeboard or kneeboard. This adventure experience is now accessible to wheelchair users with a special fleet of modified boards.

Picture this, at ArtVo Melbourne
Australia’s first immersive, ‘trick-art’ gallery! ArtVo is located in Melbourne’s Docklands, enter a fantastical world of optical illusions, with larger than life murals that stretch over 1400 square meters with a variety of different zones to take a 3D style selfie or happy snap of your great day out.

For more of Melbourne’s most accessible waterfront experiences .

______________________________________________________________________________

The Accessible and Inclusive Tourism Conference (AITCAP)

Key details:

When: Tuesday 27th August 2024
Registration, networking and breakfast canapes: 8am to 9am
Conference: 9am to 5:30pm
Networking: 5:30pm to 6:30pm
Where: Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, 1 Convention Centre Place, South Wharf, Melbourne

SPECIAL OFFER: Save $100 off your AITCAP ticket

A limited number of discounted tickets are available, supported by the Australian Government through its ‘Choose Tourism’ program:

Purchase your tickets: events.humanitix.com/accessible-and-inclusive-tourism-conference-2024
View the AITCAP program and line-up of incredible speakers: aitcap.getaboutable.com/aitcap-2024/program
For more information: aitcap.getaboutable.com

Easy Read in Legal Setting

admin@easyreadtoolbox.info (Easy Read Team) — Fri, 21 Jun 2024 00:43:42 GMT

Legal Setting & Easy Read

Everyone deserves to have accessible legal aid available to them. However the complex language used by legal professionals sets limitations on people with low literacy skills or intellectual disabilities in having the ability to make their own fully informed legal decisions.

Typical legal documents are filled with legal jargon. Legal jargon is words and expressions that are predominantly used within the legal profession, which subsequently can make understanding legal documents difficult for the average client. However, this issue is exacerbated for those living with intellectual disabilities or low literacy skills. The use of complex legal language can be exclusive and may make understanding rights and obligations almost impossible for a large percentage of the population.

Many of the rules of legal writing are contrary to Easy Read guidelines. Easy Read writers avoid using jargon as often as possible, however the use of jargon in legal documents has become an industry standard. This can be attributed to the fact that complex legal terminology is used intentionally to convey a specific concept that is recognised industry wide. If a lawyer draws up a contract written in simple language, the contract will likely not provide the same legal coverage as a contract that includes standardised terminology. These potential gaps may cause doubt and leave a person liable in the case of a legal dispute over the contract.

Being able to understand legal documents in personal and professional settings is an important factor in being able to live independently. This is especially true of common documents, such as employment, rental contracts and within the justice system.

However, findings from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare in 2018 prove that people with disabilities are overrepresented in Australian prisons. People with disabilities form 29% of prison population, despite being only 18% of the general population. In the face of this data, legal services are oftentimes still not provided in an easily comprehensible format to those who are already at a systemic disadvantage and may require the support the most.

Whilst many legal practitioners prioritise adjusting their language to suit their client’s needs, there is still a significant issue when it comes to communicating complex legal concepts to clients with low literacy skills. There are services available with the objective of bridging this crucial information gap, such as Legalese Decoder or similar software programs. Another solution could be requesting a summary of a legal document straight from a legal practitioner. Though a summary will likely not be legally viable or be in any way a substitute for reading the original document, it will provide a more accessible way for the client to understand what is in their legal documents.

The Easy Read Toolbox believes that everyone should have access to accessible legal aid. The legal industry must come to a solution to provide accessible information on legal documents that doesn’t sacrifice the integrity of legal documents themselves.

- Meg Sonsbeek

Junior Writer, The Easy Read Toolbox

Image by Cassandra Hannagan

Budget Analysis 2024

karen@easyreadtoolbox.info (Karen Hedley) — Wed, 05 Jun 2024 22:38:45 GMT

Budget for the 24-25 financial year

On the 27th of June 2024, the Australian Federal Government delivered the budget for the 2024-2025 financial year. Unfortunately, there is not much positive change for disabled people.

There are some small rises in JobSeeker payments and Youth Allowance. A very small amount of people receiving JobSeeker payments and Rent Assistance will receive a rise of $9.40 per week. Despite the work of Disability Advocates, there is no increase to Disability Support Pensions. There is extra funding for homeless services and community housing however many people will still not be able to afford to pay rent or other affordable housing. Despite these changes, there are still going to be many people who can’t afford to pay their rent or pay for food.

There will be changes to the Carer Payment, which will make it easier for Carers to engage in paid work, without worrying about losing their payments.

Advocates had been calling for additional funding for Disability Advocacy Services across Australia, this was not provided. One in two people who are seeking advocacy services, will be turned away, and organisations that support disabled people risk closure.

Disability Employment Services have received $253.6 million over the next 5 years, this is to implement a new specialist disability employment program to replace the existing Disability Employment Service (DES).

A lot of the overall budget information related to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). The government expects to save $14.4 billion over the next four years, this will be in response to the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Getting the NDIS Back on Track no.1) bill, that was introduced in March.

Further funding related to the NDIS includes:

* $160.7 million over 4 years to upgrade the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission’s Information Technology Systems.

* $129.8 Million over 2 years for design and consultation work to respond to the NDIS review.

* Establishing a NDIS Implementation Advisory Committee and a NDIS Implementation Working Group to implement the NDIS review.

* $45.5 million over 4 years to establish a NDIS evidence advisory committee to provide independent and transparent advice to government about the ability of the NDIS to support disabled people as it is intended to do.

* $23.5 million over 2 years for fraud investigation.

* $20 million over 2 years for design and consultation work for services to help people navigate services.

* $5.3 million to the Independent Health and Aged Care Pricing Authority to work with DSS and National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) on pricing.

Disability Advocates are concerned about how proposed changes will affect people receiving the NDIS and whether or not disabled people will be consulted about the proposed changes. Disability Advocates are continuing to lobby the government.

- Megan Munro

Writer, The Easy Read Toolbox

Photo by Ladina Photography

The problems with pricing

karen@easyreadtoolbox.info (Karen Hedley) — Sat, 04 May 2024 06:44:06 GMT

"...we also had a mandate to pay disabled people fair rates as we operate."

One of the most difficult things to deal with since founding The Easy Read Toolbox has been how much to charge. When it was just me at Next Level Inclusion (my previous social enterprise) it was much easier, as I just needed enough income to live off.

As soon as we became busy enough to need more people, pricing has become harder. Ensuring we are recognised for our expertise as disabled Easy Read writers, now plays a part too. The Toolbox was set up to provide a more cost-effective option for not for profits, sole traders and more, but we also had a mandate to pay disabled people fair rates as we operate. Personally, I have always struggled to know what my worth is, even while I’d have no trouble helping someone else to work out theirs (thank you imposter syndrome!)

Even so, it can feel arduous to ask for thousands of dollars for a simple, short document.

Recently I was responsible for completing a client project from start to finish – usually there are multiple team members participating – and it was eye-opening enough that I wanted to share!

Of course there are the usual costs like spending time with the client/s, discussing the project and getting to know their work, setting up admin and so on, just like any other service. At this point I ask for the document and assess the word count as well as the complexity and readability of it. It is also helpful to read other related documents.

Then I (as we all work slightly differently!) start to think about the intended audience for the documents and their needs, and if there are ways I can appropriately apply some ‘branding’ to the documents. By branding I mean giving them a look and tone that fits both Easy Read requirements, the needs of the audience and the culture of the client (or, as it often is, the client’s client). This requires researching the client, their logos, brand colours, voice and more. I also decide on the structure and style of the document – a formal report follows a more involved format than a simple 2 page information sheet, for instance.

Unlike most of our team, I tend to jump straight in to writing – They will spend time reading the document and planning out their structure and inclusions. I seem to do better working through and adjusting content and order as I go.

The most recent document was originally 2 pages long with just over 800 words. The team had worked to make it simpler, succeeding with a reading ease score of 88.4 where 100 is easiest, and a grade level of year 4-5. One quarter of the document was written in passive sentences – not used in Easy Read. The turnaround time was a brief 24 hours (we usually require at least a couple of weeks!!)

Their hard work made my job of writing much easier, but I still spent around 6-7 hours working on the words alone. Usually I will have previous paragraphs I can borrow for a new document, but in this case the topic was not one we had written about before. Some research was required to ensure I understood the people and concepts involved, to best translate the text.

This project was for a specific audience, where I needed to be mindful of the images I used, so I created 99% of the images used in this Easy Read document. Images for Easy Read are an incredibly important element, adding context to the text, supporting readers to understand what they are reading. They must convey their message quickly and clearly.

Image style depends on the intended audience and purpose. A government department, for instance, is usually done with photos in a more formal style. A document for young people might use an anime or cartoon style, while a business-related document might use crisp icons. Side note: We have all these styles and more available in our image bank .

For this audience, we were aiming at young people and their families, but we needed a slightly more formal appearance than anime or cartoons would give.

It ended up taking me around 10-12 hours to complete the 50+ images for this project. That seems like much longer than it should take – but is only 12 minutes per image! Of course, some images didn’t work as I’d envisioned and needed editing, but given the skill required to translate the written message into a ‘simple’ image, 12 minutes each is speedy and down to my experience in doing this for years now.

Once I’m happy with the overall look and content, I have my team read it and give feedback. We didn’t have time for peer review by our Feedback Group with this document, which strengthens documents even more – but adds around a week or so to production time, and several hours of my time to manage that process.

The document then goes to the client, and comes back for (usually) minor editing, accessibility checks and remediation, then we alt text for each of the 50+ images.

Finally, the document was ready – after approximately 23-25 hours of my time!! Once you include the general costs of running the business, there wasn’t much of a profit made – and remember this was only an 800–word, grade 4 reading level document, not a complex report! Of course, being a social enterprise, around 70% of our income goes straight to paying our disabled team members, including those working on our unfunded ‘passion’ project ELSEY (Easy Life Skills for Every Youth) .

What did we end up with though? What did the client receive?

The Easy Read document had:

50+ custom designed images
A 14-page document with just over 1000 words (more on this soon)
Similar reading ease and readability scores to the original document, yet is easier to read physically, and comprehend
And only 5% passive sentences.

The client said: “...it is excellent and we can definitely see the benefit of your approach.” Of course we won’t see the true effectiveness until the audience gives feedback. We will then integrate that feedback into future work with that client, and each repeat project with them will be more streamlined.

If we can help you with your Easy Read and accessible communication needs please get in touch – we love our work!

Karen Hedley

Founder

Making Things Easier with AI

Tue, 06 Feb 2024 01:05:08 GMT

Supporting the inclusion revolution with AI

The Easy Read Toolbox dreams of a world where it is normal, and indeed expected, to provide information in accessible formats. Our members can access a wide range of support to upskill them in Easy Read and Plain English. Our team of writers and illustrators translate complex documents into different formats. We work with clients to tailor our support to best suit their time, budget, and individual contexts. Even then, we know some businesses that need extra support but cannot afford it.

What can we do? We’re committed to paying our team fair working rates. So, we need innovative ways to work smarter and faster. We’re exploring the possibilities of generative AI – which is explained in this link . This blog post outlines our current approach and ethics.

Transparent use

We will always be open about when and how we use generative AI. We’re currently exploring two main uses:

· Self-management: We predominantly hire and contract people with disability. We’re supporting them to discover how modern technology can help support them, for example by training virtual assistants to offset the impact of memory lapses and distractibility.

· Cheaper options for clients: We’re training a virtual assistant to create simplified drafts of complex documents, which our team then checks for errors, inconsistencies, and hallucinations. The produced document may not meet accessibility requirements but represents a step forward in inclusivity. It will be added to our list of potential services.

Privacy

We respect clients’ privacy and confidentiality in all aspects of our work. With regards to the use of generative AI:

· Clients will not have their documents, or sections of them, provided to the artificial intelligence programs without their knowledge or consent. It is not a necessary part of contracting our services.

· When clients contract for the AI service, we will ensure that personal and sensitive data is not uploaded to the programs. Although many programs do not store data verbatim, we still recognise the potential risk.

Complementing not replacing

Creating fully accessible documents, such as Easy Read, is still fundamentally a human endeavour. It often requires creative reworking and problem-solving informed by a deep understanding of the specific audience's needs. Our team will still have many opportunities to grow and develop their craft.

· When our writers review first drafts produced by artificial intelligence, they use higher-order thinking. Our pay rates will reflect the increased cognitive load.

· We are committed to not replacing the work of artists and photographers. We will not add images created through artificial intelligence programs to our image bank.

Ethics and representation

Artificial intelligence is likely here to say. By using it proactively as a business, we are joining the conversation on how and when it is appropriate to use it. We want to model how to incorporate these technologies without asking people to simply be more productive at the same pay rates.

We are also helping to increase the diversity of experiences these programs are training on. They are only as good as the input they get, and the current programs have inherited biases from their source material . That is another reason why skilled human oversight is so crucial.

Concluding remark

When I asked ChatGPT about the ethics of using it in an inclusive workplace, it produced a paragraph which will leave as a conversation piece at the end of this blog post, as well as this link to UNESCO’s video on responsible governance of AI .

“ The ethical use of ChatGPT in the workplace is not just about integrating a new technology; it's about shaping a future where AI enhances human capabilities, promotes inclusivity, and opens new avenues for creativity and employment .”

OpenAI. (2024). ChatGPT (Feb 01 version)

Written by Kathryn Carter, for the Easy Read Toolbox.

Simplified PDF Version - download here

Having a Sensory-Friendly Holiday Season for 2023

karen@easyreadtoolbox.info (Karen Hedley) — Mon, 11 Dec 2023 00:49:01 GMT

Our team shares its tips to reduce the stress for everyone involved in your holiday events

This time of year can be stressful for everyone, and particularly for neurodivergent and disabled people. The Easy Read Toolbox team has a wealth of lived experience. Most of us have our own disabilities and neurodivergence, and others have experience of their immediate family members.

Here we share our tips to reduce the stress for everyone involved in your holiday events.

“My friends and I usually make a quiet space for anyone who needs a break from noise/socialising. Could be a bedroom with a puzzle or some colouring and comfy seating/blankets. We usually have rules around low/no talking and keeping the lights low.

My other one is to buy some disposable ear plugs to give to kids (or even grown ups) who get overstimulated by noise at events or out shopping. I keep a few sealed sets in my handbag and have helped a few overwhelmed parents the past couple of years.”

- C, writer.

“Give yourself permission (to leave, to use sensory strategies. to not say sorry).

Find sensory allies - people who have the same/similar sensory sensitivities to you and can relate so you can join forces in (and bond over) meeting your sensory needs together.”

- Jacque, writer and facilitator.

“As a person who doesn't have sensory sensitivity:

Ask the people you are inviting to events what they need? and be flexible with your solutions, trying and getting it wrong is better than not trying at all.

Be ok that your event doesn't look like a hallmark movie

Redefine your definition of success. Did everyone have fun? might be a better question than, Is my tree decorated perfectly?

Be empathetic, your experiences may be different but you can relate someone feeling overwhelmed, over stimulated, over touched, physically unwell etc Use your empathy to help find solutions.”

- Ladina, photographer.

“Our family all makes and brings dishes that each of us like. We share, and there’s no theme to the food, but everyone knows there will be at least 1 or 2 things they like to eat!

We usually celebrate our immediate family Christmas a few days before or after the 25th. This leaves the day for other families’ events, and means our event is much more chilled out and less stressful.”

- Karen, founder.

Share your own tips with us on our social media: Facebook | LinkedIn | Instagram | TikTok

[Image description for above: 5 disabled people and 1 service dog are lined up, wearing Christmas themed socks. We can only see them from the waist down, except for Helga the dog. Logo.

Let’s make it more than just another IDPwD

karen@easyreadtoolbox.info (Karen Hedley) — Sun, 03 Dec 2023 04:17:33 GMT

"I needed my own ‘reasonable adjustments’. I knew that I needed a team who either understood or empathised with my needs. We absolutely needed a team of people with cognitive disabilities to provide feedback on our Easy Read documents, and to pay them for their innate expertise. Once I started looking for people to learn and write Easy Read with me, I found that disabled (and in particular, neurodivergent) people poured out of my networks!"

Image above: Jazzy - Project Officer, Kathryn - Senior Writer, Sezi - Artist, Nhat - Bridge Creations, and Karen smiling at the camera, at our 2nd birthday celebration in October 2023.

Today is International Day of People with Disability 2023 (IDPwD) . This year’s theme is the not-at-all Easy Read: ‘United in action to rescue and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for, with and by persons with disabilities.’

There are 17 SDGs, covering every part of life and rights for disabled people - making it difficult to know where to focus.

I put my hand up to write our IDPwD without a clue what I was going to write about! My team suggested our employment model...

First things first

First I have to admit that I don’t see it as a ‘model’ - it’s just the way we do things. When I identified that we were a social enterprise, my theory of change was to change communication to be easier to read by creating tools and education to support communicators. It’s not that employing disabled people wasn’t part of what we did. It’s that it had never occurred to me to operate any other way.

It’s only over the past year or so, being asked to speak about my management style (when I didn’t realise I was managing anyone!) and speaking with our clients and networks that I realised what we are doing is unusual, and might, therefore, be of interest and value to others.

Thanks to the leadership of disabled people such as Christina Ryan and Cain Beckett , former supervisors, I was always going to employ people with disabilities, and pay them a fair wage. I’d long been a vocal opponent to the model where disabled people, with cognitive disabilities for the most part, are paid no more than a few dollars an hour. It gets my blood boiling! I also found it easy to employ my own teenage children, and it was important to me that they get an inclusive first or second employment experience.

It’s all about me

Then I needed my own ‘reasonable adjustments’. I knew that I needed a team who either understood or empathised with my needs. We absolutely needed a team of people with cognitive disabilities to provide feedback on our Easy Read documents, and to pay them for their innate expertise. Once I started looking for people to learn and write Easy Read with me, I found that disabled (and in particular, neurodivergent) people poured out of my networks!

But - it’s easy to employ people with disabilities, if you try just a little - keeping them takes a little more effort, and providing an inclusive, accepting workplace can be even more challenging. Notice that I didn’t say hard. I honestly believe that wanting to provide such a workplace, and starting the steps toward it is the hardest part. You’ve got to walk that talk!!

So what have we done and learned along the way? First things first - don’t see this as something that is a pass or fail. See it as an ongoing process of improvement and inclusion as a team. Remember that every team and every person in your team are different and have unique needs. Your team members are the experts in what they need. Secondly, don’t think that we always get it right. I have definitely made mistakes which make my heart sink, but trust between us has meant those mistakes became learning experiences, rather than disasters.

Recruiting without merit

CEO of the Disability Leadership Institute, Christina Ryan, has been writing about the problem with merit based recruitment for years. It sets up a culture of sameness, and reduces opportunities for potential growth by insisting that everyone fits the same (exclusionary) box.

So far our recruitment process has involved no selection criteria, optional resumes/CVs, or reference checking. We start with a chat, where each person is invited to share their strengths, experiences and future plans. Each role evolves to fit the person in it, rather than them squishing into a box. Perhaps we’ve been lucky so far, but to date we have an amazing team of people! My biggest issue is convincing them to believe in their potential as much as I do.

Your needs are our needs

Segregation is OUT. Even if the commissioners for the Disability Royal Commission couldn’t agree on this fundamental fact, that’s only because our society currently isn’t in a place to be inclusive enough for a world without segregation for all to be a positive experience for all. There’s only one way through this conundrum and that’s TO BE INCLUSIVE! So we ask everyone who joins our team, what they need from us, in order to work well together. Yes, everyone - not just disabled people. We don’t ask about reasonable adjustments. We don’t qualify it in any way. We try to meet everyone where they’re at. The best thing about a team who do this, is that they are naturally flexible enough to reshape and meet the needs of each new member.

It’s all bendy

Most managers would say they offer a flexible workplace, but staff wouldn’t necessarily agree! When team members start with us we discuss a range of hours we’d both prefer, but they are welcome to work more hours, with confirmation, and to work as few hours as they need to. Obviously this can be a little tricky when there are tasks to do and goals to meet, but we have found that the rest of the team naturally steps up to help out in the short term, and if it continues, we are able to have an open conversation focusing on what we can do to continue to support the person. Although we can’t afford to pay penalties just yet, it’s on our list, and our team work the days and times that work best for each of them. It sometimes makes scheduling team meetings tricky, but we’re all happy to give a little to find something that works for all of us.

Well, I started this article expecting to write a page at most, especially as I’m so used to writing in Easy Read’s straight-to-the-point style, and now IDPwD is two-thirds over, so I’m going to leave it there, other than the words of the Toolbox team themselves:

“What I love most about working with you (and my other clients) is the understanding that our disabilities can sometimes 'get in the way' of being productive or working long hours, but there is never an expectation for us to work through. Time, projects, tasks and meetings are all always flexible when a bad day occurs. As someone who came from 8 years in retail where this kind of flexibility wasn't possible, it's been the most refreshing and rewarding line of work to be part of.”

Debbie, Virtual Assistant

“Working for the Toolbox really boosted my confidence. After leaving high school, where I really struggled, I was overwhelmed by the idea of finding sustainable work. I knew I had the capacity to produce valuable work, but had some extreme barriers related to my confidence after being diagnosed with ADHD. Finding a workplace where I could explain my situation and be met with understanding and the flexibility to help me tap into my full potential, helped improve my confidence immensely. Additionally, feeling comfortable enough to explain what I’m interested in pursuing in my role to boost experience for my long-term career, and having the Toolbox go above and beyond to support those goals, leaves me feeling very valued as an employee.”

Meg, Junior Writer

Karen Hedley

Founder, The Easy Read Toolbox

Passion and Independence

Wed, 18 Oct 2023 00:34:49 GMT

Supporting Independent Living

When living with a disability, completing daily tasks can be daunting. Daily tasks include personal care, cooking meals, cleaning the house, building social skills and transportation. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (June 2012), 87% of people with disabilities are restricted in carrying out at least one everyday activity.

Supported Independent Living is a type of support service available that is funded by the NDIS. It is offered to people with a variety of different needs, but is best suited to individuals with disabilities who have higher support needs. This means individuals that require significant assistance at home, 7 days a week.

While there are many support services that are tailored to individual needs, The Easy Read Toolbox can testify to the fact that disability can manifest in many ways, and that not everyone who struggles with independence qualifies for NDIS support. When discussing difficulty with independent living for people with disabilities, it is often in ways people without lived experience of disability would never think of. Something as commonplace as doing laundry can become a stressful task for those who live with disability or other forms of intersectionality.

Using the example of doing the laundry, it may be difficult for someone with a vision impairment to see the dials on their washing machine, or be able to measure out the correct amount of laundry detergent. Someone with sensory issues may struggle with the strong scents used in many laundry products, and someone with mobility issues may be unable to carry a full laundry basket.

These issues can be compounded by the fact that the majority of the time solutions, or even just information on the subject, are not accessible to those who need it. The Easy Read Toolbox strives to close this information gap associated with independent living and help build skills, particularly for those who may not qualify for at home support.

Our upcoming Life Skills for Youth passion project is to provide Easy Read information on basic life skills targeted toward individuals aged 15-24 who live with disability or other forms of intersectionality. We will build information resources for each of the life domains, including interpersonal relationships, physical and mental health, employment and finance, education, and living environment. This is intended to increase confidence for young people who are interested in living out of home, or even those who just wish to become more independent.

Everyone has the right to information that may help improve their quality of life. It is important to many people with disabilities to build independence with daily tasks, but resources to do so can be limited. The Easy Read Toolbox believes that by offering the information in accessible formats for those who need it most at pivotal developmental stages, we will be able to help encourage confidence in living more independently.

By Meg Sonsbeek, for The Easy Read Toolbox.

[Image description: Drawing of items used for personal hygiene, including brush, toothbrush and toothpaste, razor, toilet paper, cologne and more. Artist: Taz.]

Sources:

NDIS - Supported Independent Living Participants

SCOPE - Supported Independent Living

Australian Human Rights Commission - Human Rights

The Invisible Project - Disability and Doing Laundry

Understanding Intersectionality

Wed, 13 Sep 2023 02:49:56 GMT

"Intersectionality acknowledges that everyone has their own unique experiences with discrimination and oppression."

Intersectionality refers to the ways in which an individual's identity can expose them to different forms of discrimination. Characteristics such as, but not limited to, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, disability, mental health and socioeconomic status fall under the umbrella term of intersectionality. Often individuals who experience intersectionality are familiar with the consequences of our societies structural inequalities and negative social attitudes, including racism, homophobia, sexism, ableism and stigma. People who experience intersectionality, particularly overlapping forms of intersectionality, are often at a greater risk to be exposed to family violence, systemic barriers, and social isolation.

Intersectionality acknowledges that everyone has their own unique experiences with discrimination and oppression. The term was first coined by American civil rights advocate and leading scholar of critical race theory, Professor Kimberlé Crenshaw, in 1989. The term became mainstream and was added to the Oxford Dictionary in 2015, and later garnered widespread attention during the 2017 Women’s March.

The following is statistical evidence on the effects of intersectionality in Australia published by the Victorian Government. Aboriginal women are 32 times more likely to be hospitalised as a result of family violence, and are almost 10 times as likely to die from assault. Women with disability are 3 times more likely to experience sexual violence. Finally, CALD (Culturally and Linguistically Diverse) women make up 37.5% of women accessing domestic violence support services.

However, to some, intersectionality is a dangerous concept, a ‘conspiracy theory of victimisation’. They believe that recognising intersectionality equals special treatment from society, and puts a label on how oppressed someone is without regard to extenuating circumstances. This perspective is misleading, as the goal of the intersectionality movement is not to create a new social hierarchy that places people who experience intersectionality at the top. The intersectionality movement instead endeavours to simply recognise the different experiences of individuals, and to remove the embedded systematic barriers that exist in our modern society. The goal is to even the playing field, not to create a new imbalance.

As individuals, the best way to support the intersectionality movement is to check our own privilege and oppression. To ask ourselves questions that look beyond the basics of our social identities, and to consider what impact those factors have had on the trajectory of our lives. Examples of things to consider include ethnicity and language, socioeconomic status and access to education, gender and sexual identity, and disability and ability. No one asks for their privilege in the same way no one asks for their oppression. Privilege exists, and recognising its impact on our own lives, and listening and learning from individuals who have had different experiences, is the first step toward a society that values equity over equality.

By Meg Sonsbeek, for The Easy Read Toolbox

References:

Image description: 2 men smiling at each other. One is a young black man. The other appears white and is wearing a tshirt saying "No homophobia; no violence; no sexism; yes kindness; yes peace; yes equality; yes love."

Photo by Nicholas Swatz

The Cost of Living Crisis for People with Disabilities

Mon, 21 Aug 2023 06:23:31 GMT

“During 2018, white sliced bread cost approximately $1.50. As of May 2023, white sliced bread would now cost around $2.70.”

Australia is in the midst of a cost of living crisis. With rapidly rising prices of everyday essential items affecting every household in the country, Australians living with disabilities and other intersectionalities are disproportionately experiencing this struggle. It is a key social justice issue, which has been widely swept under the rug.

The Consumer Price Index is the most widely used measure of inflation. Inflation is when things become more expensive, so you get less value for the same amount of money. It is calculated and published by The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) every 3 months. To calculate the CPI, the Australian Bureau of Statistics collects prices of thousands of household items from supermarkets and retailers. The ABS also has access to other data from government authorities, energy providers and real estate agents that assist in calculating the Consumer Price Index *1.

In the twelve months leading up to March 2022, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased by 5.1%. This was the highest annual increase reported since the introduction of GST in 2000 *2. In the twelve months leading up to March 2023, the CPI increased by 7.0% *3. This means from March 2021 until March 2023, the CPI has risen a staggering amount of over 12%. A simple example of how the increased CPI affects the general population is the price of homebrand white sliced bread. During 2018, white sliced bread cost approximately $1.50. As of May 2023, white sliced bread would now cost around $2.70 *4.

A data examination on the costs of disability in Australia, published by the Health Economics Review in March 2020, estimates that people living with disability must increase their adult equivalent disposable income by 50% to achieve the same standard of living as those without disability *5. Equivalised disposable income refers to the economic resources available to each member of a household after tax and other deductions.

There is an assumption that since the introduction of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), that receipt of disability payments fully cover the costs of living with a disability. However, the NDIS only covers part of the known costs of living with a disability, and further, there are also hidden costs that are rarely funded under any system. The Easy Read Toolbox can testify that these hidden costs do, in fact, exist. Additionally, we recognise that even applying to the NDIS has substantial barriers and issues, ( Easy Read isn’t the only answer for the NDIS ), leaving many Australians in need without any financial support whatsoever.

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare states that 28% of adults with disability experienced worsening of household finances in the year to February 2021, compared to the 18% of adults without disability. Furthermore, 13% of adults with disability drew upon their savings to support basic living expenses, while that figure was only at 3.9% for adults without disability. This represents a vast difference in the rate of severe financial stress between people with disability and those without *6.

The statistics from both the Health Economics Review and Australian Institute of Health and Welfare clearly show that, even at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and the unprecedented CPI rise, people living with disability were far more susceptible to severe effects of a cost of living crisis. It would be entirely unsurprising that with the current rate of inflation, the statistics mentioned in this article would have already risen a substantial amount, and will likely continue to do so.

In the United Kingdom, research from the Resolution Foundation found that 41% of people with disabilities lacked the economic resources to merely keep their homes warm during freezing winter temperatures. There is a painfully obvious link between poverty and disability in the UK, with up to a third of adults in the lowest-income households experiencing disability. This devastating income gap is only partially explained by the low employment rate among people with disabilities, as even after accounting for employment status, over half of the income gap still remains. The circumstances that people with disabilities face in the UK is an unfortunate reflection of the path Australia is heading toward *7.

The cost of living crisis in Australia is dire for everyone, however it is obvious that people with disabilities are at a far greater disadvantage, and are significantly more exposed to the severity of the current cost of living crisis. Whether this is attributable to low employment rates, an increased need for resources, or a lack of appropriately calculated disability payments, this crisis needs to be resolved promptly. If Australia is struggling, people with disabilities cannot be left behind. The Easy Read Toolbox believes that true accessibility can not be limited to communicative and physical accessibility, but extend to include financial and systemic accessibility as well.

Author: Meg Sonsbeek for The Easy Read Toolbox

* Reference List:

Reserve Bank of Australia (2019) Inflation and its Measurement, Reserve Bank of Australia
McDonald, P. (2022) Australia’s cost of living , Parliament of Australia.
ABS (2023) Consumer Price Index, Australia , Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Remeikis, A. (2023) ‘Priced out: how Australians are being hit by the soaring cost of food’ , The Guardian.
Vu, B. et al. (2020) ‘The costs of disability in Australia: a hybrid panel-data examination’ , Health Economics Review.
People with disability in Australia, Income and housing (last updated Jul 2022) Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.
Partington, R. (2023) Disabled people among hardest hit by cost of living crisis, finds study , the Guardian .

Image above from The Easy Read Toolbox member's only Image Bank , by Cassandra Hannagan.

Joining in on winter fun!

Tue, 18 Jul 2023 03:08:18 GMT

Accessible Winter Holiday Destinations

As we move through winter in Australia, holidays to the beach are out, and trips to the snow are in. However, the attractions at many winter holiday destinations tend to lack accessibility. Physically demanding activities such as skiing can be difficult for people with disabilities, mobility issues or any other condition that requires extra assistance, technology or equipment.

A trip to the snow doesn’t need to be crossed off your holiday plans though. If you or someone you know are interested in participating in winter sports, but require the use of specialist adaptive equipment, physical support, or instructional assistance, Disabled Wintersport Australia can provide these services.

Disabled Wintersport Australia has staff in each of the five most popular ski resorts in Australia.
In NSW, Disabled Wintersport Australia has staff at Thredbo , which is located in the Snowy Mountains, and Perisher which is in Kosciuszko National Park.

In Victoria, Disabled Wintersport Australia has staff at three resorts. Falls Creek at Alpine National Park, Mt Hotham in Hotham Heights, and Mount Buller in the High Country.

These resorts each provide adaptive equipment rentals, discounted lift passes, and adaptive snowsport guides. It's best to book ahead, to ensure availability and to discuss your personal requirements with each individual resort.

Alternatively, using a service such as Leisure Options can remove the barriers associated with travel for people with disabilities, mobility issues or any other condition that requires extra assistance.

Leisure Options is a registered NDIS provider that offers both international and domestic trips for people with disabilities. They run holiday packages for small groups, at an average of 8-10 travellers, or curate individual experiences.

Their services include handling every aspect of your trip, from booking airline tickets and accommodation to organising travel insurance and suggesting what to pack. With expert team members accompanying you on your trip, Leisure Options is a comprehensive service leaving nothing to be desired.

The Easy Read Toolbox views accessibility as a broad concept consisting of all areas that create barriers, including sensory, communicative, systemic and physical accessibility. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to travel, regardless of any extra assistance that may be required.

Tell us about your winter holiday experiences and what strategies have made it easier and more enjoyable for you.

Author: Meg Sonsbeek for the Easy Read Toolbox

[Image description: Young man in a blue wheelchair, doing a 'wheelie' in the snow.]

Easy Read isn’t the Only Answer for the NDIS

Thu, 18 May 2023 23:00:28 GMT

Accessibility Issues with the NDIS

The National Disability Insurance Scheme , also known as the NDIS, is a scheme that provides government funding and support for Australians with disabilities.

Some of the services funded by the NDIS include transport, workplace assistance, a variety of therapeutic supports, mobility equipment, home care and connections to local disability resources. The Easy Read Toolbox team can testify to the fact that NDIS funding can greatly improve the quality of life for those with disabilities that restrict daily functioning. Currently, the NDIS supports over 500,000 adults and 80,000 children with disabilities. ( What is the NDIS? )

Although the NDIS has accessible information available about their services, the processes involved in applying for the government aid are still overwhelmingly difficult. This restricts many Austalian's who could benefit from NDIS support, from receiving their required services.

Sarah Lily, from Melbourne, is in dire need of the support from the NDIS to assist with her diagnoses such as ADHD, BPD, Dyslexia, and suspected Autism. She reports her conditions make it “extremely difficult to complete day to day tasks, let alone maintain a job.”

Sarah explains she has attempted multiple times to complete the forms required to receive NDIS funding, with each attempt resulting in an episode of sensory overload. She says that expecting a disabled person to fill out forms with small lettering, difficult to understand language, and multiple questions is like “asking a person without arms to throw a ball.”

The Easy Read Toolbox spoke with a mother from Melbourne, who found that because she has the ability to articulate her son’s needs, current capabilities, and future goals, she didn’t run into issues while applying for his NDIS funding. She admits the process could potentially be difficult for a person with disabilities without proper guidance.

Additionally, the strict criteria for NDIS is limiting successful applications. It appears to many that instead of NDIS being needs based, the eligibility for funding is based on diagnoses. It isn’t clear to Sarah, who feels as if she is clicking on an endless cycle of website links, if her conditions make her eligible for the level of support she requires. Sarah feels dismissed, as if despite her significant struggles, her conditions are not seen as ‘severe’ enough by the NDIS.

The Easy Read Toolbox views accessibility as a broad concept consisting of all areas that create barriers. This includes sensory, communicative, systemic and physical accessibility. Accessibility should not only be considered in the conveyance of NDIS information, but extend to the processes involved in applying for funding. The ability to receive disability support should be accessible to everyone who requires it. NDIS processes should be designed with inclusivity in mind, for people with disabilities, by people with disabilities.

Author: Meg Sonsbeek for The Easy Read Toolbox

New Workshop - Introduction to Easy Read

karen@easyreadtoolbox.info (Karen Hedley) — Wed, 03 May 2023 09:32:09 GMT

Book now - places are limited!

Celebrate Global Accessibility Awareness Day with us!

Tuesday 16 May
1:30pm - 4pm (2.5hrs)

Co-presented by Karen Hedley , founder of The Easy Read Toolbox, and Kathryn Carter , professional writer.

$495 inc GST - Gov & corporate
$275 inc GST - community & individual (or contact us to discuss)
FREE for members

Maximum 15 attendees.

This online workshop will include an introduction to using Easy Read:

What's the difference between Easy Read, Easy English and Plain Language?
Formatting Easy Read using styles
A practical demonstration on the language used - bring your own brief document to translate
Choosing the right images

You'll also get:

A coupon giving you $200 off membership with The Easy Read Toolbox
And a bonus checklist, to make sure you don't miss anything important!

Book now on Humanitix .

Travel and tourism for every body

karen@easyreadtoolbox.info (Karen Hedley) — Tue, 28 Mar 2023 05:57:34 GMT

We're speaking at the AITCAP conference!

Founder of The Easy Read Toolbox Karen Hedley is passionate about using communication everyone can understand. She will be speaking at this year's Accessible & Inclusive Tourism Conference in Asia-Pacific (AITCAP 2023).

It’s a hybrid event, featuring:

An intensive 1-day in-person conference on April 28th, SeaWorld Resort Conference Centre - Gold Coast, Australia
A 1-day virtual conference on May 11th, dedicated AITCAP Platform (that’s where I am speaking!)
Side events for even more opportunities to learn and connect!

Check out the program online .

GetAboutAble, the organisers, have given us a 15% discount code to share if you want to use it on their ticketing platform: AITCAPSPK15 . Can't wait to have you join us.

[Image description: The Easy Read Toolbox logo. Text: AITCAP By GetAboutAble.com The Accessible & Inclusive Tourism Conference. Easy Read Toolbox - How to better communicate with 50% of your market? Join me at AICAP 2023. April 28th & May 11th. aitcap.getaboutable.com ]

Finalist in the ACT Chief Minister's Inclusion Awards!

Sat, 12 Nov 2022 21:59:43 GMT

Another exciting week here at Toolbox central, as we got news that Karen was a finalist in the ACT Chief Minister's Inclusion Awards!

She is a finalist in this category:
Inclusion in Business – Recognises a business that has delivered exceptional or innovative services and facilities that empower and include people with disability and celebrate their contribution to the community.

Awards are announched in December 7, fingers crossed. Though, we have stiff competition so making it to finalist stage is a thrill anyway!

Canberra Innovation Network Pitch

Tue, 08 Nov 2022 02:56:44 GMT

A couple of nights ago Karen pitched at First Wednesday Connect with Canberra Innovation Network! What a buzz!

Don't forget, memberships are half price now, but only until we launch!! Sign up here: https://www.easyreadtoolbox.info/subscriptions