Written by Paul Williamson – PDA ACT Associate Director
Why you should be a member of PDA
Physical Disability Australia (PDA) is the national peak body representing people living with physical disabilities, their families and their allies in Australia. It has members in all states and territories.
What do we do?
PDA undertakes a range of important work, including:
• Identifying the needs of people living with physical disabilities and communicating these needs to government.
• Providing a strong voice for people with physical disabilities to express their views and priorities.
• Evaluating programs and services supporting people with a physical disability.
• Undertaking advocacy and raising public awareness of issues facing people living with a physical disability, and
• Providing support for people with physical disabilities to develop agency and exercise their rights.
Fundamentally, the overarching focus of PDA is on promoting rights and improving the lives of people with physical disabilities and their families.
Why do we do it?
While many of us face hardships at one point in our lives, for people with a disability these barriers can be more frequent and have a more significant impact. Barriers include a physical environment that is not accessible, lack of access to appropriate transportation, lack of assistive technology and the prevalence of negative attitudes towards disability and services, systems and policies that are either non-existent or hinder the involvement of people with disabilities in daily life.
The disability community has been fighting for decades to reduce the impact of these barriers. While as individuals, we are limited in the impact that we can have – as a collective, the disability community can have a powerful voice. If harnessed,people with disabilities can use this voice to influence policy and practice to benefit all people living with a disability.
Who do we represent?
PDA represents people with a wide range of different disability types.
Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show that approximately 1 in 6 (18%) people in Australia -or about 4.4 million people – live with a disability. For over three-quarters (77%) of these people, their primary form of disability (i.e. the condition causing the most problems) is physical. This includes diseases of the:
• musculoskeletal system and connective tissue (30%), such as back problems and arthritis
• ear and mastoid processes (8.4%), such as hearing loss and tinnitus
• circulatory system (6.3%), such as heart disease and stroke
• nervous system (6.7%), such as cerebral palsy and multiple sclerosis.
Together, this represents a significant interest group. By coming together and organising, people living with physical disabilities have the power to ensure their concerns are listened to and taken seriously by all levels of government.
Join us today!
If you live with a physical disability, are a family member or even an ally – you can help support the work of PDA and improve the lives of people living with a physical disability by becoming a member. Membership is free and signing up is as easy as providing some basic information online at https://www.pda.org.au/membership/.
If you are already a member, consider encouraging your friends and family members to join PDA to help support our work to ensuring a fairer and more equitable society for people living with a physical disability.
You will become part of a comprehensive and diverse community of Australians living with physical disabilities and help ensure that PDA can speak authoritatively on behalf of a broad range of lived experience. Becoming a PDA member also allows you to input into our activities and contribute to our work.
For more information, please do not hesitate to call PDA on 1800 732 674 or email us at manager@pda.org.au. If you live in the ACT, I’d love to hear from you – feel free to give me a call on 0402 974 010.
