It’s happening on Monday 6th April.
PLEASE BE AWARE THAT YOUR LOCAL TIME MAY HAVE CHANGED DUE TO THE END OF DAYLIGHT SAVINGS AND THE CLOCKS GOING BACK:
6pm NSW/VIC/ACT/TAS/QLD
5:30pm SA/NT
4:00pm WA
Our Social Hours are held on the first Monday of the month and are a great chance to hang out with some wonderful people for a chat, laugh, sharing and advice.
If you haven’t yet joined us at a Social Hour, we encourage you to check it out.
If you’re one of our regulars, we look forward to seeing you there.
To register, go to:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYqc–qqjkjG903J2KoieI9ASVSig7b4mxr?os=ipad#/registration
PDA’s Deferred AGM (financial year 2024/25) is scheduled for Thursday 23rd April at 6:30pm AEDT and will be held via MS Teams.
Part of the agenda involves finding Directors for both South Australia and the Northern Territory.
The Board is calling on people living with a physical disability who are residing in the NT or SA to nominate for these positions.
If you are eligible and interested in joining PDA’s Board, want to make a positive contribution to Australia’s disability sector and are eager to be part of a recognised and well respected disability representative organisation, we invite you to nominate.
You do need to be a Full PDA member (person living with a physical disability) but, if you’re not already part of our organisation, you can sign up for free membership by going to www.pda.org.au/membership. Once you have done so, please email promotion@pda.org.au to express your interest in nominating for either the SA or NT Directorship.
Existing PDA Members have been emailed information on this upcoming meeting – including Nomination and Proxy Forms. Please fill in the required form and return as per the detailed instructions. If you are a PDA Member and have not yet received this correspondence, please let us know by emailing promotion@pda.org.au.
Nominations must be received by close of business (5pm AEST) Thursday 16th April 2026.
140 advocacy groups completed the survey, representing approximately 35% of the estimated workforce. 48 individual advocacy organisations also took part, with every state and territory included in responses received.
Revealing a strong sector, fuelled by expertise and commitment, findings also reflected the strains of rising demand, funding uncertainty and strain on the available workforce.
To read this report, go to:
www.ncda.org.au/advocacy-sector-workforce-survey-2025-results-report/
Notice is hereby given that the Deferred Annual General Meeting of Physical Disability Australia Ltd (financial year 2024/25) will now be held on:
Thursday 23rd April 2026
6:30pm to 7pm AEDT
Location – Online via MS Teams
PDA Members have been emailed information on this upcoming meeting. If you are a PDA Member and have not yet received this correspondence, please let us know by emailing promotion@pda.org.au.
We look forward to seeing Members at this meeting.
Today PDA’s star Policy/Project Officer, Sarah McInnes, was part of the NDRP’s “Evidence to Action: Accessible and Inclusive Communities” which explored the importance of changing community attitudes to improve genuine inclusion and accessibility within our communities.
As always, Sarah spoke eloquently, with conviction and with understanding around what is needed to achieve a society that is truly inclusive and respectful and which sees and utilises the value of everyone.
To watch her talk, go to:
She comes in at 18:16.
Prior to his resignation as PDA CEO taking effect, Jeremy Muir was interviewed by the “Saturday Paper” in regards to increased technology and surveillance by major retailers to reduce shoplifting.
This story went to print on Saturday.
With proposed “upgrades” bringing added inconvenience and potential safety issues to people living with disability or mobility issues, should these decisions be better considered?
Do you think that retail management needs to look at better options?
Physical Disability Australia Ltd (PDA)’s incredible Policy/Project Officer, Sarah McInnes, will feature in a video discussing the importance of changing community attitudes to improve genuine inclusion and accessibility within our communities at National Disability Research Partnership (NDRP)’s upcoming “Evidence to Action: Accessible and Inclusive Communities”.
Monday 23 March 2026, 12:30-2:30pm AEDT
Held online via Zoom. Free to join.
Auslan, captions and screen breaks provided.
The conversation will around the question “what makes a community genuinely accessible and inclusive, and what evidence are we missing to get there?”
Speakers will include:
To register, go to:
https://content.ndrp.org.au/evidence-to-action-register-now
PAID OPPORTUNITY FOR WOMEN WITH DISABILITIES
Think HQ has been commissioned by the Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing to run a BreastScreen RoundTable Consultation for Women with Disabilities
on Thursday 26th March
6:30pm until 7:30pm AEDT
Online via Zoom
This will enable them to better understand the barriers that women with disabilities face when considering getting a breast screen.
These insights will shape a strategy for resource development and distribution to ultimately drive increased breast screening participation rates for disability cohorts.
If you are a woman with disability within the free breast screen age range (aged 50–74), or a disability service provider or carer where appropriate, you are eligible to participate.
Payment: $120
Participation eligibility
PARTICIPATION ELIGIBILITY:
* Women with disability (50-74) or carer where:
*Physical disability that limits their mobility
* Intellectual disability
* Sight or hearing disability
* Disability support worker for women with disabilities aged 50-74
Key discussion questions will be shared prior to the session.
All participants will be required to sign a Consent Form.
If you would like to participate or know someone who is eligible, please confirm interest by Friday 20th March.
If you have any queries or would like to discuss further, please contact Nicola Diomides (she/her), Community Engagement Lead, via nicola.d@think-hq.com.au or on 0467 039 836 to discuss.
CAN YOU HELP?
Cancer Council Australia, in partnership with AFDO – Australian Federation Of Disability Organisations and the Melbourne Disability Institute, is calling for people to be involved in the development of national guidance for inclusive cancer care.
Expressions of Interest are now open to join their Optimal Care Pathway for People with Disability Working Group.
Optimal Care Pathways provide a framework for delivering consistent, safe and evidence-based cancer care across the entire patient journey, from prevention and early detection through to treatment, recovery or end-of-life care.
People with disability experience significant disparities in cancer outcomes. This project aims to address these barriers and improve access to high-quality cancer care.
They are seeking Working Group members from a range of backgrounds, including:
• People with lived experience of cancer and disability
• Disability sector organisations and advocates
• Medical professionals
• Allied health and supportive care professionals
EOIs close Friday 3 April 2026.
For more information and to apply, go to:
https://www.cancer.org.au/health-professionals/optimal-cancer-care-pathways/people-with-disability
Easy Read EOI: https://www.cancer.org.au/health-professionals/optimal-cancer-care-pathways/people-with-disability
You may have noticed a new addition to our recent social posts, in the way of a new logo in the bottom right hand corner of our images.
As part of PDA’s 30th year, a new look was commissioned with our logo and also as a refresh of our website to meet our needs and also strengthen our organisation as we move forwards.
Working with our project partners, FivebyFive, over the past eight months, we are now proud to officially launch the new website and our new logo.
The creation of the website has been a collaboration in design, concept and structure with the new site having a fresh, exciting new look that is both informative and accessible.
In recognition of PDA’s heritage logo, the new PDA logo uses the traditional purple associated with disability and combines with a vibrant and fresh green to denote growth and moving forwards.
The image with its soft curves demonstrates activity and movement with conviction and flow. The person like image in purple deliberately spreads and reaches across the green of Australia, with the curves indicating physical movement and presence. ‘Physical Disability’ is emboldened to clearly indicate who we are, our strength and our courage.
This logo was chosen as it positively reflects PDA as a truly national organisation with coverage across the entire country.
Armed with 30 years of history as a leading force representing Australians living with physical disability, PDA looks toward a future that grows our organisation and improves the lives of our members and the wider disability community.
We invite you to explore our “new” website.
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1800 732 674
