2September2015

Life threatening danger to children from

button batteries
Severe complications can develop within two hours if a young
child was to swallow a coin lithium battery, such as those
used in hearing aids and a range of other products.

Australian Hearing privatisation would be

damaging to deaf children, say families
"My kids are in their twenties, but if I had a baby tomorrow,
you really are in uncharted waters and this adds a whole lot
more uncertainty for families who really need that."

Willing to Work
The Australian Human Rights Commission is conducting an
inquiry into employment discrimination against older
Australians and Australians with disability.

Nominate this week

The 2015 National Disability Awards give Australians the
chance to celebrate the people and organisations that have
made a positive impact on the lives of people with disability.

Hearing Awareness Week

Volunteers held events last week in all parts of the nation
because they are passionate about spreading the message
that hearing is precious and fragile. Our thanks to the major
sponsor Office of Australian Hearing.

We acknowledge the traditional owners of country throughout Australia, and their

continuing connection to land, sea and community. We pay our respects to them
and their cultures, and to elders both past and present. We acknowledge the
challenge that faces Indigenous leaders and families to overcome the unacceptably
high levels of ear health issues among first Australians.

Health warning: Life threatening danger to

children posed by button batteries
Severe complications can develop within two hours if a young child was to swallow a coin
lithium battery, such as those used in hearing aids and a range of other products.
If it is not removed promptly, death could result within 24 hours.
Most instances occurred where children removed the battery from a device or the
battery was left unsecured.
Nearly 10 percent of injuries to children under the age of four involved batteries associated
with hearing aids.
Deafness Forum of Australia calls on its members, other advocates, and professional and
industry associations in the hearing health sector to champion the message.
To its credit, Office of Hearing Services (part of the Department of Health) acted promptly to
notify service providers contracted under the Hearing Services Program to raise awareness
amongst clients and practitioners.
Battery
Controlled,
a
public
campaign
will
raise
awareness
of
dangers http://www.productsafety.gov.au/content/index.phtml/tag/batterycontrolled

the

Read a
safety
message
in
a
Therapeutic
Goods
Administration
(TGA)
newsletter https://www.tga.gov.au/publication-issue/medical-devices-safety-update-volume3-number-4-july-2015#dangers
Report any adverse events through the TGA website https://www.tga.gov.au/reportproblem-medical-device

Willing to Work: National Inquiry into

Employment Discrimination Against Older
Australians and Australians with Disability
The current 'Willing to Work' inquiry, conducted by the Age and Disability Discrimination
Commissioner, Susan Ryan AO, has the following terms of reference:

obstacles faced by older persons and persons with disabilities in actively

participating in the workforce
discrimination against older persons and persons with disabilities as a systemic
problem and a considerable barrier to their enjoyment of human rights
economic and social costs, and the costs to productivity, that result from
discrimination against older persons and persons with disabilities in employment

The Australian Human Rights Commission explains its consultations and the process for
making
submissions
in
both
Auslan
and
captions
in
a
video
(https://www.humanrights.gov.au/our-work/disability-rights/projects/willing-work-nationalinquiry-employment-discrimination-against)
Deafness Forum of Australia referred the Commissioner to a report published by Australian
Federation of Disability Organisations (AFDO). Deafness Forum is a foundation member of
AFDO and a contributor to its submissions to government. The report highlighted that
taking into account Australias looming workforce challenges, it was critical that all people
with disability and businesses be placed at the centre of a new employment framework to
ensure that people with disability were not left behind.
Deafness Forum also submitted to the Commissioner its views on dismantling barriers to
employment participation for the people we represent; and suggested practical ways to
improve the Governments Employment Access Fund.
We made a point that the Australian Public Service is not the leader and exemplar it could
and should be.

We explained that people who want to participate in the labour force and have hearing loss
or are Deaf face challenges that are unfamiliar to most of their hearing peers: for some, the
barriers become evident, start at or before the process of searching for work and, for many,
they become more acute during the selection process or at work. A loss of hearing can
also lead people to exit the labour force sooner than they would like to, and before their
intended age of retirement. As a result, there is a hidden loss to national productivity.
The problem may be worse than currently perceived. There is, we believe a significant
under-reporting of disability amongst people who are hearing impaired or have a chronic
disorder of the ear.
In acknowledging there are some common issues, Deafness Forum did not
favour combining age and disability in this one inquiry. Employment of people with
disability requires a sophisticated approach. Employment of mature age Australians with
disability is both a complex and complicated matter.
Community volunteers are of inestimable value to the nation
Inhibitors and disincentives to Australia's unpaid workforce, of which people with disability
and mature age citizens are both significant contributors and beneficiaries were
overlooked by this inquiry.
Read also our recommendations for improvements to Employment Assistance Fund at
http://www.deafnessforum.org.au/index.php/issues

Nominate for National Disability Awards

The 2015 National Disability Awards give Australians the chance to celebrate the people
and organisations that have made a positive impact on the lives of people with disability.
The Assistant Minister for Social Services, Senator the Hon Mitch Fifield said These
Awards showcase the wonderful work being done throughout the community to improve the
lives of people with disability so they can become more active in work and society.
Nominations close this week.
http://www.idpwd.com.au/awards/nomination-form/

Hearing is precious and fragile

The last week in August each year

The Deafness Council of Western Australia organised a special newspaper insert for
Hearing Awareness Week. The message reached 599,000 readers of The West
Australian. http://info.thewest.com.au/westadvertising/feature/20150821/index.html

A touch of something different

From the Titans rugby league club website

Titans fans saw a touch football match with a difference at half-time during its recent clash
with Canberra Raiders.
Five Titans members wore ear muffs and joined in two teams of players who are deaf or
hearing impaired, in the Silent Sport Challenge as part of a promotion to bring awareness to
touch football for the deaf and hearing impaired.
Many of the players will be in contention for selection in the touch football championships
as part of the Australian Deaf Games in Adelaide in January 2016.
Touch Football is a widely popular sport amongst the deaf and hard of hearing community
in Australia, said Touch Football Australia CEO Colm Maguire.
With more and more participants who experience some form of impediment taking up the
sport, it is a great way to keep active in a social and fun environment. The inclusive nature
of touch football allows individuals of all types of abilities the opportunity to experience the
sport, as showcased on Sunday through the Silent Sports Challenge.
Touch Football Australia is a proud partner of Deaf Sports Australia and Hearing
Awareness Week and, with the fantastic support of NRL clubs like the Gold Coast Titans,
we are sure to help increase the understanding on an issue which impacts one in six
Australians and show that the sport of touch football has a place on the field for everyone.
The name Silent Sports is a creation of David Brady, chairman of Deafness Forum. What
started as an idea to create an opportunity for sports-lovers to gain a personal experience
of reduced hearing has grown to capture the attention of national sporting bodies.

Sound decision
As part of Hearing Awareness Week, Australian Hearings big blue bus rolled into
Bundaberg QLD to offer free hearing checks.
More than 150 centres across the
country offered free checks as part
of the inaugural Big Aussie Hearing
Check and in Bundaberg centre
manager Lisa Christiansen and
community
hearing
advisor
Kathleen Dimes were on hand to
offer their expertise.

Ken Pashley gets his hearing checked by Australian

Hearings Lisa Christiansen and Kathleen Dimes

"It's about early intervention. We

are here to encourage people to
have a check and if they need a
hearing aid we advise them what to
do next" Ms Christiansen said.

By Mike Knott BUNHEAR, Bundaberg NewsMail http://www.news-mail.com.au/news/your-hearingput-to-the-test/2752716/

In Sydney, Deafness Forum chairman David Brady visited the big blue bus.
The mobile hearing service provides free hearing checks in communities across Australia.
Visitors to the bus can find information on a range of common hearing issues and view a
display of hearing devices for around the home such as headsets for watching the TV and
alert systems for doorbells.

Hearing loss: early intervention the key

Early intervention remains the key to reducing the rate of hearing loss in Australians,
Assistant Minister for Health Fiona Nash said.
Minister Nash said hearing once damaged often cannot be repaired, echoing the theme of
the week: Hearing is precious and fragile.
Hearing is something most Australians take for granted, but imagine a life without it,
Minister Nash said.
One-in-six Australians currently experience some sort of hearing loss and this figure is
expected to grow to one-in-four Australians by the year 2050 as the population ages.
Hearing loss reduces our ability to communicate with our friends and family and to
participate in social situations. It can also affect education and job prospects.
Young people and those in loud working environments are particularly susceptible to
hearing loss from exposure to loud noises.
Minister Nash said the Australian Government is investing in research through the Hearing
Loss Prevention Programme and the National Acoustic Laboratories to help identify the
causes of preventable hearing loss.
During 2015-16 we are helping to fund 30 projects to enhance services in remote
locations, improve device functionality and improve identification and management of
hearing loss in children, Minister Nash said.

While research is helping to understand the reasons for hearing loss and how to prevent it,
the Government, through the Hearing Services Programme, is continuing to support people
whose hearing is already impaired.
The Voucher Programme allows Australians to access fully and partially subsidised
hearing services from a national network of contracted service providers.
On average, 290 new clients apply for the Voucher Programme each day through the
Hearing Services Online portal. The portal provides clients with faster access to services
with
the
potential
to
receive
services
on
the
same
day.
In 2014-15, the Australian Government invested $384 million so that more than 660,000
Australians could receive more than 1.2 million services under the Voucher Programme.
The Community Service Obligations programme provides specialised services to children
and other eligible groups such as adults with complex hearing needs and some Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islanders.
In 2014-15, more than 30,000 young Australians under the age of 21 received more than
66,000 services and more than 3,000 young adults (21-25 years) received approximately
6,600 specialist services under the CSO.

The National Relay Service (NRS) celebrated

Hearing Awareness Week this month with hundreds of
contact centres around the country encouraging
businesses to be accessible to everyone via the phone.
The Take my call campaign raises awareness of the
needs of Australians who are deaf or have a hearing or
speech impairment and who use the phone to contact
businesses and government organisations.
What we want to say is that even though our call is
being relayed by another person, or might take a little
longer, contact centre staff can talk to us like any other
customer, said NRS user Drisana Levitzke-Gray.
The NRS Hearing Awareness Week campaign covered over 280 contact centres with
almost 50,000 contact centre staff taking part. Participants included major businesses such
as Telstra, Coles and Optus, along with government agencies, emergency services and
many councils and local businesses.

Australian Hearing privatisation would be

damaging to deaf children, say families
By Sarah Whyte, Health and Indigenous affairs correspondent, The Sydney Morning Herald

Robbie Ferguson, 11, with sisters Carys, 7, left, and Evie, 8. Their mother Berenice fears for the
future of Australian hearing. Photo: James Brickwood

"Don't give up with what you do, even though you have hearing loss," Robbie Ferguson tells
other children who, like him, are deaf.
But now the 11-year-old has the same message for the Abbott government: don't give up
on the country's largest hearing provider, which is being tipped to be privatised.
Australian Hearing Services, an organisation that provides hearing services and research
for children who are deaf or have hearing loss, has been targeted by the Department of
Finance since last year for possible privatisation. The move was recommended by the
Commission of Audit and announced last year.
Labor and advocacy groups argue that the privatisation of Australian Hearing will splinter its
services and put profit ahead of services offered. Regional services in remote Australia
could also be adversely affected, they say. Labor's shadow parliamentary secretary for
health, Nick Champion, said the audiologists at Australian Hearing did an amazing job.
"The proposed privatisation of Australian Hearing is an attempt to Americanise our health
system," Mr Champion said. "Australian Hearing has operated in government hands since
1947, and should remain that way into the future."

Robbie's mother, Berenice Ferguson, said the privatisation would significantly affect the
families who use the service.
"Australia has best-practice paediatric hearing services," she said. "What we have got is the
research informing the practice and then our kids are being the recipients of that. I think if
we privatise that we lose that unique relationship. "I would say to the government,
'Celebrate what you're doing really well and don't sell it off.'"
Ms Ferguson said that when Robbie was a baby they would visit Australian Hearing every
week, and he has been getting hearing aids since he was nine weeks old. "We just don't
know what to expect, so it makes us very nervous," she said.

Photo: James Brickwood

Kate Kennedy, co-ordinator of Parents of Deaf Children and a mother of two children with
hearing difficulties, said the privatisation of Australian Hearing was "too risky" and was an
"ideological decision".
"We at Parents of Deaf Children have been lobbying since the announcement in 2014," she
said.
"My kids are in their twenties, but if I had a baby tomorrow, you really are in uncharted
waters and this adds a whole lot more uncertainty for families who really need that."
Minister for Finance Mathias Cormann said any change in ownership of Australian Hearing
would not affect eligibility or funding of the Community Service Obligation hearing services,
including consultations in remote communities.
The scoping study says it is determining the future ownership of the service.
It is unknown when the study will report its findings on Australian Hearing.

The Australian Labor Party asks members of the community who support Australian
Hearing remaining in public hands to take a picture with the image and share it on
Facebook or twitter.
People were asked to make sure they tagged their local member of parliament along with
the Treasurer, using the hash tag #TooImportantToPrivatise.
It was suggested the post was along the lines of:
@JoeHockey
Australian
Hearing
is
important
#TooImportantToPrivatise

because

_______.

Its

The ALP is sharing stories of young people who currently use the services of Australian
Hearing on the Labor members Facebook page.
Australian Hearing was established by the Chifley Government in 1947. It was started to
provide services to returning servicemen and women.
It has operated in Government hands ever since. It is now the sole service provider for
children under the age of 26. It also provides services to former military personnel, age
pensioners and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders over the age of 50.
Australian Hearing provides services at 468 hearing centres and visiting sites throughout
Australia including many rural and regional centres where hearing services might not
otherwise be available. Included in the 468 locations are 212 remote communities.
Services include hearing tests, fitting hearing devices and providing counselling and
rehabilitation programs.
Together with its research division, the National Acoustical Laboratories, Australian Hearing
helps people with often complex hearing health problems to participate fully in life by
developing language skills, participating fully in education and enjoying the family and
social activities that lead to a fulfilling life. There is concern about the impact privatising
Australian Hearing could have on the quality of services and access to services.

News just in
Hi there, were just starting a NEW Darwin Auslan Conversation Club starting Tuesday 1
September at the Trailer Boat Club at 6.30pm. Check out our Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/events/704579023007323/ Wed love to see you there!

Our office: Shop 14b Casuarina Plaza, 258 Trower Road, CASUARINA NT 0810
Our postal: PO Box 40596, CASUARINA NT 0811
Email: info@deafnt.org.au
Skype: DeafNT
Website: www.deafnt.org.au www.deafchildrenaustralia.org.au

Deafness Forum Annual General Meeting 2015

The Deafness Forum Annual General Meeting will be held in Sydney on 28 November.
Members may move a Resolution for consideration at the AGM.
Send your Resolution in writing to the company secretary by close of business 30
September.
Email: info@deafnessforum.org.au
Post: Deafness Forum of Australia, Open Systems House, 218 Northbourne Ave., Braddon
ACT 2612

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