5August2015

Throughout the nation during Hearing Awareness Week,

volunteers will hold events in cities and in the bush; in
schools, hospitals, remote communities, libraries and aged
care facilities; in government offices and businesses ranging
from the local GP to banks and mining companies.

NDIS board shakeup

The Government has moved to shakeup the Board that
oversees the $20 billion National Disability Insurance Scheme
by replacing members with heavyweights from the corporate
sector.

Hearing Awareness Week

National practice standards for audiology

The aim of the standards is to reflect nationally agreed
practice expectations of those in the hearing services sector.

Australians at the helm

Federation of the Deaf

of

World

Colin Allen from NSW has been elected for a further term as
the president of the international non-governmental
organisation, World Federation of the Deaf. The Youth
Section appointed Australias Shirley Liu to its board.

Live captioning: let's talk

Join a range of citizen, industry and government stakeholders
in a citizen conversation series on live captioning.

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.

Future of Hearing Services in Australia

Development of National Practice Standards for Audiology
The Office of Hearing Services has engaged Australian Healthcare Associates (AHA) to
facilitate the development of national practice standards in Audiology.
The process is supported by an Audiology Expert Reference Group. Deafness Forum of
Australia is a member of the Expert Reference Group.
The aim of the standards is to reflect nationally agreed practice expectations of those
working in the hearing services sector. The standards will
Be applicable to all professions involved in hearing services in Australia
Encompass all client populations and practitioner types
Be up to date, evidence based and relevant to the needs of all key stakeholders in
the hearing services sector including clients, practitioners, families, carers and
funders
Be endorsed and owned by the hearing sector
Be measurable by third parties if required.
While the Office of Hearing Services has instigated the development of the national practice
standards, the standards will reflect agreed standards of practice beyond the Australian
Government Hearing Services Program. Consequently the standards will not be owned by
the Office of Hearing Services or any professional body, but are intended for the hearing
services industry as a whole.
The Audiology Expert Reference Group had its first meeting on 30 July. Members of
Deafness Forum will be consulted once the draft standards are developed and are at the
point of needing broader input.

Hearing services and the NDIS

The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is a significant reform initiative which has
the potential to benefit thousands of people with permanent hearing loss, providing access
to a greater range of services.
By 2019-20 when the NDIS reaches national roll-out, Australians under 65 years of age
who have permanent hearing loss (impacting on their ability to communicate or socially
interact) will be eligible for services under the NDIS. It is expected that this will include the
transition of most of the Community Service Obligations clients and a portion of voucher
clients under the age of 65 from the Hearing Services Program (the program) to the NDIS.
Similarly, there is the potential for people between the ages of 26 and 65 years with
permanent hearing loss, who are generally ineligible for services under the program, to be
able to access supports through the NDIS.
To help identify and discuss the key activities and steps to support a successful transition to
the NDIS, including options for implementation, the Office of Hearing Services is conducting
a series of workshops throughout August and September 2015. Individuals, service
providers and/or stakeholder organisations (a maximum of 2 representatives) are invited to
participate in one of the following workshops.

City
Sydney

Location

Date

Sydney Masonic
Thursday
Centre
20 August 2015
66 Goulburn Street
Brisbane
Hotel Grand
Friday
Chancellor
28 August 2015
23 Leichhardt
Street Brisbane
Melbourne Mercure Treasury Thursday
Gardens
10 September
13 Spring Street
2015
Melbourne
Perth
Crowne Plaza Perth Friday
54 Terrace Road
11 September
Perth
2015

Time

Facilities

9:30am to Auslan
12:30pm interpreter
and loop
9:30am to
12:30pm

Close of
registrations
10 August 2015

18 August 2015

9:30am to
12:30pm

18 August 2015

9:30am to
12:30pm

18 August 2015

Registration to attend a workshop

If you would like to attend a NDIS transition planning workshop, please complete a
registration from available at the OHS website at http://hearingservices.gov.au
Pre reading material will be sent to participants and is also available on request from
Deafness Forum of Australia.

NDIS board shakeup

By Xavier Smerdon, Pro Bono News http://www.probonoaustralia.com.au/news
The Abbott Government has moved to shakeup the Board that oversees the $20 billion
National Disability Insurance Scheme by replacing members with heavyweights from the
corporate sector.
Reports surfaced this week that Assistant Social Services Minister, Senator Mitch Fifield,
was looking to replace members of the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) Board,
which oversees the delivery of the NDIS, with people who have worked at ASX50
Companies.
The Board is currently made up of stalwarts from the Not for Profit sector including NDIS
architect Bruce Bonyhady and former Chair of the National People with Disabilities and
Carer Council, Rhonda Galbally.
A spokesperson for Senator Fifield, told Pro Bono Australia News that the Senator had
written to the State Disability Ministers seeking agreement to commence the process of
appointing new NDIA Board members.
As we move to the next stage of implementation of the NDIS the transition to full scheme
the NDIA will require a Board with a highly specialised skill set to effectively manage a
rapid increase in participants, from 30,000 to 460,000 over three years, and administer a
$22 billion insurance-based scheme, Senator Fifields spokesperson said.
It is understood Senator Fifield commissioned corporate advisory firm Korda Mentha to
review the skills and experience required by the NDIS board as it transitions to a full
scheme.
The current terms for the NDIA Board members will expire on 30 June 2016.
It was also reported this week that the Government would attempt to force the States to
give up some of their control of the NDIS.
Shadow Minister for Disability Reform, Jenny Macklin, said Fifield was undermining the
principles on which the NDIS was built.
The Abbott Government is preparing to replace the board of the National Disability
Insurance Scheme, sidelining the states and people with disability in favour of big business.
As the NDIS begins transitioning to full scheme, this latest move will only serve to
undermine certainty at a time when continuity is key, Macklin said.

Hearing is precious and fragile

Sunday 23 Saturday 29 August 2015

Hearing Awareness Week

Australian Hearing Hub

Open House
Saturday 22 August
12pm 4pm
(Doors open 11.45am)
One in four Australians could experience hearing loss by 2050, so its never been more important to focus on hearing health.
To celebrate Hearing Awareness Week, were opening our doors to raise awareness on healthy hearing and the services
available at the Australian Hearing Hub.
Come to our Open House day and learn from some of the countrys best researchers and service providers
in hearing, psychology, reading, speech and language.

To register or find out more visit www.hearinghub.edu.au

Free hearing screening tests for adults and children (limited spaces)
Learn about hearing health from industry leaders
Free jumping castle and other fun activities for children
Participate in research activities: adults and kids
Experience the amazing anechoic chamber
Demonstrations on laser micromachining

Founded by

Hearing Bus is coming to town

The Australian Hearing bus is stopping by locations throughout Adelaide SA to offer free
hearing checks during national Hearing Awareness Week in the last week of August.
The mobile hearing service has provided over 35,000 free hearing checks in communities
across Australia since 2009.
Community Hearing advisor Melissa Haynes at Australian Hearing in Modbury said A
hearing check is a quick and easy way to measure the sounds you can and cant hear.
Our team will also be on hand to guide you through what next steps you may have to take
in regards to your hearing.
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.
Australian Hearing Centre - Domain Building, Grenfell Street Adelaide, 25 August
Bunnings Munno Para - 27 August, 9am-4pm
Bunnings Parafield - 28 & 29 August, 9am-4pm

Hearing Awareness
Week ACT EXPO 2015

10:00am to 3:30pm
Wednesday 26 August 2015
Olympus Room
Hellenic Club, Phillip ACT

The 2015 EXPO draws attention to issues and concerns of

the Deaf and hearing impaired. It hosts an exciting
program of speakers and exhibitions.
It is a once in a year opportunity for the hearing-impaired
and Deaf communities and the organisations that provide
their services to meet in the one place.
Join in, and help us celebrate the diversity of our
community.

Australians at the helm of World Federation of

the Deaf
Colin Allen from NSW has been elected for a further term as
the president of the international non-governmental
organisation, World Federation of the Deaf.
It acts as a peak body for national associations of Deaf
people, with a focus on Deaf people who use sign language
and their family and friends.
The World Federation of the Deaf aims to promote the human
rights of Deaf people worldwide, by working closely with the
United Nations and various UN agencies such as the
International Labour Organisation and the World Health
Organisation.
Colin Allen was re-elected during the recent World Congress of World Federation of the
Deaf in Turkey.
World Federation of the Deaf Youth Section appointed Australias Shirley Liu (third from
left) to its board.
Shirley is based in Sydney studying for a Bachelor of Design (Visual Communication) and
specialising in graphic design and photography.
The new Board Members represent Finland, Sweden, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Uganda,
Australia and New Zealand.

Made possible through the support of the Australian Children's Trust and Disability Services
Commission, this website was established to ensure that individuals living with a
combination of vision and hearing impairments, their families and support members,
professionals and service providers, have an accessible, web-based resource available to
them.
http://www.deafblindinformation.org.au/

Live captioning: let's talk

Captioning gives deaf and hearing-impaired citizens access to television programs. But live
captioning comes with its challenges, so what is the most effective and sustainable way to
caption live or part-live programs?
Join a range of citizen, industry and government stakeholders as the ACMA hosts the latest
Citizen conversation series on live captioning. This free event will feature a hearing
loop, Auslan interpreters and captioners.
Tuesday 15 September 2015, 9.00 am 3.30 pm (registration opens at 8.30 am).
ACMA Sydney office: Level 5, The Bay Centre, 65 Pirrama Road, Pyrmont
Space is limited, so register now to secure your place. This event will be filmed.
Access the registration form:
http://www.acma.gov.au/theACMA/About/Events/Citizen-Conversations-Series/livecaptioning-lets-talk-register

Father drives across Australia for centre that

restored sons hearing

Caroline Hufnagl and Angus Graham with their sons Angus and Avery. Baby Angus was born
profoundly deaf and has received Cochlear implants. The family is now on a mission to support
others going through the same thing.

BABBLING, squealing and mimicking his dad, little Angus would have sounded like any
other baby.
The difference is the six-month-old was hearing his own voice for the first time.
It was music to the ears of Angus Graham senior and Caroline Hufnagl as they watched
audiologists fiddle with their sons cochlear implant early in June.
They slowly introduced sound to him as they adjusted the volume, Ms Hufnagl said.
He kind of stopped and looped up in awe, because he realised sound was coming out of
his own mouth. It was pretty special.
Angus junior had been born profoundly deaf, meaning he couldnt hear anything at all.
Angus Graham is trekking across from Perth to Australia in his big red bus to raise money
for the childrens hearing Shepherd Centre.

Hearing impairments are the most common disability diagnosed at birth in Australia. About
90 per cent of those are born to parents with normal hearing.
But because their other son Avery, 3, had also been a quiet baby, Mr Graham and Ms
Hufnagl hadnt realised anything was out of the ordinary until doctors at the Sydney
Children's Hospital Randwick came to them with the bad news.
About a month after he was born we found out that he was deaf and there was no way he
would ever hear unless an implant worked it was quite terrifying to be honest because
you never really expect anything to be wrong with your baby, Ms Hufnagl said.
Thankfully surgeons found his cochlear nerve intact. In April they operated in order to
install an implant.
Caroline Hufnagl and Angus Graham with their sons Angus and Avery. Baby Angus was
born profoundly deaf and has received Cochlear implants. The family are now on a mission
to support others going through the same thing.
The Maroubra family was referred to Newtowns internationally renowned Shepherd centre,
specialising in childrens hearing loss.
With baby Angus permanently delighted by the sound of his own squeals, Mr Graham
concocted a way to help other families facing the same situation.
The 33-year-old mobile cafe owner climbed into his recent purchase, a red double decker
bus, and started a nine day across Australia to Sydney on a mission to raise money for the
not-for-profit centre.

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have reliable hearing loops, and add real time captions and interpreters to meet the communication access needs of the 4
million Australians we represent.
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