COVID-19 Information and Links
Covid-19 Disclaimer
Family Advocacy is committed to ensuring that its stakeholders health and safety is the top priority of running any internal and external events, which includes adhering to any local, state, and federal laws, policies and restrictions, within NSW and across Australia where relevant. In utilising any external venue the organisation will ensure that the venue engaged will have a current Covid-19 Safety Plan that outlines how the venue manages the risk of COVID within its premises. We require event goers to not attend on the day of the event if they are displaying symptoms commonly associated with COVID 19. In this case a full refund will be considered. The organisation strongly encourages vaccinations as a means to protect against both infection and transmission to all participants.
Resources and links
We have put together the following information, links and resources which you might find useful:
Australian Government COVID-19 website
This government portal puts all the information around COVID-19 together in one place for all Australians. It also includes state and territory government links.
Department of Health
For the latest updates visit the Department of Health’s website. This page includes a link to a collection of resources for the public.
The Department of Health has also published a dedicated page with information for people with disability about COVID-19 vaccines, including details on the vaccine roll out.
The Department of Health, guided by the National Cabinet, has also released a Management and Operational Plan for COVID-19 for People with Disability.
Who to contact
Call the Healthdirect helpline 1800 022 222 for 24 hour health advice. They can help you decide if you need to see a doctor.
For general information on the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), call the Australian Government’s Coronavirus Health Information Line on 1800 020 080.
If you have concerns about discrimination or other breaches of human rights you can lodge a complaint at the Human Rights Commission's website.
The Department of Social Services has set up the Disability Gateway for information and referrals about coronavirus (COVID-19). The Disability Gateway can help families, carers and support workers, too. The Disability Gateway is free, private and fact-checked.
Contact it on 1800 643 787 Monday to Friday, 8am to 8pm AEST.
If you are experiencing any unfair treatment or disadvantage as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, you can also contact us on 1800 620 588.
For translating or interpreting services call 131 450; if you have a hearing or speech impediment, call the National Relay Service on 1300 555 727
NDIS Participants
The NDIA has a page of information for NDIS participants.
Information for people with disability
People with Disability Australia and IDEAS have disability-focused Covid-19 information.
The Growing Space and the Council for Intellectual Disability have produced Easy Read resources.
The Advokit website has advocacy resources to support people with disability during the pandemic and beyond.
Resources for learning at home
Download our Transition back to school after lockdown - guide by Family Advocacy, with evidence-based tips and advice to support primary and secondary school students.
The Australian Coalition of Inclusive Education (ACIE), of which Family Advocacy is a member, has developed a resource to help parents support their children while schools are pupil free or closed in these uncertain times. The Learning at home during a time of crisis resource aims to assist children and young people with disability and families to organise and plan for learning at home during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The NSW Department of Education also has a Learning from Home area in their website, including advice for parents and carers.
Disability Royal Commission
Whilst the Disability Royal Commission has suspended all public hearings and face to face meetings indefinitely to protect the spread of COVID-19 to people with disability, their work still continues; including publishing the Issues Papers, preparing for future hearings and receiving submissions. We can provide you with support and guidance in liaising with the commission - visit our Royal Commission page for more information.
The Commission is also deeply concerned about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on people with disability and has issued a Statement of Concern.
Family Advocacy Webinars
These webinars from our Advocacy Tools and Latest News series have useful information related to COVID-19.