Media Releases by The Hon Bill Shorten MP
Australia ratifies UN disabilities convention
Australia has today ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, making Australia one of the first Western countries to ratify the…
Rudd Government to improve Australia’s disability discrimination system
The Rudd Government will introduce legislative amendments to the Disability Discrimination Act in the Spring sittings of Parliament to implement recommendations made by the Productivity…
Opening of new Orana Administration and Netley Business Service
A new location for Orana’s Administration as well as a new Business Service at Netley will better assist more than 130 people with disability employed…
Great response to the National Mental Health and Disability Employment Strategy
The Government has received more than 300 submissions into a strategy to boost the number of people with a disability and/or mental illness in the…
Appointment of Disability and Race Discrimination Commissioners
Attorney-General Robert McClelland has today announced two substantive appointments to the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission. These appointments were welcomed by Parliamentary Secretary for…
$190 million boost for children with autism and their families
All children aged six and under who are diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and are not yet at school will have access to…
New Funding as MyTime Turns One
The Australian Government has marked the first birthday of the MyTime peer support groups by announcing $90,000 for four new pilot groups. Bill Shorten, made…
Marketing Boost for Business Services
Business services will receive a one-off payment of $2,500 from the Australian Government for marketing and promoting their products, a total commitment of $525,000. “All…
Rudd Government Proposes Ratification of UN Disabilities Convention
The Rudd Government has today tabled in Parliament a National Interest Analysis, which proposes that Australia ratify the United Nations Convention on the Rights of…
Supporting People with Disability, their Families and Carers
People with disabilities, their families and carers will benefit from a $1.9 billion boost in funding under a new agreement reached today at a meeting…
Awards for Excellent Business Services
Bill Shorten, is calling for nominations for the inaugural Business Services Excellence Awards. “Australians with a disability are contributing an enormous amount to economic growth,…
Funding for Special Olympics Australia
More people with an intellectual disability will have the chance to participate in sports, with the Australian Government committing to annual funding to Special Olympics…
The Way Forward: A National Disability Strategy
People with disability, their families and carers will benefit from a National Disability Strategy being developed by the Australian Government to increase their economic participation,…
Employment Support for People with Disability
The Australian Government will support the employment of people with disability by extending access to wage assessment tools for businesses at a cost of $25.7…
Supporting Children with Autism
The Australian Government strongly supports the key theme of Autism Awareness Week – to increase the community’s understanding of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD).…
$1 Billion in Support for People With a Disability and their Carers
In the upcoming budget the Rudd Government will commit one billion dollars to fund disability services and increase support for carers. This one billion dollar…
Government welcomes convention on disabilities
The Rudd Government today welcomed the entry into force of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. “The Convention is designed…
Supporting children with autism
The Minister for Education, Julia Gillard and the Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities and Children’s Services, Bill Shorten are pleased to announce that the Australian Autism…
Government announces Disability Investment Group
The Australian Government has established a Disability Investment Group to explore innovative funding ideas from the private sector that will help people with disability and…
Disability Employment Strategy Discussion Paper launched
The Minister for Employment Participation, Brendan O’Connor, and Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities and Children’s Services, Bill Shorten, today released a discussion paper for the National…
Inaugural World Autism Awareness Day
Bill Shorten, today commemorates the first World Autism Awareness Day by launching an Autism Early Intervention Outcomes Unit (AEIOU) in Brisbane with Queensland Disability Services…
Nominate for the National Disability Awards 2008
Nominations are now open for the National Disability Awards 2008. Jenny Macklin and Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities and Children’s Services, Bill Shorten, today officially opened…
Disability funding gives younger people more choice
A $2.5 million funding package, including the opening of a new supported accommodation house in the Melbourne suburb of Balwyn, is the latest milestone in…
MyTime groups reach 100th milestone with launch in Canberra
Parents of young children with disability in Canberra will have access to a peer support group following a launch at Noah’s Ark Resource Centre in…
New strategy to get people with disability or mental illness into work
A new Rudd Government strategy will look at ways to help people with a disability or mental illness to find or retain employment. The Minister…