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Disability

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Goulburn farmer John Bell.

Hearing loss is becoming more common. So why is there still stigma?

One in four Australians is expected to have hearing loss by 2050. Here’s how advocates – and engineers – are seeking to reduce the shame around this common condition.

  • Lauren Ironmonger

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The ending of Victorian government grants on December 31, which had supplemented NDIS payments to prop up hundreds of group homes for vulnerable Victorians, threatens the closure of many services.

Labor’s NDIS dilemma: Chasing $190,000 scams while costs spiral toward $100b

A 10-person committee – including Labor, Coalition and Greens MPs – will investigate the $50b scheme as Labor builds a case for stricter rules and tighter spending.

  • Natassia Chrysanthos
Greenslopes Supported Residential Service in Lower Templestowe has had its registration revoked after Victoria’s Social Services Regulator uncovered concerning conditions for vulnerable residents.

Dementia patients found tied to chairs, lying in filth, with open sores

It took regulators three years to investigate and close the service after warnings about the state of the home were first raised in March 2023.

  • Grant McArthur
Index image for March 14 GW story on Ukrainian “Superhumans”

The terrible need that propelled Ukraine to the top of this market

In treating tens of thousands of civilians and soldiers maimed by Russian bombs, specialists in robotics are rebuilding lives – and pushing medical limits.

  • David Crowe
A specialist bus provided for free to Scope when it took over management of a state government-owned Camberwell disability home, which Scope is now attempting to sell to the home’s new managers.

Disability homes scrap bus services, tell residents to take taxis, trains

One of the state’s largest disability service providers is withdrawing its transport services due to financial pressures and trying to sell off the buses they were given for free.

  • Grant McArthur
Cheryl Soafkin and her son Jeremy, 37, who lives with severe autism. For 17 years, Jeremy has lived in a disability group home in Camberwell, which will soon be closed by its operator, Scope.

‘They’re gaslighting us’: More disability homes close as state funding ends

More than 80 group homes for disabled residents have closed, upending the lives of some of Victoria’s most vulnerable people.

  • Grant McArthur and Kieran Rooney
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Peter, Damien and Elena Christie outside the Fisher Street Centre in Malvern East.

‘Major downfall’: Concerns for people with disabilities as council moves to sell care centre

Pleas to stop a vulnerable group’s “favourite place in the whole world” from being demolished didn’t stop the City of Stonnington council voting to sell off land amid tight budget conditions.

  • Rachael Ward
Lucia Porteus 
Lucia was diagnosed with ADHD at 7 years old.

Lucia had time-blindness and missed social cues. Finding out why changed her life

NSW GPs will soon be able to diagnose ADHD under reforms to make it easier and cheaper for people to get treatment.

  • Kate Aubusson
Nick Rushworth and his wife Reina Michaelson.

Written off after a head injury, Nick became a fighting force for thousands

After a near-fatal bike accident, Nick Rushworth channelled his “firing up” powers as a journalist to push the cause for brain injury survivors.

  • Wendy Carlisle
Cooper Smith in action at the 2024 Australian Open tennis tournament music stage.

‘They can see past the disability’: Cerebral palsy no barrier for popular DJ

Cooper Smith says taking his place behind the decks at top music festivals makes him feel free and connected.

  • Carolyn Webb