Some of Our Parts

Workplace Adjustments Project – Seeking Recent Masters/Doctoral Graduates with Disability

Calling recent masters/doctoral graduate with disability that have studied in the discipline of law, employment law, organisational behavioural psychology, social psychology or management.

A casual researcher is sought for an exciting collaborative project with the Centre for Workplace Leadership and the Australian Network on Disability. The project will focus on an organisation’s capability to make work place adjustments and the experience of employees who require adjustments. The ideal candidate would be available to start in mid-late September.

Further details, including how to apply available on Career Gateway at:

https://careergateway.monash.edu.au/students/jobs/detail/3099641

Applications close 26 August 2016

Are you a woman with a disability interested in participating in a two-day leadership workshop?  Do you know a woman with a disability who would like to attend?

“Women Leading by Example” is a unique leadership program that will be held in Melbourne on the 20th and 21st September for a maximum of 30 women with disabilities. High-profile female leaders, mentors, and workshop facilitators from corporate, government, and non-profit sectors will present and interact with participants.

Participants will explore their self-leadership as well as their ability to lead others.  This includes identifying and sharing leadership goals and working to increase confidence to take the next step in community leadership.

Each applicant will be assessed on the total of their experiences and goals in life.

More information, such as the Interim Program, can be found on our website at http://www.wdv.org.au/our_work.htm#wlbe

Latest news
Media Access Australia appoints new CEO

Ms Manisha Amin has been appointed as the new Chief Executive Officer of leading Not For Profit web and digital accessibility organisation, Media Access Australia. Her appointment by the Board of Directors will see her join the team on Monday 5 September.

Microsoft rolls out Windows 10 update with accessibility improvements

Microsoft has commenced rolling out a major new update to its Windows 10 operating systems on desktop, laptop and tablet devices, bringing a number of new features which include benefits to people with disabilities.

BBC iPlayer trialling subtitles for live channels in world-first

In a welcome development from the UK, the BBC has begun trialling subtitles for live channels on their iPlayer platform. This is a first for any major video on-demand service in the world, as up till now, subtitles have only been available for on-demand programs.

Accessibility in the workplace has widespread benefits

Almost half of all EU citizens living with a disability are unemployed, a new study commissioned by Microsoft has revealed. As people increasingly rely on technology to get their jobs done, the report also showed that many employees who are Deaf, blind, vision, hearing or cognitive impaired, or who have a physical disability, are finding it harder to participate productively in workplaces that are not technologically accessible.

Featured accessibility article

Create annual reports that are accessible for all

It’s annual report season again, and now is the time to look at making annual reports as meaningful and inclusive as possible, so that people of all abilities can be catered for. It’s a straightforward process to make an accessible annual report if you are in a position to be able to plan upfront, and in many cases, it’s also mandatory to do so.

Useful resource of the week

Media Access Australia made a major 2016 update on the state of social media for those with a disability a little earlier this year. It’s a really helpful resource that you are very welcome to share, where you can go through the accessibility pros and cons of all the popular forms of social media available today. Check out the level of accessibility of social media plus learn some useful tips, on the Media Access Australia website.

How do we understand the intentions behind other’s actions?

Researchers at Deakin University are looking for people with an Asperger’s diagnonsis to take part in an experiment to help us understand the differences in brain activity between adults with Asperger’s and those without when watching others’ actions.

Are you over 18? A native English speaker? Right-handed?

Thank you could help!

Taking part will involve two sessions. In the first session you will complete some questionnaires and in the second session you will watch videos whilst receiving non-invasive brain stimulation. Each session will last approximately 2 hours.

Please contact the lead researcher Eleanor Cole for more information – ejc557@york.ac.uk

We\’re The Superhumans | Rio Paralympics 2016 Trailer

The Superhumans return for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games this September. Visit the Channel 4 website for more Superhumans stories.

Each year, Vision Australia awards Further Education Bursaries to a select number of students who are blind or have low vision.

Eligibility Criteria

Students of any age can apply for a Vision Australia Further Education Bursary.

Applicants must:

• Be or become, a client of Vision Australia
• Have a current (within the last 12 months) eye report on file with Vision Australia
• Be an Australian citizen or permanent resident
• Be living or moving to Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Queensland, the Northern Territory or Tasmania
• Be enrolling to study at an institution in Victoria, ACT, NSW, Queensland, the Northern Territory or Tasmania enrolling to study in at least Certificate IV or higher accredited courses including undergraduate and postgraduate degrees (not a Foundation or Enabling course) at the start of the year or be already enrolled in such a course (preference may be given to those in the early stages of a course). The course must have a minimum 12 months remaining for those already enrolled.
• Be willing to be involved in publicity events and provide feedback and provide updates on their academic progress

Applications will be available on the below website on August 1^st. Applications will close October 28^th, 2016.

www.visionaustralia.org/bursary

Start next semester on the right track. Learn to avoid procrastination and create an effective to-do list with Leap into Leadership Online. It only takes about one to two hours to complete the module, and you’ll receive a personalised certificate and resource pack when you finish.

Enrol now: http://mona.sh/kogY3022wM0

The I CAN Network have just launched AWEgust for AWEtism, where people can join by taking on a personal challenge to raise funds for the I CAN Network over the month of AWEgust. Last year, people in the movement said I CAN to anything from a fitness challenge to facing a fear. They invited friends, family, and communities to join them in challenges, which started hundreds of new conversations about the exclusion of people on the Autism Spectrum in schools, workplaces and communities. They also managed to raise over $32,000 for the I CAN Network, which allowed them to create a year of huge impact.

Since last AWEgust, they have helped empower people on the Autism Spectrum:

• They provided I CAN School programs (including mentoring, talks, and training) to two schools who couldn’t support us in their budget.
• They offered six scholarships for young people on the Autism Spectrum to participate in our program.
• They built ongoing mentoring relationships for 300 young people on the Autism Spectrum.
• They created Humans on the Autism Spectrum, a campaign that shared the strengths-based stories of people on the Autism Spectrum. This dramatically increased the number of people hearing about the individual strengths of people on the Autism Spectrum.
• They have provided more paid opportunities for people on the Autism Spectrum to empower others through their talks, training or mentoring.

Your support during AWEgust will help them reach more people, allow them to provide programs to schools in low socioeconomic areas, and provide more paid opportunities for people on the Autism Spectrum.

Prove you CAN. Sign up with a personal challenge. Invite your friends, family, or community to join you in your challenge, or ask them to sign up for a challenge of their own. Join them in empowering young people on the Autism Spectrum.
Contact Nick Fava for support and information at nick@ican.network

Sign up here.

Opportunities available in big organisations/ government departments in Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra, Adelaide, Brisbane and Perth!

PACE – Positive Action towards Career Engagement Mentoring

• Are you a student or jobseeker with disability and want some guidance on the best way to develop your career path?
• Are you looking to advance your career opportunities?
• Are you interested in networking in a professional setting?

PACE Mentoring is a mentoring program run by the Australian Network on Disability for students and jobseekers with disability.

For mentees, PACE offers the opportunity to develop essential skills and confidence in a workplace setting, which can assist with career planning, as well as aiding personal and professional development. PACE recognises that job seekers and students with disability frequently find themselves with little or no work experience. PACE aims to assist mentees to become ‘job-ready’ and reduce some of these hurdles.

During the program, the mentor and mentee will set goals which target the individual’s strengths and development needs to achieve clear outcomes. Activities may include:

• Reviewing and improving resumes and cover letters
• Mock interviews and how to tackle tough interview questions
• Worksite visits to gain a complete picture of the work environment
• Networking with industry professionals
• Discussing workplace adjustments
• Building confidence in your stand-out skills and abilities

The program will run between September and December. It will be a flexible arrangement that will include a minimum of six sessions at the mentor’s workplace over three months.

Apply here to be a mentee!

For more information about this program, please email applications@and.org.au or call our office on (03) 9621 2276.

Latest news

UK charity puts pressure on government to enforce web accessibility

Robin Christopherson, head of digital inclusion at Abilitynet, a UK disabilities charity, has written an open letter to the British Parliament, to put pressure on the people in power to fine organisations whose websites and apps fail to comply with WCAG 2.0.

Apple wins award for accessibility advances

The American Council of the Blind (ACB) has awarded Apple the coveted Robert S. Bray Award for their continued accessibility innovations, which will be presented on 4 July during the ACB’s annual conference and convention in Minneapolis, USA.

New ‘game-changing’ phone app enhances phone accessibility

‘OpenAccess Captions’ is a brand new application for iPads and iPhones that was developed by Brisbane-based charity Conexu Foundation. It is an app that aims to connect callers via a live captioner so that phone conversations can be read in live-time.

Featured accessibility article

Five common fails from web audits

Matthew Putland is a Digital Accessibility Analyst for Media Access Australia, based in Perth but working on projects all over the country. A lot of his work revolves around conducting accessibility audits on websites and digital media. He shares the five most common issues that he comes across in his web auditing, in an insightful and useful podcast and article.

Useful resource of the week

As this is a very useful resource and there is a limited amount of time left to enrol, we at Media Access Australia want to share with you the Professional Certificate in Web Accessibility (PCWA).  Learn WCAG 2.0 from the experts – online in 6 weeks. The PWCA course is Australia’s only university-accredited web accessibility certificate for web professionals and will teach you the essential principles and techniques for achieving web and digital accessibility compliance. Learn more about the PWCA.