Independent Review of the NDIS Report

Autism CRC welcomes the report from the Independent Review of the NDIS. We commend the Hon Bill Shorten MP and the Commonwealth Government for taking important steps towards delivering a better experience for NDIS participants and securing the future of the Scheme.

We thank the Review Panel and the many tens of thousands of individuals and organisations who have contributed to this landmark Report.

We also welcome the National Cabinet’s recognition of the need for a better integrated ecosystem of supports and the crucial role of the states and territories within that system through existing services, such as childcare, education and health. It is critical that each part of this ecosystem has the capacity to provide evidence-based supports appropriate to assessed need, including supports for autistic Australians and their families.

As the independent national source of evidence for best practice relating to autism, we look forward to continuing to work together with the Commonwealth Government, states and territories, the community and all other stakeholders in delivering that outcome.

Self-Advocacy@Work website released

Autism CRC’s Sylvia Rodger Academy is excited to announce the release of the Self-Advocacy@Work website.

This new resource helps autistic people navigate the world of employment, understand workplace rights, and develop self-advocacy skills through multi-media tools and resources. These include articles and videos covering topics such as:

• how-to self-advocate
• wellbeing at work
• workplace adjustments
• self-advocacy skills
• workplace rights and entitlements.

Self-Advocacy@Work is the perfect example of “by us, for us”, with the voices, experiences and needs of the autistic community embedded throughout.

Autism CRC AGM

Thank you to those who were able to attend our Annual General Meeting and post-AGM event on 28 November. It was great to have so many people join us in person, particularly during the post-AGM event. We were delighted to host Clare Gibellini, Co-chair of the National Autism Strategy Oversight Council, who gave an enlightening and informed update of the Strategy’s progress.

It was heartening to hear how our work to inform both Strategy considerations and its co-design has flowed through with positive impacts on the Strategy’s development.

Autism CRC Podcast – season one fully released

The Autism CRC podcast will release its final (16th) episode featuring Autism@Work Thursday 14 December.

The podcast series has covered several speakers and topics important to the autistic and autism communities from knowing your rights to finding success in Employee Resource Groups (ERGs).

If you haven’t already, now is a great time to jump in and listen to an episode or make your way through the complete series.

In 2024 the podcast will return with season two featuring inclusionED webinars and educational resources for teachers to cultivate inclusive classrooms.

Introducing the CliniKids Autism Seminar Series!

Telethon Kids Institute’s CliniKids is excited to introduce an online autism seminar series in 2024, designed to inform families, clinicians and educators about the latest autism topics and research.

Held quarterly, the free online seminars will include presentations by leading autism experts on topics such as mental health, education and early therapies and supports.

CliniKids Director, Professor Andrew Whitehouse, will deliver the first seminar – ‘The autism landscape in 2024: Where are we, how did we get here, and where are we going?’ Thursday 29 February (5-6pm AWST/8-9pm AEST).

2nd National PRECI Conference

Registrations for PRECI 2024 on the Gold Coast are now open.

PRECI is a newly formed Australian organisation aiming to support and develop a national research-to-practice network focussed explicitly on the area of young children with developmental disabilities.

The conference will take place 1-3 May 2024. Call for abstracts will close 18 December 2023.