Disability Website Links
The websites links listed on this page are placed in the following categories:
- Complex Communication Needs
- Cultural and Linguistic Diversity
- Disability
- Education
- Industry
- Mailing Lists/News
- New Apprenticeships/Traineeships
- Privacy Information for Disability Services
- Resources
- Service Seekers
- Useful Software for the Internet
- Web Accessibility
Complex Communication Needs
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- The Australian Group on Severe Communication Impairment (AGOSCI) - Mainly orientated towards Speech Therapists, they offer an annual conference and newsletters with abstracts of conference papers to members.
- Communication Aid User's Society Inc. (CAUS) - An advocacy group with a focus upon communication that offers information, resources and training.
- The Communication Resource Centre - The Communication Resource Centre provides information and advice for all issues involving people who have little or no speech or who may be difficult to understand
- ComTEC - ComTEC is a service of Yooralla and offers services throughout Victoria to people of all ages with a disability who have communication and technology needs. ComTEC also presented the FIELD communication workshops in 2001
- DEAL Communication Centre Inc - A great and informative site, offering lots of useful information and links.
Makaton Australia - Makaton Australia is based at the university of Newcastle. It will take a few months for the new website to be up and running but we will start letting people know about the name change after our national meeting on the weekend. It will be Key Word Sign Australia
- Speech Pathology Australia: - This website offers informative factsheets on Speech Pathology and communication disorders.
Cultural and Linguistic Diversity
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- Multicultural Disability Advocacy Association (MDAA) - This website provides information, links and connections for people from a non-English speaking background (NESB) with disabilities, family members, government and non-government service providers and other interested parties.
- Diversity Rx - Comprehensive American site on Cultural and Linguistic Diversity Issues.
- Queensland Health - A website providing information on culturally-sensitive health care in hospitals and community health services.
- Australian Institute of Health and Welfare - Australia's national agency for health and welfare statistics and information.
- Action on Disability within Ethnic Communities (ADEC) - A community based organisation providing information on the rights and needs of people of non-English speaking background with a disability and their carers.
- The National Ethnic Disability Alliance (NEDA) - is the national consumer-based peak body for people from a non-English speaking background (NESB) with disability, their families and carers.
- The Charter of Public Service in a Culturally Diverse Society website provides strategies and a good practice guide to cultural diversity.
- The Eastern Region Migrant Information Centre provides a range of services for migrants and refugees living in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne.
Disability
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- The Australian e-Journal for the Advancement of Mental Health -The Australian e-Journal for the Advancement of Mental Health is a peer reviewed electronic journal which aims to nurture and encourage understanding of mental health promotion, prevention and early intervention within a multidisciplinary forum.
- British Institute of Learning Disabilities - A comprehensive site that supports learning by professionals, care staff, service users and their families.
- The Centre for Developmental Disability Studies (CDDS) - CDDS creates and disseminates knowledge that can improve the lives of people with developmental disabilities
- The Disability Awareness Kit - A Training Resource for Public Library Customer Service Staff. Useful information on the range of different types of disability.
- Disability Online - This site provides information on numerous disability services in Victoria.
- DisAbility Services Division (Department of Human Services)- Direct link to the Disability Services Division of the Victorian Department of Human Services. This site hosts a range of information for disability service providers.
- Human Rights and Equal Opportunity commission - At this site you can find a range of resources and links on disability rights and discrimination issues.
- NCID - National Council on Intellectual Disability, the recognised national peak body with a single focus on intellectual disability.
- Open All Options - This site provides information and resources about learning disabilities (LD) for students and educators.
- Respitenorth - Respite North is a community focused Internet site providing respite information. The site is coordinated by the Northern Metropolitan Region Respite Network.
- Respitesouthwest - Respite South West is an intranet site designed to improve communication and access to information for all people with an interest in respite issues living in South West Victoria.
- Vicnet - A rich resource for those interested in this area.
- Villamanta Legal Service - Villamanta Legal Service is a Statewide community Legal Centre that specialises in disability related legal issues in Victoria, Australia.
- Western Region Disability Network (WRDN) - This website consists of information about the WRDN, forthcoming events, minutes of bimonthly meetings, the current edition of Network News, and other relevant information. It also includes a service seeker, an address book,a web page builder, along with an on-line forum and chat room.
Education
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- Deakin University's Institute for Disability Studies - Institute of Disability Studies (IDS).
- National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) - The principal national organisation for research and evaluation of the Vocational Education and Training Sector. Information on the site includes research, statistics, news and events, there is also a library and reading room.
Skills Victoria - The Skills Victoria website provides information on education and training options to the community including apprentices, trainees, students, teachers, trainers, businesses and employers. If you are looking for corporate-specific information such as our directions and priorities, support to providers, TAFE and university appointments and our programs and initiatives.- TAFE Virtual Campus -The TAFE VC website contains over 1000 learning modules offered, for enrolment, by 98 registered training providers in Victoria.
Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority (VRQA) - The VRQA is responsible for the regulation of all education and training providers in Victoria from home schooling to higher education including overseas secondary student exchange organisations – in total over 3700 providers.
Industry
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- Curriculum Corporation - is an independent, not-for-profit organisation owned by all Australian Ministers for Education. Curriculum Corporation provide curriculum services directly to governments, systems, schools and teachers.
- CS&HITB - Community Services and Health Industry Training Board for Victoria
- Community Service and Health Training Australia - The website for Community Service and Health Training Australia, which is the National Industry Training Advisory Body (ITAB) for the community services and health industries.
DEST - New National Training System - NAC InfoService - Provides training package information to the New Apprenticeship Centres
- National Training Information Services (NTIS)- Information on all registered training organisations and details on the range of courses in their scope of registration, training qualifications, and training packages. Also included are Competency Standards and links to a range of sites providing comprehensive information on the National Training Agenda.
- Reframing the Future - a national staff development and change management initiative funded through the Australian National Training Authority. Reframing the Future provides limited funding for projects involved in implementing the national training system in workplaces around Australia.
Mailing Lists
- Access Audits Australia:
Access Audits Australia regularly publishes the popular free Access News newsletter. This contains a mix of articles on recent happenings in the disability access industry, changes in legislation and regulations, information on projects and products, as well as a little bit of fun. This is distributed either as a PDF file, a print copy or a text only copy.
(www.accessauditsaustralia.com.au/access_news.html)
(added 13/11/03) - AeJAMH - The Australian e-Journal for the Advancement of Mental Health. This is a low volume mailing list with the sole purpose of announcing issues of the Australian e-Journal for the Advancement of Mental Health.
- Flex e-News is a monthly newsletter of the Australian Flexible Learning Framework. It provides information on what is happening in the Framework and to read about new developments in flexible learning.
- Infoxchange Disability News - A free interactive website with the latest news, events, funding opportunities and services for people with a disability, carers and disability service workers across Victoria.
- Training Packages @ Work - A monthly on-line newsletter for teachers, trainers and assessors in the vocational education and training sector, providing the latest information on training packages and their implementation, as well as providing you best examples and case studies of best practice in delivery from training packages.
- The VICSERV Factsline is the free emailed newsletter to the PDSS Sector. The Factsline contains information relating to the Mental Health sector including announcements. It is sent out via email fortnightly to interested people and organisations.
New Apprenticeships/Traineeships
- Australian Apprenticeship Centre
- NAC InfoService - Provides training package information to the New Apprenticeship Centres.
- New Apprenticeship a website containing information on New Apprenticeships for employers, jobseekers, career advisers and students
(www.newapprenticeships.gov.au)
(added 13/11/03) - ETTE website's New Apprenticeships page: (www.ette.vic.gov.au/apprenticeships/smallbusiness/)
(added 13/11/03) - Community Services & Health Training Australia website has offers useful information on New Apprenticeships which is sector specific:
(www.cshta.com.au/view_page.asp?ID=9)
(added 13/11/03)
Privacy Information for Disability Services
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- Allens Arthur Robinson - A leading Australian Law firm providing a very informative website on all matters dealing with privacy.
- Department of Human Services - link to their website pages on privacy.
- Office of the Health Services Commissioner
Resources
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- Education Network of Australia (EDNA) - A website with extensive links to resources and services for Education and Training
- flexiblelearning.net.au - houses the flexible learning projects and activities developed within the AFL Framework acts as a repository for resources and products, and access to services developed under the Framework.
- Training and Development Subjects - (Big Dog's HR Link Page) This website contains links to training and learning resources such as.
- Writing Policy and Organisational Manuals - These tools are designed to help people working in smaller community organisations develop written policies and organisational manuals.
Service Seekers
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- The Better Health Channel - Find any health service in Victoria.
- Infoxchange Service Seeker - electronic directory of community support services, provides access to 86,046 health, welfare and community service records.
Web Accessibility
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- Accessability: Online Access for People With Disabilities - At this website you will find detailed information on a wide range of issues, products and services associated with access to online services for people with disabilities.
- Accessibility Study of BBC -
(2.2 MB - Microsoft Word document) - (1.7 MB - PDF document)
A report outlining recommendations on how bbc.co.uk and other websites can be made more accessible. It also provides an understanding of the opportunities and challenges that the Internet poses to users with disabilities. It provides the motivation to coders, designers and writers to think wider than their assumed audience by detailing the experiences of real users. - Bobby - a website providing a free service to help web page developers check their site for access for people with a disability.
- Disability Information Network Australia (DINA) - A website outlining the aims an objectives of DINA. DINA is a national group of disability information providers with interest in resource and information sharing and networking.
- Microsoft Accessibility providing information about the built-in accessibility features in Microsoft products that you can adjust to meet your needs.
- Web Access Initiative - providing information on accessibility of the Web through five primary areas of work: technology, guidelines, tools, education and outreach, and research and development.
- WebABLE - Includes a section on Web Accessibility Browsers.
Useful Software for The Internet
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- Adobe® Acrobat® Reader® is free software that lets you view and print Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) files.
- Macromedia Flash Player is a free software that lets you view content created with Macromedia Flash.
- Macromedia Shockwave Player - Macromedia Shockwave Player, allows you to view and use interactive Web Content such as multimedia games, learning applications, and product demonstrations. A Flash Player is automatically included with any download of the Shockwave Player. This is a free download.
- Microsoft Download - download software such at the latest Microsoft Explorer Internet browser.
- Mojo Mail - Mojo Mail is Free E-mail List Management System to use on your website.
- Netscape Download - download the latest version of Netscape Internet browser.
- Winzip - WinZip brings the convenience of Windows to the use of Zip files and other compression formats.
- WS_FTP - Transfer files between local & remote systems while enjoying the utmost in security, ease of use, reliability, and efficiency.
- YABB Forum - YaBB is a FREE, downloadable Perl Discussion software application
that allows you to provide a real-time chat and support system for your visitors.


