nib foundation announces health equity partners

nib foundation supports greater access to healthcare for people with Down syndrome and LGBTQIA+ people with disability 

nib foundation will work with leading disability representative organisations to improve access to healthcare for LGBTQIA+ people with disability and to support healthy ageing for people living with Down syndrome.  

nib foundation will provide $198,000 in total across two one-year projects, delivered by People with Disability Australia and Down Syndrome Australia.  

Guided by a national panel of healthcare professionals and LGBTQIA+ people with disability, People with Disability Australia will identify barriers to healthcare and develop practice guidelines to promote inclusive and responsive care. The guidelines will be piloted in 10 healthcare organisations, including regional providers, before being published. 

“LGBTQIA+ people with disability continue to face many barriers in healthcare, including attitudinal bias, discrimination and inaccessible services,” said People with Disability Australia President, Trinity Ford. “These systemic inequalities often contribute to poorer health outcomes. However, we can have a system that meets the needs of staff, patients and visitors.”

The project with Down Syndrome Australia will focus on healthy ageing for people with Down syndrome.  Working with an advisory group of advocates, including people with Down syndrome, their families and carers, Down Syndrome Australia will develop guides to identify early signs of age-related health conditions, and ways to access appropriate preventative healthcare. Information will be available on topics such as mental health, dementia, menopause and prevention.  

“People with Down syndrome continue to have poorer health outcomes than the general population,” said Down Syndrome Australia Chief Executive Officer, Darryl Steff. “They face a higher risk of age-related conditions like dementia, osteoporosis and diabetes,” he said. “These health issues are often missed or misunderstood, which can lead to more emergency visits, hospital stays and preventable deaths”.  

Amy Tribe, Executive Officer of nib foundation, said: “These two partnerships support people who face barriers to healthcare. In pursuing nib’s purpose of better health and wellbeing, nib foundation focuses on enabling health equity.” 

Martin Adlington, Chief Executive Officer of nib Thrive, said: “We are excited to see these partnerships come to life. They have strong alignment with nib Thrive’s purpose in providing sustainable plan management services to the NDIS community, ultimately helping people with disability live their best lives.”  

The NDIS is Australia’s National Disability Insurance Scheme. nib foundation was established in 2008, and since its inception has provided more than $23 million to partners.  

Contact:   

Amy Tribe, nib Foundation: a.tribe@nibfoundation.com.au, opens in a new tab  

People with Disability Australia is the national peak cross-disability rights and advocacy organisation, led by people with disability, for people with disability. Since 1981, People with Disability Australia has championed the rights, health, and wellbeing of individuals with all types of disability. As a not-for-profit and the peak body for LGBTQIA+ people with disability, their vision is a socially just, accessible, and inclusive community where the human rights, belonging, contributions, potential, and diversity of all people with disability are recognised, respected, and celebrated with pride.  

Down Syndrome Australia is the national peak body for people with Down syndrome and their families. As a not-for-profit organisation, their purpose is to drive societal change and provide a strong national voice, so that people with Down syndrome are fully included and treated fairly. The voices and rights of people with Down syndrome shape everything they do. To reflect this, people with Down syndrome are employed in meaningful roles across projects, such as health and employment, and provide organisational leadership through representation on the Board. Working in partnership with state and territory associations, and other disability representative organisations, Down Syndrome Australia provides information, resources and advocacy to help improve lives across the country.