Powerd NewsWrap 21st January 2026

Speaker 1  0:00  
Welcome to a Vision Australia radio podcast. Love our podcasts. Why not listen to us live? Tune in anywhere, anytime, ask your smart device to play Vision Australia radio or visit va radio.org,

Speaker 2  0:21  
on vision, Australia radio and reading radio networks. This is the Powerd news app.

Sam Rickard  0:31  
Today. I'm Sam Ricard. It's the 21st January, 2026 where has this month got to we're reading articles from the Powerd dot media website, and joining me, as per usual, is the writer of said articles. Hello, Emma Myers,

Emma Myers  0:47  
hello, Sam. Yeah, it's almost Christmas again. Exactly it.

Sam Rickard  0:52  
January tends to rush pie, and then all of a sudden, we're in the middle of the year. All right, so how have things been going here? You seem to be rather busy like the rest of us, really,

Emma Myers  1:01  
yeah, so I should never complain about work being quiet, because then I'm overloaded with work. And yeah, I've got stories coming out of it everywhere. So yeah, it's been good,

Sam Rickard  1:17  
except apparently, for that one particular topic that well, it's triggering for some and it raises an eyebrow for others.

Emma Myers  1:27  
Yes, and so last week, I said that I was working on a story about foundation or supports. But wouldn't you not be provider, planner or participant? No one put their hand up to talk. So, yeah, it didn't actually eventuate. I will still be chasing it, but it's a tricky topic to nail down for anyone.

Sam Rickard  1:56  
It seems to have gone from being this thing that's across the other side of the rainbow to something that's fallen down the back of the couch more than anything else, it's kind of this, okay, yes, we know it needs to happen, but we don't know how to do it.

Emma Myers  2:08  
Yeah, although, if we're talking about finding things at the back of the couch, you're more likely to find funding for things that the NDIS won't fund for you?

Sam Rickard  2:22  
Oh, yes, and that's, I'm sure we will go into that at some other later stage. But in the meantime, we are talking about disability workers and the fact that some service providers may not pay them appropriately. Yeah.

Emma Myers  2:38  
So the Australian service of the Union has come out saying that a lot of their workers are being ripped off, they're being underpaid, and they're having the Employment Rights breached by NDIS providers, and so They're calling for the government to scrap for profit providers completely through in the scheme.

Sam Rickard  3:05  
I really have two minds about this, not for profit organizations or supposed not for profit organizations can be just as bad at doing this, and often will get away with it because they are doing a worthy job. If I'm paying somebody to perform a service. I'd prefer that to know that they are actually doing this as a job, and they're professional about it. So to me, it says, instead of just scrapping for profit, agencies just make sure that they're operating properly. That's what I'd like to see. You know, regulation, that's that's my, my viewpoint. I mean, what about you?

Emma Myers  3:38  
I mean, you are Sam, and I will say that the government will be cracking down on this in two specific support areas within the NDIS, which come into effect on the first of July this year, supported independent living providers and digital service providers will now face mandatory regulation procedures. But can only be a good thing.

Sam Rickard  4:07  
I think it's a complicated issue, really. I mean, what it comes down to is, alright, so my own service providers, we get professional cleaners in to clean our house, and they're there because they're being paid to do the do the job, and I trust that they're being paid appropriately by their overall people in charge. They're not doing it just simply because they have this desire to clean our houses. They're doing it because they're paid. I got no objections to that, what, whatsoever. And same with someone coming in to do the garden and things like that. I just, I'm just want professionalism. I don't want necessary to know that people are dedicated to my well being in that way. But I mean, maybe things are different for people that are more severely disabled. Anyway, let's cross now to the news with a returning news reader, one of my favorites, actually, it's Mark.

Speaker 2  5:00  
Thanks very much. Sam, many people within the disability community rely on NDIS support workers to go about their daily lives. However, some are concerned that for profit providers are jeopardizing the viability and integrity of the scheme the Australian Services Union ASU, a dedicated workers' rights collective, is urging the federal government to consider banning profiteering companies from the scheme, as the number of Disability Support Workers experiencing breaches to their employment contracts continues to grow. The union's NDIS spokesperson Angus MacFarland claims the ASU has investigated 102 providers for underpaying workers and breaching the Fair Work Act. Our union is constantly playing a whack a mole on dodgy providers who rip off workers. Virtually all of these bad players are for profits. Many of these NDIS providers are ripping off workers than phoenixing or leaving the industry. The ASU spokesperson argues the same service providers are also engaging in broader fraudulent activities within the NDIS. When there is so much commentary about the sustainability of the NDIS, it's time for a conversation about why we have providers with profit motives in the scheme at all. Mr. MacFarlane says the proliferation of for profit NDIS providers all began under the coalition government, where we witnessed a rise in rip offs, fraud and undermining of the promise of the NDIS, largely driven by a marketised and deregulated system. It's worth noting that two NDIS service types will soon be subject to mandatory registration in an effort to crack down on fraud. Last month, the federal government announcing a new mandatory regulation procedure for supported independent living. That's CIL and digital service providers within the NDIS, the new change is opposed to regulate service providers to ensure participants are receiving high quality care. The registration tactic could also ensure independent audits and worker screening checks are undertaken on a regular basis according to National Disability Services, mandatory registration of supported independent living and digital platform providers are set to roll out later this year, women and girls in Western Australia could soon have access to specialist care for endometriosis and pelvic pain with a new clinic opening in jindulap next week, from next Monday, the suburb of Joondalup in Perth's North will be provided with specialist, multidisciplinary care for women of all ages living with endometriosis and pelvic pain, as well as improving health care and Education of perimenopause and menopause, according to the Australian Government, endometriosis affects at least one in seven Australian women. According to the Institute of Health and Welfare, it can have an extensive, devastating impact on the daily lives of sufferers who face an average seven year delay in diagnosis. According to the Australian coalition of endometriosis, pelvic pain can be similarly complex and debilitating, according to the pelvic pain Foundation of Australia. Assistant Minister for Women, Rebecca white claims, Women's Health is no longer an afterthought for the Albanese government. Too many women have spent years living with debilitating pain that is often dismissed or misunderstood, they deserve to have their concerns taken seriously with better access to specialized care no matter where they live. Ms white believes that the gender like clinic will bring specialist care close to home and provide reassurance that the female population won't have to face these health issues alone. It means early intervention, coordinated care and better outcomes. Minister for Health, disability and aging, Mark Butler claims that the planned roll out of 11 new women's health clinics across the country will change how women's health conditions are handled, giving them access to the expertise, care and support they need. We are leveling the playing field for women and girls by investing in a modern, stronger Medicare that meets the needs of women at every age and stage. Tom French, the labor representative for the electorate of Moore, where the suburb of jindolip resides, praises the new clinic as a culmination of dignity making sure women don't have to fight, to have their pain taken seriously. This is the kind of care women in my community have been asking for, and we've delivered. Mr. French says, I'm proud to be part of a government committed to improving women's health, and this clinic will be a valuable addition to specialized care in our region. The gender up clinic will. Open its doors on Monday, the 19th of January.

Sam Rickard  10:07  
Okay, thank you. Mark hella, all right, so I'm not sure about where this particular article has got to do with people with a disability. I mean, there, in fact, I don't the only mention of disability was we have a disability minister,

Emma Myers  10:21  
yeah, so this article, well, what's all ill and good to say that disability should be viewed as a whole, but we can't get away from the fact that disability does impact our overall health, and for some people, specifically women with a disability, we face extra layers of discomfort and pain if we also live with health conditions like endometriosis and pelvic pain. So not only are we living with chronic pain as people with a disability. We're also living with chronic pain from these health conditions as well.

Sam Rickard  11:08  
So this is the first of a number of different clinics that are going to be opened up around Australia. So this is in June, July, Western Australia. June, July. Western Australia a particularly ISP part of the world, and it's concentrating primarily on what we might call women's issues of in the in the old style. My God, I sound very old fashioned when I say that, but that so we're talking about,

Emma Myers  11:33  
yeah, yes, him, it's no longer secret. Women's Business, women's health, and subsequently, women's pain, are no longer hiding in the shadows. It's not secret women's visits anymore. It's now beginning to be front and center in people's minds. And third, the government is opening up another 11 clinics across Australia specifically to help women deal with their pain, and they're not just checking women with endometriosis or pelvic pain, they're also providing women with education on perimenopause and menopausal symptoms, so it's again being elevated so that our bodily functions are no longer dismissed.

Sam Rickard  12:29  
Odd to think that over 50% of the population has in the past had these issues kind of glossed over and sort of thought of as sort of embarrassing.

Emma Myers  12:38  
I read somewhere that it wasn't until quite late in our history that the female anatomy started being depicted accurately, and that earlier medical texts deliberately omitted parts of our Anatomy because they weren't seen as valid parts to study.

Sam Rickard  13:03  
Well, it's, it's a whole new, different kind of worms you could potentially open. But in the meantime, I think we are about to run out of time. So what else have we got to look forward to? Apart from, apparently, people not wanting to talk about foundational supports, we

Emma Myers  13:19  
are going back to sex education, and from what I understand, it hit a nerve with our reader in a good way, and so I'm looking forward to hearing her read that article and and I'm also publishing a story on the beloved e scooter has it all

Sam Rickard  13:43  
for joy. For joy, we got a low E scooters in the meantime, that is a wrap for this rep. We will be back and forth next week, but bye for now, bye.

Speaker 2  13:52  
You can find these articles and more by going to Powerd spilt, P, O, W, E, R, D, dot media, along with the podcast of this show, the Powerd news rap was brought to you by disability media Australia, and this show was produced by Sam Rickard in the Adelaide studios of Vision Australia radio.