Amparo Advocacy

08/10/2026

Have your say on sport in Queensland!

The Count Me In Survey wants to hear from people with disability, parents, allies and carers about their experiences of sport and physical activity in Queensland. Your experience matters.

By sharing your experience, you can help to:

✅ Identify barriers to taking part
✅ Improve access, programs and facilities
✅ Build evidence for better funding and support
✅ Shape a more inclusive future for sport in Queensland

Take the survey today:
https://bit.ly/EmpowerSurvey2026

Survey closes 4 December 2026.

Need support to participate?
📞 1300 363 783
📱 Text: 0427 984 300
📧 [email protected]

08/10/2026

FREE WEBINAR SERIES for Multicultural & Faith Organisations

Creating safe, inclusive and respectful environments for children is everyone’s business.

A free Child Safe Organisation webinar series is underway, exploring practical ways multicultural and faith organisations can strengthen child safeguarding.

The sessions cover leadership and culture, children’s voices, inclusive practice, safe environments, complaints, reportable conduct and more.

Remaining dates:
13 October | 3 November | 24 November | 8 December 2026

6:00pm–7:00pm
Online

The cultural safety of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children is embedded throughout the series.

Register for the webinar series:
https://zoom.us/meeting/register/aVdF8f2hTr-vsKdktY7g0g

Please share with multicultural and faith organisations and community leaders who may benefit.

29/09/2026

We’re pleased to be part of a new free webinar series for faith groups and culturally diverse communities on Queensland’s Child Safe Organisations law.

The first in the series will focus on the Child Safe Standards, particularly Standards 1 (Leadership and culture) and 10 (Policy and procedures). Designed for faith group leaders, clergy, Imam, board members, volunteers, staff and members of culturally diverse communities, it will cover:

🔹child safeguarding – its everyone’s business
🔹leadership and responsibilities
🔹creating culturally safe and inclusive environments
🔹practical steps to strengthen safeguarding
🔹using the self-assessment tool to get started.

Whether your organisation is large or small, this webinar will help you understand what the new laws mean and how to create safer environments for children and young people.

Date: Tuesday 22 September 2026
Time: 5.45–7pm
Location: Online
Register now: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/aVdF8f2hTr-vsKdktY7g0g #/registration

We’re proud to partner with Community Leaders Group, SSI - Settlement Services International, Multicultural Australia, ECCQ - Ethnic Communities Council of Queensland, Pacific Islands Council of QLD Inc. and Multicultural Affairs Queensland to help build a safer Queensland for our children.

10/09/2026

Celebrating its 5th year, World of Cultures is a multicultural twilight festival held at the Kingston Butter Factory in Logan on the traditional lands of the Yagara and Yugambeh peoples.

A big thank you to organisers Settlement Services International (SSI) for bringing our community together to celebrate culture, diversity, and connection.

The AMPARO team was grateful to be there, share information about our advocacy & capacity building supports, and meet so many wonderful people. We love being part of events that celebrate the strength and richness of Queensland's multicultural community.

02/09/2026

The NDIS Amendment Act Has Received Royal Assent

The NDIS Amendment Act 2026 has now passed Parliament and received Royal Assent, with provisions commencing in stages from 27 August 2026.

In July, AMPARO Advocacy made a submission to the Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee & appeared before it in Canberra, raising what this Act means for people from culturally & linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds with disability.

We're not going to pretend this is simple. It isn't.

Some real changes were made along the way. The Act now makes clear:
• Before NDIS support can be suspended or revoked, there are safeguards around how the NDIA must attempt contact first.
• A parent's responsibility does not include the extra support a child needs because of their disability - reflecting what we & other families told the Committee.

We're proud that AMPARO's own submission was quoted directly in the Committee's final report. We told the Committee that suspension powers shouldn't be used unless the NDIA's contact attempts were culturally & linguistically accessible - in a person's own language, with an interpreter & advocate where needed. That's now on the parliamentary record & reflected in the Act's safeguards.

The report also flagged a related concern: gaps in CALD data could mean this cohort is overlooked or misread by automated decision-making under the Act - a second place our community's risks are now on record.

What hasn't changed is our biggest concern. The Act still allows cuts to social & community participation funding without looking at individual need. For refugee & migrant families with disability - often without extended family here & relying on this funding to stay connected to culture & faith - that risk remains.

Much of the detail that matters most, including exactly how these powers will be used, is still to be worked out as further provisions commence. Our work isn't finished. AMPARO will keep watching closely & keep making sure people from CALD backgrounds with disability aren't an afterthought in how this Act is implemented.

Thank you to everyone who shared their story or stood with us. It mattered, & it still does.

24/08/2026

AMPARO Advocacy recently had the pleasure of delivering a Community Engagement Workshop with members of the Burmese Chin Community at Multilink Community Services in Logan.

Our Multicultural Engagement Officers Tahmina and Venantie, facilitated the session in both English and the community's language.

The workshop covered:
- An introduction to AMPARO Advocacy and our supports
- Understanding disability and different types of disability
- An overview of the NDIS
- Basic NDIS eligibility requirements and pathways to access support

The session provided valuable information about the disability system, available supports, and how individuals and families can connect with services that meet their priorities and needs. Overall, the workshop aimed to strengthen community awareness, confidence and connection.

AMPARO Advocacy is grateful for the opportunity to engage with the Burmese Chin Community.

24/08/2026

24/08/2026

You've probably heard someone say migrants are a drain on the economy. The evidence says otherwise.

The Productivity Commission's own analysis shows migration is a net positive for Australia, and it's not by accident. More than 70% of our permanent visa places are set aside for skilled workers specifically because the system is designed to fill the gaps our economy needs filled. On average, migrants pay more in tax than they draw in services.

The cost-of-living squeeze is real, but it's a separate issue from whether migrants themselves are "a cost." Conflating the two doesn't hold up.

Read the full breakdown: https://www.rails.org.au/blogs/whats-fact-and-whats-misunderstood-about-migration-in-australia

20/08/2026

Queensland Disability Conference 2026 – ‘Access All Areas: The Road Ahead’

Queenslanders with Disability Network (QDN), in partnership with the Department of Families, Seniors, Disability Services and Child Safety, is hosting the Queensland Disability Conference 2026, Brisbane.

Event highlights will include discussions on:

• Disability reforms
• Brisbane 2032 Games - Social and economic impact
• Accessible and inclusive transport

You can find out more information on the QDN Website by clicking the following link: https://qdn.org.au/ourwork/queensland-disability-conference-2026/

The online event will be held on an interactive platform, where you will have the opportunity to meet and collaborate with other attendees, whilst watching a live feed of the presentation.

Date: Friday, 11 September 2026.
Time: 9:30am - 4:30pm.
Where: Online – Link sent before Conference
Register here: https://events.humanitix.com/queensland-disability-conference-2026-online/tickets

Alt text:
A rectangle with a blue background and a “Spotlight” effect. Text reads: Queensland Disability Conference 2026 – ‘Access All Areas: The Road Ahead’ Friday 11 September 2026 Online. Also has QDN and Queensland Government Logos.

06/08/2026

On Friday 31 July 2026, AMPARO Advocacy attended and gave evidence at the Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee's public hearing into the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026, in Canberra.

AMPARO Advocacy was represented by Senior Systemic Advocate Ange Boyd, alongside Management Committee members Francy Molina and Grace Cruz, who spoke from their own experience as women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds with disability.

AMPARO supports a sustainable, safe NDIS, and supports genuine measures to strengthen its integrity. Our evidence to the Committee was clear: as currently drafted, this Bill does not adequately consider the specific needs of people from CALD backgrounds with disability, and risks further disadvantaging them.

In the year to March 2026, 66% of CALD applicants met NDIS access requirements, against 83% for everyone else. That gap already exists, before any of this Bill's changes take effect.

We raised concerns including whole-person, culturally safe assessment, rather than a single snapshot; contact and suspension processes that genuinely reach people, not just an unanswered call or an English-only letter; no blanket assumptions about what family or mainstream supports can provide; and individual need — not blanket cuts — determining funding for social and community participation.