MIFA Submission: Inclusive Communities Fund Consultation

MIFA has provided a submission to the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing’s consultation on the Inclusive Communities Fund, a $200 million investment aimed at helping mainstream community organisations become more inclusive and accessible for people with disability.

Drawing on 40 years of frontline experience, MIFA’s submission focuses particularly on what meaningful inclusion looks like for people with psychosocial disability.

MIFA supports the Fund but argues that lasting inclusion requires more than one-off training or accessibility purchases. It requires organisations to understand the episodic and fluctuating nature of psychosocial disability, build genuine partnerships with disability-led, lived-experience and community mental health organisations, and embed those relationships into the way they operate.

The submission also addresses the Fund in the context of recent changes to NDIS Social, Civic and Community Participation supports. MIFA is clear that investment in more inclusive communities is important, but cannot replace individually funded psychosocial support.

MIFA makes seven recommendations for the design of the Fund, including specific measures for regional, rural and remote communities, local government, workforce capability and long-term partnerships.

Read MIFA’s full submission to the Inclusive Communities Fund Consultation below.