Joint Statement from Women with Disabilities Australia, Women with Disabilities ACT and Women with Disabilities Victoria

Posted on by Kayla Morton

Women with Disabilities Australia (WWDA), Women with Disabilities ACT (WWDACT), and Women with Disabilities Victoria (WDV) stand united in our endorsement of WWDA’s 2025 Federal Election Platform and 2025-26 Federal Budget Response.

WDV’s Acting CEO, Julie Kun, says that: “21.8% of all women and girls in Australia identify as having disability. It is imperative that our needs are addressed by the government. We all deserve to live with safety, respect, and access to the health and community support we need. The government’s implementation of Australian Peak Bodies for women with disabilities endorsed federal platform and budget response, is essential to making this a reality.”

To read the full joint statement in either PDF or Word format, click the link(s) below:

PDF: Joint Statement

Word: Joint Statement

 

WDV Youth Blog: Endometriosis Awareness Month

Posted on by Kayla Morton

March is Endometriosis awareness month. Sharing their experiences with the disease that affects 1 in 7 people assigned female at birth is WDV Youth Expert by Experience Teagan Mitchell.

Sharing ‘endo facts’ and her own experiences, Teagan hopes to provide a greater understanding of invisible disability and the condition.

Click the link to read the full piece:

WDV Youth Blog – Endometriosis Awareness Month

WDV Youth Blog: Mental Health and Disability

Posted on by Kayla Morton

Mental Health and Disability

Mental health is a good example of inclusion: someone can experience mental health challenges regardless of who they are – it does not discriminate. Anyone can be affected, and there are many reasons and circumstances in which difficulties can arise.
Fortunately, although you might feel alone, there are people out there who can relate and understand you. There is help.

Youth Expert by Experience, Emma Jago, thoughtfully explores disabled identity and mental health challenges in the blog below. Click the link to read the full piece:

WDV Youth Blog – Mental Health and Disability

Free Short-term Technical Advice and Assistance!

Posted on by Kayla Morton

Free Technical Advice and Assistance for Building Disability Access and Inclusion in the workplace! 

Are you a Victorian organisation looking to enhance employee disability access and inclusion from recruitment to onboarding and ongoing support? If so, WDV is here to help! 

We are offering FREE short-term advice and assistance to organisations committed to recruiting and supporting women and gender-diverse people with disabilities as employees or leaders. This incredible opportunity is part of our Sharing our Expertise project, leveraging our extensive experience to foster inclusive workplaces. 

Interested? Please contact us on social media or via emailing the Advocacy Lead, Helen Freris, at [email protected].

Announcing the Resignation of WDV CEO, Nadia Mattiazzo

Posted on by Kayla Morton

With sadness we share the news of the resignation of our CEO, Nadia Mattiazzo, as she leaves to pursue other opportunities. During her time as WDV CEO, Nadia made an enormous contribution to progressing the rights of women and gender diverse people with disabilities in Victoria.

Nadia has been with WDV since 2017 and led WDV through the incredibly challenging COVID lockdown period. Nadia has ensured that women and gender diverse people with disabilities were never far from the minds of government decision-makers and community influencers. Along with WDV staff, she built WDV’s intersectional practice and championed genuine co-design.

We sincerely thank Nadia for her service to WDV and the disability community and wish her, and Abbie, her furry companion, all the best for their future endeavours.

Recruitment for a new CEO will begin in the new year, and we’re lucky to have the wonderful Julie Kun continuing as Acting CEO until a new CEO is recruited.