about us

Our values lead our movements, our organisation, and our work. As a Disabled People’s Organisation, an organisation of and for all Victorians with disability, we are driven by:

Disability Justice: We are committed to the principles of disability justice. Disability Justice centres intersectionality, i.e. the intersection of disability identity and Aboriginality, race, gender, age, class, socioeconomic status etc., and the ways diverse systems of oppression overlap, amplify, and reinforce one another. A Disability Justice cross-disability approach centres the priorities and approaches of those most historically excluded groups, such as First Nations people, women and gender diverse people, people of colour, incarcerated peoples, refugees and migrants, children and young people, older people, and people who are LGBTIQA+. We represent people with disability who are often excluded from disability organising spaces including people with intellectual disabilities, invisible disability, MMIND people, people with chronic illnesses and multiply disabled people. We act in solidarity with other justice and liberation movements.

Disability Pride: We are proud of our disability identity, in all our diversities, and celebrate our disability as an integral part of who we are. Disability Pride is a celebration of human diversity, of every body and every mind. We celebrate human diversity and disability pride every day and, in solidarity with our international community, on the International Day of Persons with Disabilities (December 3) and Disability Pride Month (July). Disability Pride is an act of resistance, challenging disability stigma, discrimination, and segregation.

Human rights: Human rights are rights inherent to all human beings, whatever our disability, nationality, housing status, sex, age, gender identity, sexuality, race or ethnicity, class, religion, language, or any other status. We are all equally entitled to our human rights without discrimination. These rights are all interrelated, interdependent, and indivisible. Universal human rights are often expressed and guaranteed by law, in the forms of treaties, customary international law, general principles and other sources of international law. International human rights law lays down obligations of Governments to act in certain ways or to refrain from certain acts, in order to promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms of individuals or groups. We are committed to assisting people with disability to achieve both individually and collectively full access to our human rights through the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).

Power with: We operate from a position of ‘power with’. Power with is shared power that grows out of collaboration and relationships. It is built on respect, mutual support, shared power, solidarity, influence, empowerment, and collaborative decision making. We use power with to help build bridges within our organisation and movements, and across identities (e.g., disability, Aboriginality, gender, class, LGBTIQA+ etc). Rather than domination and control, power with leads to collective action and the ability to act together.

Radical accessibility and inclusion: As a cross-disability Disabled People’s Organisation we operate from the social and human rights models of disability and live out radical accessibility and inclusion. We centre the voices of people with disability, represent, provide access to, and include the full participation all people with disability. We create spaces that value people with disability and their experiences. Everyone is welcome and celebrated here.

Inclusion: We embrace diversity in all its forms and make sure that all people with disability are respected, valued, and included, regardless of our disability, Aboriginality, race, cultural background, class, age, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, sex characteristics, or where we live.

Empowerment: We advocate for the empowerment of people with disability so that we can advocate for ourselves and make our own decisions.

Intersectionality: We acknowledge and honour the intersectionality of identities and recognise the unique experiences, barriers, discriminations, and oppressions of people with disability in all our diversity.

Solidarity: We demonstrate solidarity with other disability human rights organisations and movements acknowledging the power of unity.

Collaboration: We foster partnerships and collaborate with other organisations, communities, and movements to maximise impact and create meaningful and sustainable change.

Accountability: We hold ourselves accountable for our actions and decisions to people with disability and the broader community with transparency and integrity.

Continuous improvement: We commit to ongoing learning, education, and continuous improvement to better address the evolving needs of people with disability, our movements, and our communities.