'kon gres 2011 - LEADR's 11th international ADR conference

Hearing the voice of the person affected – person centred and inclusive approaches to dispute resolution involving people with a disability”

Podcasts, powerpoints and/or papers from the presentations are available to LEADR members and
'kon gres 2011 participants via a password protected area. Click here >>

The Victorian Disability Services Commissioner shares its experiences in this area offering public sector, complaints and disability perspectives.

jen-jackson-hall ront lynnecb People with a disability and their families have traditionally experienced difficulties in accessing dispute resolution or appeal processes. These difficulties have been linked to people's fear of raising issues about services, or the lack of accessibility or familiarity of dispute resolution processes.

When people not used to speaking out are heard by people not used to listening then real change can be made.

– John O’Brien (2007).

The experience of the office of the Victorian Disability Services Commissioner (DSC) is that dispute resolution processes can be designed in a way to provide the opportunity for this type of real change – which can be powerful and lead to significantly improved outcomes for people with a disability.

This workshop will outline and demonstrate practice approaches developed to maximize the participation of people with a disability in the informal resolution or conciliation of complaints. The workshop will cover ways of maximising the participation of people with an intellectual disability and cognitive impairments; person centred and inclusive approaches to complaint resolution; and approaches to working with family members, advocates and service providers to ensure that the person receiving services remains at the centre of the process- that their voice is heard.

The workshop will be an interactive session which will include:

presentation of visual aides developed to facilitate the participation of people with an intellectual disability;
a complaint ‘boot camp’ exercise with small groups working through approaches to a complaint raised by a person about decisions and actions by a disability service provider;
outline of resolution approaches taken by the office
feedback from people with a disability and family members on how to make resolution processes person centred, inclusive and effective.

Podcast: Listen to Lynne and Ron talk about this session pre-kon gres (8 mins) >>

Lynne Coulson Barr (left)

Lynne Coulson Barr is the Deputy Commissioner with the Victorian Disability Services Commissioner. She commenced in this position on 2 July 2007, being the first day the Commissioner's office came into operation under the Disability Act 2006.

She was the President of the Intellectual Disability Review Panel (IDRP) from 2004-2007. Her qualifications include: Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Social Work, Masters in Social Work, and she has completed studies for a Graduate Diploma of Law.

She has articulated these studies into a Doctoral of Juridical Science which she is currently undertaking on the determination of the suitability of disputes for conciliation.

Ron Tiffen

Ron Tiffen is the Assessment and Conciliation Manager with the Office of the Disability Services Commissioner. He has trained with Trillium, AIMA and has a Masters Degree in Conflict Resolution and Mediation (La Trobe Uni). Ron specialises in dispute resolution n public sector organisations and in the human service sector.

Jen Jackson-Hall (right)

Jen Jackson-Hall is a Senior Assessment and Conciliation Officer with the Office of the Disability Services Commissioner. She commenced work in the disability sector in 1994. Her qualifications include a Post Graduate Diploma in Rehabilitation and a Bachelor of Applied Science (Disability Studies). Jen gained National Accreditation as a mediator in 2010.