The treatment by Afford Disabilities of their vulnerable clients and parents - and lack of decent trained workers - May afford get its just desserts https://www.northernbeachesreview.com.au/.../young.../amp/
I attended one of the hearings of the Royal commission this week and heard that day, how a worker from Afford had been caught by police filming his abuse of three boys there for at least a year without the parents even knowing. He is now in prison for three years – the police caught him because he used his phone to film what he was doing to these kids including filming them naked. Thank God the disability worker was stupid enough to film and show it on the internet or the police would not have arrested him. Due to ‘lack of evidence’ usually there are no charges laid, which is why most providers will not put in cameras even though they are allowed to. They don’t want evidence of what they do to our children in a moment of rage or out of cruelty as they dish out prolonged torment and abuse to the vulnerable. Thank God that that this time there was evidence, such a simple thing as a phone, and the male worker was caught out and charged. How many are never charged? Many.
Noted by News.com (May 2022) Multiple clients were abused by a care worker at the Mount Druitt centre in late 2019, after Dianne (an administration worker) had ended her employment, the commission heard.David Nuumaalii was arrested and charged by police in May 2020 when explicit images and videos were found on his phone depicting multiple participants of the program, the commission heard.
I read the news article about this case back in 2019, but it never mentioned organization – now I find out at the Royal Commission that it was Afford disabilities all along ! Why am I not surprised? I remember visiting an advocate for help with my sons funding and she said “keep away from Afford…” which puzzled me that she knew something about them. They are not to be trusted and never were, but how are parents to know? Like other providers I have mentioned, who have tricked parents like me and money taken from my son’s funding with false contracts I never signed (Life without Barriers), and James also being assaulted at a day program, (NADO, prove that it didn’t happen there go on) and a respite house - Life without Barriers. The furtive cover up was laughable if it wasn’t so awful. Their blatant lying a full-on stage act. All for money they love so much but have no care in their hearts for our vulnerable children at all.
The Commissioners at the Royal Commission, treated with respect, the mothers who spoke of their ordeals of finding out these things about what happened to their children at AFFord, and the way Afford had allowed abuse of their children and also were dodgy with the invoices and funding often charging as much as the whole plan of a participant because they knew the amount. Swindlers. I have found the same thing with other providers and even therapists become greedy after a taste for the money and then they stop caring. Their attitude is one of business, not care, not kindness. Just conning the parents to get the funding, as much as they can. They are heartless many of those I have met and it is hard to take when your heart is breaking for your child’s neediness and you see all the users – disabilities services - not really caring about him or her at all. It’s a job – well do it right. Your job is to care and take care of a vulnerable person. For shame that AFford did not even apologize to the parents properly who will now be traumatized by the actions of that worker toward their children. CCTV we need this in disabilities in the vans and public areas of the respite houses and residential, or day programs - we cannot afford to leave our children unprotected right now they are always at risk. NSW appears to have little interest in protecting our children as does the NDIS quality and safety commission - who need to apply health and safety laws and make checks in person on all these places their so called providers run as a business - one thing they do not provide is safety and protection for our vulnerable ones!

Anndrea x
sign my petition and change things - we need reform in disabilities
change.org/disabilitycameras