Now and Beyond - the future direction of the Australasian Network of Students With Disabilities (ANSWD)

Presented by Timothy Hart
Wednesday 29th November 2006
1:00pm – 2:30pm Plenary Theatre
Pathways 8 Conference

Now
Co-conveners of ANSWD
The current Co-conveners are –
Timothy Hart - Australia
Kevin Murray- New Zealand

What is ANSWD
Who we are 
The Australasian Network of Students With Disabilities (ANSWD) is a student organisation, advocating, promoting, lobbying and campaigning on disability issues. 
We seek to achieve equality, access, and representation of students with disabilities in the tertiary education sector. 

How we were formed 
ANSWD was formed at the Pathways 5 Conference in Canberra in early December 2000.  Tertiary students with disabilities from each state of Australia and throughout New Zealand, make up our membership.

ANSWD is affiliated with and has representation to the Australian Tertiary Education Network on Disability (ATEND) Inc

ATEND is the peak body for regional network groups of service providers and consumers concerned with the education and employment needs of people with disabilities in post-secondary education.

Tony Williams of Melbourne University is our current representative to ATEND 

Why ANSWD exists 
More than 4% of tertiary students acknowledge that they have a disability, yet most Student Councils/Representative Bodies do not have a Disability Officer. 

ANSWD acknowledges it is important that there is widespread representation of students with disabilities within the tertiary sector, in addition to representation on decision-making committees.  

ANSWD is committed to working towards gaining representation of students with disabilities by students with disabilities because of the complex nature of the issues they face.  

We feel that in doing so, we can ensure disability issues are not ignored and that the best outcomes are achieved.

What ANSWD represents 
ANSWD is committed to:
ensuring the rights of students with disabilities to have equal and equitable access to tertiary education by working together with staff, and to eliminate discrimination at all levels.  
playing an active role in keeping a watch over government decisions that adversely affect tertiary students with disabilities, and to challenge these decisions whenever necessary.  
ANSWD has already successfully represented a number of important issues for students with disabilities at a national level.

What ANSWD represents 
ANSWD understands accessibility as being the ability to access, utilise or participate independently of others, with safety and dignity. 
ANSWD acknowledges that those with disabilities are disabled, not so much by their individual (or multiple) impairments, but by the barriers put in place by society.
BUT 
What is ANSWD?
Is it a website?
Is it a Discussion list? 
Or some type of a NEW DRUG?

DEST Disclaimer
The Australian Commonwealth Government Department of Education, Science and Training does not endorse, sanction, nor belief in drug taking
Nor in having fun
Nor Education
Or any practice that can be considered to result in a benefit to the individual
e.g. Education or any form of knowledge

So what is ANSWD?
It’s a e-mail discussion list
With a website
http://www.answd.org/

ANSWD’s website
Is maintained by Craig Andrews at the Physical Disability Council of NSW (PDCN)
craig.andrews@pdcnsw.org.au 

ANSWD
Membership of ANSWD is via the Discussion list
How do you joined the discussion list?
To subscribe to the mailing list send an e-mail to majordomo@postoffice.utas.edu.au with 'subscribe answd-list' somewhere in the message (without quotes). 

If you are a member of the ANSWD discussion list and wish to send a message to the discussion list address the e-mail to answd-list@postoffice.utas.edu.au 
  
If you have, any problems please e-mail answd@answd.org or thart@med.usyd.edu.au 

Beyond
What are the future direction of the ANSWD
We have a discussion list with over a 100 members
We have a website for the next two years
What are we going to do?
What do we want to do?
What should ANSWD do?
Where should we go and how shall we do it?
What are the issues that we should be pursuing?
The future is in your hands

4:30 – 5:00pm  ANSWD AGM Tasman A
Other ANSWD Sessions
THURSDAY 30TH NOVEMBER 2006 
Post Tertiary Education Resources 11:00am – 12:30pm 
The Willing and Able Mentoring Program (WAM) – K. Murfitt
People with a disability rights at work under the DDA and any information on OH&S – J. Blades
The Education to Employment Resource – M. Butler
Other ANSWD Sessions
THURSDAY 30TH NOVEMBER 2006
2:30 – 3:30pm
Integration and Segregation – T. Hart

Posted to The ANSWD List by –
Matthew Chan
ANSWD SRC Standing orders
The Vice President must provide 5 days notice to the ANSWD Student Representative Council members of the date of a meeting, give immediate warning to the members of ANSWD Student Representative Council on postponement or cancellation of a meeting.
 The Vice President must post a notice to the ANSWD email list 5 days in advance of a face to face meeting, and provide immediate warning of postponement or cancellation of a meeting
Anyone at the meeting except the can put up a motion,put aup an amendment and debate the matter. 
The President must hand the chair over to someone else in the meeting if putting up a motion
Only those who are stated in the constitution under 4 composition, and as stated in 4.5 of the constitution, can second and have their hands counted in a formal vote.
Anyone including the presient as chair, can put forward a procedural:

multiple motions with common link can be motion on block
single motion with different items can be dissected or splitt  into  multiple motions
motion to put which is to stop debate and go to a vote
These three above procedurals can  be unilaterally be implemented by the president or otherwise require motion, second and vote
The president  shall rule on whether a motion is in order or is an operational matter
Anyone except the president can participate in vote by voices whereby the loudest wins
If a vote by voices is indecisive then a formal vote through raising hands and in accordance with 4.5 of constitution 

ANSWD Student Representative Council constitution
1.	Definitions
ANSWD Student Representative Council shall mean ANSWD Student Representative Council
SODOs shall mean Student Organisation Special Needs/Disability Officers/Convenors/directors 
ANSWD shall mean Australasian Network of Students With Disabilities
ANSWD-l shall mean Australasian Network of Students With Disabilities email list
ANSWD AGM shall mean Australasian Network of Students With Disabilities Annual General Meeting

2.	Mission Statement
The ANSWD Student Representative Council aims to 
a. to coordinate campaigns on a large geographical basis in accordance with
ANSWD policies
b. to respond collectively to events that affect students with disabilities
on a large geographical basis
c. to encourage Student Organisations to establish and fill student with
disabilities' positions if not done so
d. to discuss ways and means of increasing membership for their collectives
as well as the ANSWD-l
e. recommend changes to ANSWD policy and changes to this constitution

3.	Meetings
a. The ANSWD Student Representative council shall meet on a monthly basis. All but two of the monthly meetings shall be conducted via teleconferencing. 
b. There should be two face to face  meetings a year in which one of the face to face meetings shall be at the Pathways Conference or pre-conference sessions. These two face to face meetings shall be open to all  

4.	Composition of the Student Representative Council
4.1 President, 
4.1.1who shall be elected from the general ANSWD-l membership,
elected at the ANSWD AGM,  and shall have the following responsibilities: 
a. be the public face of the ANSWD Student Representative Council
b. convene all ANSWD Student Representative Council meetings 
c. enter
a casting vote in a tie
d. organising the teleconferencing and the location of the face to face meetings

4.2 Vice President, 
4.2.1 who shall be selected from the general ANSWD-l
membership, be elected at the ANSWD AGM, shall have the following responsibilities: 
a. announcing  the date of
meetings to members of the ANSWD Student Representative Council 
b. drafting the  agenda 
c. record the proceedings of meetings in minutes 
d. post minutes to the ANSWD email list once minutes have been amended and approved
e. fill temporary office bearer positions  
4.3 eight persons who study at TAFE, who are also members of ANSWD-l, be
elected at the ANSWD AGM
4.4 SODOs who are either 
i. Directly elected by special needs students/students with disabilities e.g. University of South Australia Student Association Disability officer 
ii indirectly elected as in a governing body of a student organisation after being directly elected by its members, the governing body elect a person to fill a position e.g. UNSW Student Guild Special Needs Officer 
4.5 only those persons stated above who are members of ANSWD-l can second 
motions and have their hands counted in a formal vote

5.	Committees 
The ANSWD Student Representative Council can establish small committees  through a motion, based on smaller but sizeable geographical basis or issue basis.  The requirements of a committee are
5.1 the establishment of an office bearer position
i. shall be selected from the full membership of the ANSWD-l and elected at the 

6.	ANSWD AGM
ii. if  the time interval between the date of approval of minutes containing a carried motion to establish a committee, the Vice President shall fill the position until the ANSWD AGM can fill that position. 
5.2 a minimum of two other members
5.3 the office bearer as head of committee is responsible and report to the ANSWD Student Representative Council on their decisions 

7.	Changes to ANSWD Policy and this constitution 
All changes toANSWD policy and this constitution be done in the following manner:
motion recommending changes to ANSWD policy or constitution changes
this motion when carried with a 2/3 majority becomes a formal recommendation
The President then would then post the formal recommendation on the ANSWD-l seeking discussion and seeking approval at the ANSWD AGM
Once approved at the ANSWD AGM the ANSWD policy or ANSWD Student Representative Council constitutional changes become officially implemented