Seed Funding

A comparison of the characteristics of people with disability in Australia according to whether they received NDIS funding

Through data linkages, this project aims to identify the population of people with disability who are not NDIS participants within SDAC and the Census and compare how their support needs and demographics differ from NDIS participants.

Early Childhood Intervention and the NDIS: examining inequality in access, plan allocation and use in the early childhood period

This project will look at data for children (under 6) who use the NDIS funded Early Childhood program and examine whether there are social inequities in who is eligible, the type of support received and whether there are inequities in timely access to supports and spending of NDIS plans.

Creative Development for Accessible City Computer Game

This project will develop a proof of concept city-building computer game focused on accessible city design.

Community Visitor Schemes within the NDIS and OPCAT landscapes in safeguarding the rights of Australians with disability

This study examines the ongoing role of Community Visitor schemes across Australia in safeguarding people with disability, following changes brought by the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).

Am I speaking to a human?: Voice, choice and the role of technology companies in designing accessible virtual assistants

This project investigates how people with disabilities use virtual voice assistants, and related technologies (eg Amazon Alexa, Apple Siri, Google Duplex) in their daily lives.

COVID-19 Vaccine Strategy Project

Using ABS survey data and administrative disability data, the project team will investigate the uptake of COVID-19 vaccinations, access to treatment, and serious outcomes and deaths from COVID-19 among people with disability compared to the general population.

A National Summit and Research agenda supporting voting by people with cognitive disability

This project seeks to build on and scale up the ICanVote project nationally to address the democratic deficit experienced by people with cognitive disability across Australia.

Towards developing innovative evaluation approaches to measure the public health impact of social enterprises

This project seeks to understand whether and how current approaches in the evaluation of social enterprises conceptualise and measure their public health impact, with a specific focus on people with disability.

Finding better outcomes for children and caregivers through improved care pathways for those with complex medical needs

This project aims to improve service delivery to and the tertiary care hospital experiences of children with medically complex cerebral palsy and their caregivers.

Opening Eyes to the Experience of Vision Loss

This project aims to identify the support needs of people with early-stage vision loss.

Designing Learning Spaces for Diversity, Inclusion and Participation – Pilot Project

The objective of a planned multi-year research program is to ensure that students with disability—and indeed all students—are included and supported by educational facilities in both mainstream and dedicated special school settings.

Experts of Experience: The Voice of the Client in Service Governance and Innovation in the NDIS. Step One: Participant Engagement Process

This project focuses on project design, how best to recruit participants, how to pay them for their time, how to balance the recruitment of different cohorts in the sector, and how to recruit researchers with life experience of disability to work in the project once it is fully funded.

Health Justice Partnerships in inner city Melbourne: A lived experience evaluation by women experiencing psychosocial disability, domestic violence and legal problems during the COVID-19 pandemic

This project will address this research gap by focusing on Victorian women experiencing these issues during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Attitudes of Australian autistic communities to Applied Behaviour Analysis, Positive Behaviour Support and social skills interventions

This project seeks to investigate the attitudes of children and young adults with lived experiences of autism towards three frameworks for autism intervention that are popular within Australian schools.

Exploring approaches to build the self-advocacy capabilities of young job seekers with cognitive disabilities to engage in the labour market

This project will to build on the Youth Employment Study (YES) that aims to understand what helps young people find and maintain work.

Work-life in Wodonga: Co-design workshops for housing and work opportunities with people with disabilities in regional Victoria

This project will investigate relationships between inclusive and diverse medium-density housing and accessible neighbourhood infrastructure, highlighting what is necessary to enable, promote, and sustain work-life opportunities for people with disability in Wodonga.

Online Music Gatherings - Applying existing knowledge about music and connection to online groups

This project aims to examine the ways in which online music gatherings can respond to the additional levels of isolation and restriction experienced by members of the disability community during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Disaster Recovery for people with a disability across the lifespan: a scoping review

This project aims to conduct a rapid review of the literature regarding the disaster recovery experience and needs of people with a disability, looking at the specific needs across age groups and life stages.

The impact of COVID-19 on service provision for children and young people following major traumatic injury: A longitudinal, qualitative study

This project identifies enablers, barriers, and best-practice innovative approaches to meeting the ongoing needs of young people with traumatic injuries.

Crisis resilience in people with multiple sclerosis (C-RIMS); immediate concerns during the acute and adjustment phase of the COVID-19 pandemic

This project identifies issues raised and experienced by people with MS and their carers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Impact of Remote Learning on Students with Disability during the COVID-19 pandemic in Victoria

This project aims to investigate the impact of transitions to remote learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic response on Victorian school students with disability and their families.

Impact of COVID-19 on Disability Support Workers (DSWs) in Australia

The study provides important insights into the challenges experienced by staff working in Victorian disability residential settings in the second wave of Victoria’s COVID-19 pandemic.

Extending telehealth and remote family well-being support for children with Neurodevelopmental Disability

This project aims to mitigate the adverse effects of the pandemic on high-risk children with complex developmental disabilities at Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH) Department of Neurodevelopment & Disability (NDD) and embed longer-term implementation where benefits are demonstrated.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on early childhood intervention services in Australia

The aim of the proposed study is to examine the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic is having on early childhood intervention service provision and to provide guidance to families and providers.

Remote but Connected: a co-created digital platform to enable caregivers to support independent living for people with disability in the face of Covid-19

This project digitally links caregivers to resources and networks, as well as explores pathways for linking people with disability to these resources.

NIV at Home

NIV@Home will pilot whether using home NIV implementation and remote patient monitoring to substitute for day admissions and clinic attendance in people with disabilities is a feasible model for testing in a future, adequately powered, multi-centre study.

Developing a telehealth physical rehabilitation program for people with moderate to severe stroke using an integrated knowledge translation approach

The aim of this project is to develop a tele-health physical rehabilitation program for people with moderate/severe stroke.

Implementing early detection and intervention for infants with developmental disabilities via telehealth – educational resources for families and health professionals

Continuing to care in the time of COVID-19: Evaluation of a communication and service delivery program for Aboriginal Australians living with disability from remote Northern Territory Communities

This project aims to address the needs of Aboriginal Australians living with disabilities from remote NT during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Risk of transmission of COVID-19 among people with disability and their support staff

This project will collect data from people with disability and support workers to map networks of care.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the National Disability Insurance Scheme allied healthcare services and consumer experiences transitioning to telehealth

The aim of this project is to investigate how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted NationalDisability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) allied healthcare services and consumer experiences transitioning to tele-health.

Inclusive City of Melbourne

The City of Melbourne and University of Melbourne are teaming up to help make Melbourne a ‘city for people’ – one that is accessible and inclusive for all.

Accessing the Home

Collecting, analyzing and creating a centralized record of the Home Renovation scheme reports - which represent a comprehensive record of Victoria's housing stock for people with a disability or age-related restrictions.

Smoking Behaviours among People with Intellectual Disability

A programmatic approach to understanding the smoking behaviours of people with intellectual disability and potential interventions for reducing smoking rates.

Violence against People with Disability - the numbers

This project will provide the most up-to-date population-based estimates on the prevalence of violence among people with disability in Australia to inform the upcoming Royal Commission into Violence and Abuse against people with disability. In addition, we will identify existing Australian data sources and make recommendations for improvements including the potential for data linkages.

Community Disability Inclusion in India

The project, occurring over four phases, will produce, trial and evaluate a best-practice Community Disability Inclusion (CDI) Diploma course for CDI workers in India.

Access to support for working-age Australians with disability without individual NDIS funding

This research, conducted by The Melbourne Disability Institute in partnership with the Brotherhood of St. Laurence and Baptcare in 2021, examined if and how working-age Australians with disability who are not NDIS participants are finding and using any support and services they need to participate in society and the economy.

Myth busting and number crunching: the disability pay gap

This project will conduct an in-depth analysis of the “disability pay gap” – which will inform an online interactive tool to bridge the gap between evidence and understanding.

Everyone’s Moomba

This project is designed to inform the City of Melbourne on how to strengthen and future proof the festival for people with a disability.

Using total population data to produce policy-relevant evidence to increase access to services for Aboriginal children with intellectual disability / autism spectrum disorder in Western Australia

This project will use total population data from Western Australia to understand why Aboriginal children with developmental disability are less likely to receive disability services prior to school than non-Aboriginal children.

Violence against people with disabilities: maximising the use of data to inform the Royal Commission

This project will inform the upcoming Royal Commission into Violence and Abuse against people with disability by providing the most up-to-date population-based estimates on the prevalence of violence among people with disability in Australia.

Trial and validation of the ASQ-TRAK Extended – a developmental outcome measure for Australian Aboriginal children

This project is supporting the development of the ASQ-TRAK Extended; the validation of the ASQ-TRAK Extended; and the examination of the feasibility and the cost of implementing the ASQ-TRAK Extended.

Pathways for responding to conflict and high risk behaviours in families: A feasibility study based on families living with a child/young person with autism

This study seeks to better understand the intersections between increased stress, familial conflict, high risk behaviours, and absence of social support for families living with a child/young person with ASD.

Dental Health for People with Intellectual Disability

This project aims to improve the oral health of people with intellectual disability and increase the volume of people with intellectual disability being treated in community and private dental practice settings.

National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) Legal Clinic

This project established the NDIS Legal Clinic at Melbourne Law School, which is the first of its kind in Australia.

African Australians with disability and the NDIS: Exploring the support and service needs of African Australians with disability

This project explores the experiences of African Australians with disability seeking access to the NDIS.

From Shelter to Security: An Exploration of Crisis Accommodation

This research project is to evaluate the economic and social impacts of this housing pilot program and examine possibilities for upscaling the model.

The Impact of Low Vision Assistive Technology on Mobility in People with Vision Impairment

This project develops methods for assessing assistive devices for people with low vision.

Marketing for NDIS market stewardship

Exploring the interface of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) and Disability Employment Services (DES) and the influence on employment outcomes for Australians with disabilities

This project seeks to understand stakeholder perspectives and concerns on the functioning and positioning of NDIS/DES interface within the broader education, training and employment sector.

Improving paediatric advance planning for children with severe neurodisability

This study aims to understand how paediatricians conceptualise ACP when caring for children with life-limiting conditions (LLC) who are unable to participate in decision-making for his/herself.

Digitising Social Care: An Alternative Vision for Australia’s Digital Future of Care

This project aims to describe the current information technology readiness of the social care sector, including the current state of information continuity between this sector and the health system.

Cultivating wellbeing by empowering families: Establishing evidence for and impact of the Now and Next Program

This project will launch an inter-disciplinary, collaborative longitudinal impact study, with the intention of informing proactive policies and approaches to early childhood disability care.

Towards a better understanding of how to reduce social stigma among medical students: A qualitative study

The project aims to address the prejudicial and stigmatising views of healthcare professionals regarding persons with mental health conditions.

DigiTech4All: Optimising inclusive pedagogies for teaching the Digital Technologies curriculum

This project will investigate effective teaching strategies so that students with disabilities and additional needs are included in Digital Technologies lessons alongside their peers.

Upskilling Health Professionals on Early Detection and Intervention for Infants and Young Children with Developmental Disabilities in Low to Middle Income Countries

This is me: Exploring how inclusive music workshops can support mental health and quality of life in autistic children and young adults

This project examines and evaluates the benefits of group music making on the mental health and quality of life of participants from three different age groups of upper primary school aged children.

Linking therapy and community participation through cycling (CycLink) for children with disabilities: a feasibility study

This study investigates the feasibility of a cycling program for children with disabilities that is co-delivered by physiotherapists and community sport and recreational professionals with the goal of improving community participation in cycling.

The prevalence and causes of hearing loss in the Kandal Province of Cambodia using the Rapid Assessment of Hearing Loss (RAHL)

This project aims to provide evidence on the prevalence and causes of hearing loss in one province of Cambodia for people aged 50 and over.