Cat Walker
@kelpieunicorns.bsky.social
She/her • #AuDHD & #EDS • Champion of lived experience evidence in disability policy & research • #NDIS Squeaky Wheel in #Auspol • MAnimalSc • Mother of unicorns & a red kelpie
Pinned
This is exactly what we said would happen when the government said only inflicting absurdly restrictive changes could pass the pub test.
Does this level of harm against Australians with disabilities pass the pub test?
Is this what social licence for the #NDIS looks like?
#HarmCostsMore #Auspol
Does this level of harm against Australians with disabilities pass the pub test?
Is this what social licence for the #NDIS looks like?
#HarmCostsMore #Auspol
Noah should still be here. So should Koa, and Hannah, and countless others whose names we may never know.
But this is the system working as intended, and as @siobhansimper.bsky.social said: This was a test case. If they can do this to Noah, they can do it to anyone.
#HarmCostsMore #NDIS #Auspol
But this is the system working as intended, and as @siobhansimper.bsky.social said: This was a test case. If they can do this to Noah, they can do it to anyone.
#HarmCostsMore #NDIS #Auspol
The purpose of a system is what it does, and if these reforms were true to the original purpose of the NDIS, Noah would still be here 💔 We are all heartbroken, but not surprised.
This is not the… | C...
The purpose of a system is what it does, and if these reforms were true to the original purpose of the NDIS, Noah would still be here 💔 We are all heartbroken, but not surprised.
This is not the syst...
www.linkedin.com
January 22, 2026 at 5:07 AM
Noah should still be here. So should Koa, and Hannah, and countless others whose names we may never know.
But this is the system working as intended, and as @siobhansimper.bsky.social said: This was a test case. If they can do this to Noah, they can do it to anyone.
#HarmCostsMore #NDIS #Auspol
But this is the system working as intended, and as @siobhansimper.bsky.social said: This was a test case. If they can do this to Noah, they can do it to anyone.
#HarmCostsMore #NDIS #Auspol
Reposted by Cat Walker
"NDIS tool to determine support not tested on variety of disability types – including diverse autism, experts warn.
Experts also alarmed I-CAN tool – a three-hour interview – may be conducted by people with no allied health background".
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
Experts also alarmed I-CAN tool – a three-hour interview – may be conducted by people with no allied health background".
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
NDIS tool to determine support not tested on variety of disability types – including diverse autism, experts warn
Exclusive: Experts also alarmed ICAN tool – a three-hour interview – may be conducted by people with no allied health background
www.theguardian.com
January 20, 2026 at 9:24 PM
"NDIS tool to determine support not tested on variety of disability types – including diverse autism, experts warn.
Experts also alarmed I-CAN tool – a three-hour interview – may be conducted by people with no allied health background".
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
Experts also alarmed I-CAN tool – a three-hour interview – may be conducted by people with no allied health background".
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
Reposted by Cat Walker
Using the I-CAN tool as the only tool to assess someone is ethically wrong. It’s something an Allied heath practitioner would never do. NDIS assessor’s will also have no allied health qualifications. This will place peoples lives at risk.
#NDIS #Auspol
#NDIS #Auspol
NDIS tool to determine support not tested on variety of disability types – including diverse autism, experts warn
Exclusive: Experts also alarmed ICAN tool – a three-hour interview – may be conducted by people with no allied health background
www.theguardian.com
January 20, 2026 at 9:34 PM
Reposted by Cat Walker
The open letter I wrote in 2024 after receiving a thoroughly inadequate letter from Bill Shorten in response to a plea for further amendments and more flexible rules to prevent scenarios including deaths like Noah's.
#NDIS #Auspol #HarmCostsMore
#NDIS #Auspol #HarmCostsMore
Condolences don't cut it. They were warned. How many deaths before they listen?
#NDIS #Auspol
Duty of Care & Ethics in NDIS Reform: An open letter to Bill Shorten, the APS & the Albanese Government
(And Ministers Butler & McAllister)
#NDIS #Auspol
Duty of Care & Ethics in NDIS Reform: An open letter to Bill Shorten, the APS & the Albanese Government
(And Ministers Butler & McAllister)
Duty of Care & Ethics in NDIS Reform: An open letter to Bill Shorten, the APS & the Albanese Government
Thursday 19th September 2024 Dear Minister Shorten, I refer to your letter dated Wednesday 11th September 2024, in response to my correspondence seven days prior to the NDIS Amendment Bill 2024 passin...
www.linkedin.com
January 19, 2026 at 10:20 PM
The open letter I wrote in 2024 after receiving a thoroughly inadequate letter from Bill Shorten in response to a plea for further amendments and more flexible rules to prevent scenarios including deaths like Noah's.
#NDIS #Auspol #HarmCostsMore
#NDIS #Auspol #HarmCostsMore
This is exactly what we said would happen when the government said only inflicting absurdly restrictive changes could pass the pub test.
Does this level of harm against Australians with disabilities pass the pub test?
Is this what social licence for the #NDIS looks like?
#HarmCostsMore #Auspol
Does this level of harm against Australians with disabilities pass the pub test?
Is this what social licence for the #NDIS looks like?
#HarmCostsMore #Auspol
January 19, 2026 at 10:15 PM
This is exactly what we said would happen when the government said only inflicting absurdly restrictive changes could pass the pub test.
Does this level of harm against Australians with disabilities pass the pub test?
Is this what social licence for the #NDIS looks like?
#HarmCostsMore #Auspol
Does this level of harm against Australians with disabilities pass the pub test?
Is this what social licence for the #NDIS looks like?
#HarmCostsMore #Auspol
Reposted by Cat Walker
“It found that access to the NDIS ‘did not require an inquiry into the question whether the supports required by Ms Sutherland would or could be provided by other service systems outside the NDIS’” www.legalaid.vic.gov.au/access-ndis-...
Access to NDIS safeguarded by Federal Court win
The Federal Court has today made a landmark ruling against an appeal by the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) which sought to limit eligibility for people accessing the National Disability I...
www.legalaid.vic.gov.au
January 17, 2026 at 11:12 PM
“It found that access to the NDIS ‘did not require an inquiry into the question whether the supports required by Ms Sutherland would or could be provided by other service systems outside the NDIS’” www.legalaid.vic.gov.au/access-ndis-...
Reposted by Cat Walker
Footage of their security cameras miraculously survived in a nearby shed. Their time stamps show the house was claimed by the flames just minutes before the first emergency alert to evacuate reached her phone.
www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01...
www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01...
January 16, 2026 at 9:13 PM
Footage of their security cameras miraculously survived in a nearby shed. Their time stamps show the house was claimed by the flames just minutes before the first emergency alert to evacuate reached her phone.
www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01...
www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01...
Reposted by Cat Walker
One in 10 teens seeking mental health support from headspace cite social media ban as an issue www.crikey.com.au/2026/01/16/t...
One in 10 teens seeking mental health support from headspace cite social media ban as an issue
Early data from Australia's national youth mental health service shows that the teen social media ban emerged as a prominent factor in why 12- to 15-year-olds were coming to them.
www.crikey.com.au
January 17, 2026 at 10:03 AM
One in 10 teens seeking mental health support from headspace cite social media ban as an issue www.crikey.com.au/2026/01/16/t...
Reposted by Cat Walker
Condolences don't cut it. They were warned. How many deaths before they listen?
#NDIS #Auspol
Duty of Care & Ethics in NDIS Reform: An open letter to Bill Shorten, the APS & the Albanese Government
(And Ministers Butler & McAllister)
#NDIS #Auspol
Duty of Care & Ethics in NDIS Reform: An open letter to Bill Shorten, the APS & the Albanese Government
(And Ministers Butler & McAllister)
Duty of Care & Ethics in NDIS Reform: An open letter to Bill Shorten, the APS & the Albanese Government
Thursday 19th September 2024 Dear Minister Shorten, I refer to your letter dated Wednesday 11th September 2024, in response to my correspondence seven days prior to the NDIS Amendment Bill 2024 passin...
www.linkedin.com
January 16, 2026 at 7:07 AM
Reposted by Cat Walker
Noah deserved so much better. He deserved to live, and not to have to fight for the right to do so. So did his family.
#Auspol #NDIS #HarmCostsMore
archive.md/FwHgN
#Auspol #NDIS #HarmCostsMore
archive.md/FwHgN
archive.md
January 16, 2026 at 7:22 AM
Noah deserved so much better. He deserved to live, and not to have to fight for the right to do so. So did his family.
#Auspol #NDIS #HarmCostsMore
archive.md/FwHgN
#Auspol #NDIS #HarmCostsMore
archive.md/FwHgN
Reposted by Cat Walker
We keep trying to tell the current Ministers, like we told the last one and Agency/Department officials: People will die.
They're still not listening.
Even while those people die.
#Auspol #NDIS
They're still not listening.
Even while those people die.
#Auspol #NDIS
Duty of Care & Ethics in NDIS Reform: An open letter to Bill Shorten, the APS & the Albanese Government | Cat Walker
Condolences ring hollow when we told them this would happen and Parliament passed the 2024 Freight Train Bill anyway.
When Minister Shorten signed off on the s10 rules anyway.
When the harms everybo...
www.linkedin.com
January 16, 2026 at 7:07 AM
We told them this would happen, and they passed the NDIS Freight Train Bill 2024 anyway.
Signed off on the s10 NDIS Supports lists anyway.
Did all the things we said would cause harm anyway.
#Auspol #NDIS 🧵 1/?
Signed off on the s10 NDIS Supports lists anyway.
Did all the things we said would cause harm anyway.
#Auspol #NDIS 🧵 1/?
Noah Johnston dies fighting for 24/7 nursing support | Belinda Kochanowska | 29 comments
📢 Noah Johnston dies while fighting at the ART for the 24/7 Registered Nursing Supports which would have saved his life 📢
Intrepidus Law had the privilege of representing Noah and his mum Kylie in t...
www.linkedin.com
January 16, 2026 at 7:07 AM
Reposted by Cat Walker
A number of people have said this video made them cry.
Maybe this is why: “peace has to be invited where it’s fragile, where people are angry, divided, scared, exhausted” ~ Spencer Hunt
Maybe this is why: “peace has to be invited where it’s fragile, where people are angry, divided, scared, exhausted” ~ Spencer Hunt
#WalkForPeace is a beautiful peaceful action - led by Buddhist monks - that is growing every day right now. They expect to arrive in Charlotte, NC on the 15th Jan and Washington by the 11th Jan
January 13, 2026 at 11:09 AM
A number of people have said this video made them cry.
Maybe this is why: “peace has to be invited where it’s fragile, where people are angry, divided, scared, exhausted” ~ Spencer Hunt
Maybe this is why: “peace has to be invited where it’s fragile, where people are angry, divided, scared, exhausted” ~ Spencer Hunt
Reposted by Cat Walker
So if you lost big as a result of Robodebt - garnished items like a house sold to pay for a fake debt, or loss of ability to work, or had to pay for psychological counselling due to trauma - and have documentary evidence, make sure you register that
January 12, 2026 at 8:32 AM
So if you lost big as a result of Robodebt - garnished items like a house sold to pay for a fake debt, or loss of ability to work, or had to pay for psychological counselling due to trauma - and have documentary evidence, make sure you register that
Reposted by Cat Walker
If you were part of the Robodebt class action settlement, you may be eligible for compensation. Registration for compensation ends in early March 2026. Make sure you’re registered. Contact Gordon Legal if you haven’t received a information document package from Services Australia
It is 2016. I am in an apartment in Balaclava, Melbourne, working on the issue of Robodebt
It is 2026. I am in Tungamah, assisting a client to register for compensation in the Robodebt class settlement
It is 2026. I am in Tungamah, assisting a client to register for compensation in the Robodebt class settlement
January 12, 2026 at 8:27 AM
If you were part of the Robodebt class action settlement, you may be eligible for compensation. Registration for compensation ends in early March 2026. Make sure you’re registered. Contact Gordon Legal if you haven’t received a information document package from Services Australia
Reposted by Cat Walker
Two to 2024-25, NDIA rejected half the internal reviews brought by participants on funding. But in the most recent financial year that proportion soared to 70 per cent. Now, as we reported Oct last year, automated planning. With even fewer review rights. www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/2026/01...
January 9, 2026 at 9:25 PM
Two to 2024-25, NDIA rejected half the internal reviews brought by participants on funding. But in the most recent financial year that proportion soared to 70 per cent. Now, as we reported Oct last year, automated planning. With even fewer review rights. www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/2026/01...
Reposted by Cat Walker
The stats across the scheme point to agency managers using their vast new powers to cut costs, or emboldened them on existing practices which have been turbo-charged. Eligibility reassessments: doubled. Tribunal decisions that made support orders: almost half funded LESS than what tribunal decided.
January 9, 2026 at 9:19 PM
The stats across the scheme point to agency managers using their vast new powers to cut costs, or emboldened them on existing practices which have been turbo-charged. Eligibility reassessments: doubled. Tribunal decisions that made support orders: almost half funded LESS than what tribunal decided.
Reposted by Cat Walker
WATCH & ACT - GRASS FIRE - Leave Now
Incident Location: Ravenswood South
Issue Date: Friday 09 January 2026, 02:34 pm
Next Update: Friday 09 January 2026, 04:40 pm
More details at emergency.vic.gov.au/respond/#!/w...
#VicFires
Incident Location: Ravenswood South
Issue Date: Friday 09 January 2026, 02:34 pm
Next Update: Friday 09 January 2026, 04:40 pm
More details at emergency.vic.gov.au/respond/#!/w...
#VicFires
Incidents and Warnings - VicEmergency
Victoria's combined source of emergency information and warnings, helping the community to prepare for, respond to and recover from emergencies across the state.
emergency.vic.gov.au
January 9, 2026 at 3:38 AM
WATCH & ACT - GRASS FIRE - Leave Now
Incident Location: Ravenswood South
Issue Date: Friday 09 January 2026, 02:34 pm
Next Update: Friday 09 January 2026, 04:40 pm
More details at emergency.vic.gov.au/respond/#!/w...
#VicFires
Incident Location: Ravenswood South
Issue Date: Friday 09 January 2026, 02:34 pm
Next Update: Friday 09 January 2026, 04:40 pm
More details at emergency.vic.gov.au/respond/#!/w...
#VicFires
#VicFires Residents sheltering in place in #Alexandra are being urged not to use mains water unless absolutely necessary, the fire is virtually there if not already and pressure is impacting firefighting efforts.
January 9, 2026 at 3:03 AM
#VicFires Residents sheltering in place in #Alexandra are being urged not to use mains water unless absolutely necessary, the fire is virtually there if not already and pressure is impacting firefighting efforts.
Reposted by Cat Walker
If you're safe from fires, here's one way to pass what will be a stressful day.
Do not underestimate the lethal heat factor today because you're not facing down a fire front.
Our wall thermometer read 45° at 6.24pm IN THE SHADE in SA last night, from 47° earlier.
#Heatwave #SwelteringCities
Do not underestimate the lethal heat factor today because you're not facing down a fire front.
Our wall thermometer read 45° at 6.24pm IN THE SHADE in SA last night, from 47° earlier.
#Heatwave #SwelteringCities
Once you have figured out your safest options to get through this heatwave and put them in place, this week is a great week to complete the Sweltering Cities Summer Survey.
Especially if you have additional vulnerabilities such as disabilities or chronic health conditions.
#Australia #Heatwave
Especially if you have additional vulnerabilities such as disabilities or chronic health conditions.
#Australia #Heatwave
January 8, 2026 at 9:11 PM
If you're safe from fires, here's one way to pass what will be a stressful day.
Do not underestimate the lethal heat factor today because you're not facing down a fire front.
Our wall thermometer read 45° at 6.24pm IN THE SHADE in SA last night, from 47° earlier.
#Heatwave #SwelteringCities
Do not underestimate the lethal heat factor today because you're not facing down a fire front.
Our wall thermometer read 45° at 6.24pm IN THE SHADE in SA last night, from 47° earlier.
#Heatwave #SwelteringCities
Reposted by Cat Walker
Today I am writing about the urgency of the climate crisis while the air purifier is already running at full pelt, the hill outside our window is slowly being shrouded by haze and the light outside is very slowly turning the colour of light molasses.
The day of catastrophic fire has barely begun.
The day of catastrophic fire has barely begun.
January 8, 2026 at 11:34 PM
Today I am writing about the urgency of the climate crisis while the air purifier is already running at full pelt, the hill outside our window is slowly being shrouded by haze and the light outside is very slowly turning the colour of light molasses.
The day of catastrophic fire has barely begun.
The day of catastrophic fire has barely begun.
Reposted by Cat Walker
G'day Albo, my SA wall thermometer was at 45° in the shade at 6.30pm. That's what is headed to Vic before the change.
The heat is as deadly as the firestorms already out of control.
It won't be survivable when projects you ✅ end long after you're gone.
We know who you're really "with."
#Auspol
The heat is as deadly as the firestorms already out of control.
It won't be survivable when projects you ✅ end long after you're gone.
We know who you're really "with."
#Auspol
"We were in the water for no more than five minutes when ash started falling from the sky. The delicate black flakes landed gently on top of the heads of my young children, a poetically quiet omen for their future. "
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
As a climate scientist, I know heatwaves in Australia will only get worse. We need to start preparing now | Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick
During black summer, my daughters were too young to know what was happening. Now, amid another Australian heatwave, they deserve answers
www.theguardian.com
January 8, 2026 at 11:22 PM
G'day Albo, my SA wall thermometer was at 45° in the shade at 6.30pm. That's what is headed to Vic before the change.
The heat is as deadly as the firestorms already out of control.
It won't be survivable when projects you ✅ end long after you're gone.
We know who you're really "with."
#Auspol
The heat is as deadly as the firestorms already out of control.
It won't be survivable when projects you ✅ end long after you're gone.
We know who you're really "with."
#Auspol