ANSWD flyer 2011

Australasian Network of Students with Disabilities (ANSWD)

Who are we?

ANSWD is a student organisation facilitating communication and information exchange between students with a disability or medical condition enrolled in tertiary study in Australia or New Zealand.

ANSWD also advocates, promotes, and campaigns on disability issues. We seek to achieve equality, access and representation of students with disabilities throughout Australia and New Zealand in all sectors of tertiary education and training TAFES, Polytechs, Universities, and Private Registered Training Organisations (RTOs).

Who are students with disabilities?

The legal definition of disability under the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) in Australia is broad and includes chronic medical conditions, mental illness and learning disabilities. One in five Australians has a disability under this definition and 80% of disabilities are invisible.

The legal definition of disability in New Zealand is limited to physical(which may include sensory), mental and intellectual disabilities.

If you are a student with disability enrolled in tertiary education, ANSWD is for you!

Why do we exist?

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 a widespread representation of students with disabilities within the tertiary sector.

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 to support students with a disability in their studies.

ANSWD is committed to:

• the rights of students with disabilities to equal and equitable access to tertiary education.

• working with tertiary education staff promoting inclusive education.

• monitoring government policy proposals and advocating for improvements in disability services.


Already in 2011 ANSWD has contributed student perspectives to the 2011 review of the Disability Standards for Education 2005 and the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

ANSWD acknowledges that those with disabilities are disabled by barriers in society – physical, social and cultural – rather than by their disability or medical condition.

Why should I get involved?

By joining ANSWD you will learn from a lot of other students with disabilities studying in the tertiary sector as well as building a sense of community, making friendships and having strong peer support while you are studying.

How Can I get involved?

ANSWD has a discussion list which you can join as well as a Facebook page and a twitter page.

The ANSWD listserv [answd] is for members to discuss educational and broader social issues related to their disability or medical condition.

To subscribe to the mailing list send an email to majordomo@postoffice.utas.edu.au with ‘subscribe answd –list’ somewhere in the message (without quotes).

For more info:
• Visit our website page: www.answd.org
• Follow us on twitter: www.twitter.com/answd
• Find us in Facebook: www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=184215559061

Any tertiary education or training institution seeking a student representative on their committee(s) please contact the Convenor at convenor@answd.org

We warmly welcome your interest in ANSWD
and hope to hear from you soon!