Not sure about your rights as a consumer? Leonie and Micka can help

24 September 2018

Our Project Workers Leonie and Micka have been helping NSW Fair Trading design and run ‘Talking Together’ workshops that are accessible for people with intellectual disability. The workshops help people with disability understand their consumer rights and how to have more choice and control.

Leonie – having fun helps learning

We have co-designed four workshops on consumer rights. Co-design means working together on something.

NSW Fair Trading are experts in Australian Consumer Law but they don’t know much about intellectual disability. I have an intellectual disability so I have chosen words that I and my peers can understand.

A lot of the information on consumer rights is quite hard to understand so we have made it easier for people. We have made Easy Read handouts so people can understand the important information.

Our workshops are enjoyable because we have activities and role plays. People have fun and learn from us.

“I used to be scared of speaking out and I thought that I might get into trouble or I might get a bad service.”

I have shared my stories and experiences so people can learn from these. They get a laugh out of my stories sometimes. But they also feel more confident about standing up for their rights.

It’s really important that everyone knows about their rights. We all buy things and hire services and we can all be scammed. We need to know how to speak up for ourselves and how to protect ourselves.

Some of the things that we tell people are it’s your money and your choice and you’re in control. It’s ok to say no and it’s ok to walk away. This means that you don’t have to hire a service that is not right for you. You can shop around to see what’s good for you.

I really like talking to people about speaking up for their rights. You need to speak out if things aren’t right. I’m pretty good at that. But I haven’t always been good at this. I used to be scared of speaking out and I thought that I might get into trouble or I might get a bad service.

Having this job has helped me to speak out and now I feel confident making a complaint. The more that you do it the easier it gets. I want other people to feel confident that they could do the same.

Micka – building confidence

Talking Together is a project to tell people with disabilities about their consumer rights and how to have more choice and control.

We talk to people about how to not get scammed, how to hire a service and about contracts and service agreements. We also tell people how to make a complaint when things go wrong or a service isn’t doing the right thing.

“It is important to speak up for your rights. It is ok to make a complaint if things aren’t right.” – Micka

The NDIS is a new system and not everyone knows that they are in control of their money and can make choices to get the best services for them.

People that come to our workshops learn that it is important to speak up for your rights and that it is ok to make a complaint if things aren’t right.

When we do the scams workshop we tell people about Do Not Knock stickers that they can put on their doors, about the Do Not Call register and card defenders to protect your bank cards. They learn how to keep themselves safe and protect their information and their money. They also learn what to do if they have been scammed and who can help.

I am really enjoying doing the project. I enjoy meeting new people and making new friends. I like that we get to travel to different places to do our workshops.

I enjoyed going to Sydney to meet with the other project partners.

Your rights as a consumer

Have you ever

Felt pressured to buy something on the phone?
Received a service that you weren’t happy with?

It is not ok if you have felt pressured to buy something you did not want.

You have a right to good service.

About Talking Together

Leonie and Micka have been working together on the Talking Together project since April 2018.

Talking Together is a project led by NSW Fair Trading that aims to help people with disability understand their rights as a consumer and gain confidence in speaking up. Council for Intellectual Disability is one of five project partners. Leonie and Micka are co-presenting workshops with NSW Fair Trading in the South West region of the NSW until December 2018.

Talking Together is funded by Family and Community Services (FACS).