Our Purpose
Our purpose is to promote respect for human rights, secure social justice, and empower First Peoples with disability to participate in Australian society on an equal basis with others. We are the custodians of the narratives of First Peoples with disability, their families and communities and we recognise this important responsibility.
Because ours is an oral history, we continue this by recognising the value of our peoples’ narratives and collecting this as data, which informs our work and the work of others.
Rex Japanangka, photo by Belinda Mason OAM ©
Our Values
- Recognition and respect for human rights, and in particular for the human rights of First Peoples and First Peoples with disability.
- Equality of outcomes for First Peoples with disability with other members of Australian society through equal opportunity, non-discrimination and affirmative action.
- Empowerment of First Peoples with disability and their families to direct their own lives and to secure the resources that they need to participate on an equal basis with others in Australian life.
- Inclusion of First Peoples with disability in all aspects of Australian life.
- Respect for the Elders of First Peoples nations across Australia and for their efforts over time to secure justice for their peoples and communities. In particular, we honour those Elders who have worked to secure justice for First Peoples with disability and their families.
- Respect for the culture and history of Australian First Peoples and recognition of the ongoing importance of that culture in our contemporary lives.
- Recognition and respect for the lived experience of First Peoples with disability and their families as the central driver of our work.
- Recognition of the richness and diversity of Australian First Peoples communities across Australia, including First Nations and disability worldviews
- Acknowledge the First Nations cultural knowledges of inclusion and connection to Country
Our Principles
To support us to embed our values and purpose, FPDN use our principles to inform how we do our work:
- We work with all First Peoples communities to create and maintain a safe and secure place for the exchange of ideas, the building of alliances, and the formulation of priorities, between and across community divides.
- We are passionate, determined, and committed to our work.
- We lead change, not react to it.
- We are innovative, creative, and solution-focused.
- We work within a social model of disability, which recognises that disability is produced by barriers to equality and participation for people with impairments that must be dismantled.
- We work with First Peoples with disability, their families and communities across Australia, to ensure that our work reflects their diversity and priorities.
Our Founders and Leaders
Meet the visionary leaders and founders of FPDN—First Peoples with lived experience of disability who have shaped our mission, values, and advocacy from the very beginning.
Leadership & Accountability
We lead by example—demonstrating what it means to work with integrity, respect, and cultural strength alongside First Nations peoples with disability.
Strong Governance
FPDN’s inclusive, community-led governance is grounded in culture and lived experience. It is inclusive of all perspectives reflected in the communities we serve, drawing on the voices of First Nations people with disability, their families, and communities.
