Interview Highlight: Marie-Clare Couper - National Assistance Card

Peter Greco chats with Marie-Clare Couper, CEO for the Brain Injury Association in Tasmania about the availability of the National Assistance Card. This Australia wide card is raising awareness and is a vital tool for autistic people and people with brain injury in emergencies.

More info: National Assistance Card

Call: 1300 680 045

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Episode Transcript

S1 (00:14):
I'm really pleased to welcome to the program, Marie Claire Cooper,
who's the executive officer at the Brain Injury Association in Tasmania,
with some really interesting news. Marie Claire, lovely to meet you.
Thank you for your time.

S2 (00:25):
Thanks for having me, Peter.

S1 (00:27):
Just a bit about this National assistance card. It sounds
like a fabulous idea. What is it and how does
it work?

S2 (00:33):
The National Assistance Card is a personalised card, and it
provides information about a person's disability and the assistance they
might need. So basically the size of a licence on
the front, it's got the person's name and their photograph.
And just a simple statement that says your understanding and
assistance would be appreciated. And then on the back of

(00:53):
the card, it has more information about the person's disability
type and the assistance that they might need. And very excitingly,
it also has a QR code which links to more information, um,
and even a short video if the person wants. And
that's really where they can put more information about the
support that they might need.

S1 (01:13):
Okay, those QR codes, they've really made a difference over
the last few years, haven't they, in terms of access
to information.

S2 (01:19):
Oh, it's just wonderful how technology is really, um, supporting
the disability space. And I think this is a really
great example of a way to use that for good.

S1 (01:29):
Yeah. Well, of course, uh, people have to apply for it.
I mean, it doesn't automatically appear out of thin air.
What's the process there?

S2 (01:36):
Yeah. People can get online and apply online. It is, um,
currently available for, um, autistic people and people with brain injuries.
So when we say brain injury, we mean both traumatic
brain injury like maybe from a motor vehicle accident. Also
non traumatic brain injuries. So from strokes and dementia and
those other conditions that might impact the brain they can

(01:59):
apply online. And we do require verification of the person's
disability type at this point. And if the system is
all laid out and if anyone's having any issues, they
can call our really helpful staff who will walk them
through the process.

S1 (02:13):
They will give you a phone number before we wrap up,
and also how people can find out more. We'll also
put that up with our show notes so people can
go there if they need more information. So um, what
about as far as the sort of origins of this?
You're in Tasmania, it's Australia wide.

S2 (02:28):
It is. It's Australia wide. And look, the card goes
way back before it was called the National Assistance Card.
It was called the Acquired Brain Injury Assist Card in Tasmania.
And that's from about 20 years ago. That really came
from people from the brain injury community in Tasmania, talking
about the challenges of having what we sometimes refer to
as an invisible disability and being misunderstood in the community. Um,

(02:53):
quite a common one for people with brain injuries if
they have maybe some mobility issues or some speech challenges,
that they can be misperceived as being drunk. And so
that's just sort of one example. There's a number of
ways people with those invisible disabilities can be misunderstood or
just not appropriately supported when they're out in the community.

(03:16):
So over the years, we had a lot of feedback
from people with brain injury from other states saying that
they really wished that we would make the card national.
So that was really the inspiration to go national, and
then also started having feedback from other disability types that
that's something that they would like. So we decided rather
than it just being a brain injury card, that we

(03:36):
would make it much broader as a national assistance card.
And really, it's our vision that the card will be
made available to all disability types into the future.

S1 (03:47):
It's interesting you talk about 20 years ago. I have
a feeling that I have done an interview about this
in the past from someone from Tasmania, so it is
kind of all ring bells as they like to say.
What about the kind of circumstance that this might come
in handy in? I guess we're going into summer or
into summer, I guess, you know, emergency situations would be one.
Of course, the stress that goes with those emergency situations, uh,

(04:09):
kind of makes us all, uh, make it a bit
differently than what we might otherwise do anyway.

S2 (04:14):
Yeah. Look, I think definitely the sort of early fire
season has got everyone a little bit nervous and.

S1 (04:20):
Especially down in Tassie.

S2 (04:21):
Yeah. Look in Tassie and in New South Wales, but also, um,
you know, all around Australia, summer really means floods and
fires and cyclones and all kinds of natural disasters. And
like you said, I think for people with disability, uh,
there's an added layer of fear that comes with that.
So we're currently having a my card, My Voice campaign.

(04:43):
And that's really about raising awareness of the card, because
what we know is that some people have shown the
card in the community and even to emergency services, where
they haven't recognised the card or really understood how to respond.
It's really important, particularly in those crisis or emergency situations,
that if somebody shows their card that people, uh, look

(05:07):
at the card, read it, um, and provide a response
that's really appropriate to that person. So this is sort
of an opportunity for us to get it out there
in the community to raise that awareness.

S1 (05:18):
I guess it's not your kind of area, if you like,
because you know you can only do so much. But
that's the other side of the equation, isn't it? It's
all well and good for a person to have this card,
but if they show it to someone who doesn't know
much about it or how to respond to it, then
that's kind of another issue, isn't it?

S2 (05:35):
It is. We are starting to get some really great feedback, though,
about how the card is being used. And just yesterday
I heard a story from our team where they had
heard from an autistic man who experiences sensory overload and
that he was in a mall. And in the past
he had had that experience of having sensory overload. He's

(05:56):
a very tall man, big man. And so people would
become a bit concerned about why he was becoming distressed.
And so security would get involved and they would call police.
But just recently he had his National Assistance card and
he was able to show that to security. And they
actually recognized the card. They knew exactly what it was,
and they read the card and they realized what was

(06:17):
happening for him, and they provided a really compassionate and
supportive response. And that's why we're doing what we're doing
is because when people have that information, most people do
want to provide a supportive response, and it really can
change a person's life when they get that.

S1 (06:33):
It's very affirming, isn't it? You know, that kind of
it's the old story, isn't it? If it helps one person,
it's been worth it. Well, I guess there it is
in a nutshell.

S2 (06:41):
Yeah, 100%.

S1 (06:42):
Yeah. So what about in terms of rolling it out further?
What's the sort of process with that in terms of,
you know, who makes the next step, if I can
put it that way?

S2 (06:52):
Look, that's a really good question. It's one that we're
navigating right now. There's been a lot of changes in
the funding environment, uh, for disability organizations. So we're currently
funded by the Department of Health, Disability and Aging. And
that's just transitioned over from the Department of Social Services.
So there's a lot of changes in the department right now.

(07:14):
We are looking at all options for how we can
expand to other disability types. So that's really our focus
for 2026. We know now we've proven the concept. We've
proven that it works both for brain injury and autism.
And now we're really looking at how we expand that
to all disability types. Because really it's something that everyone

(07:35):
should have access to.

S1 (07:37):
So I guess it could be, you know, being a
bit preventative and maybe cost efficient in some respects if,
you know, things are sort of, uh, tended to early,
then other possible repercussions may be prevented and costs of
that sort of issue might also be minimized not exist anyway.

S2 (07:55):
Absolutely. There are so many ways that just having that
little bit more information can change the trajectory for somebody's life.
And yeah, that feedback that people are using the card
like young people are using the card in schools, particularly
high schools, where they might have multiple teachers or Changes

(08:15):
of staff. So they're using the card so that a
teacher might be able to get that information really quickly
about them. And they can make all the difference when
a teacher understands, um, the learning supports that you might
need for a young person that that could be the
difference between them staying engaged in schooling or not. And
that has big life consequences, of course.

S1 (08:36):
And of course, we are an aging population. You talked
about maybe people with dementia, etc.. Well, that's in a sense,
sadly a growing, well, certainly a growing population if not
a growing problem.

S2 (08:45):
Yeah it is. And um, again, it's one of those
things that just having that information, you know, somebody might
still have that capacity to go out and be independent
in the community. But carers and support persons and family
members can feel sometimes that if if something were to

(09:06):
happen or their loved one was to be in a
challenging situation, that they may not get the right support
that they need. So whether it's dementia or any other condition.
Just knowing that their loved one has that card with
them can bring a lot of peace of mind.

S1 (09:22):
It's free, like people can apply, but it's at no cost.

S2 (09:26):
The card does come with the cost currently, um, $44.
But we also recognize that many people with disability experience
financial hardship. So if that is something that the person
is experiencing when they apply for the card, they can
tick that box and they can access the card, uh,
at a, either at a discounted cost or for free.
So please don't let that be a barrier to applying

(09:48):
for the card.

S1 (09:49):
Bit of a question without notice and I apologize. Sorry,
but could you elaborate on your NDIS if you had
a package?

S2 (09:55):
We do have people who have claimed it on NDIS. Uh,
we've had a few challenges around um, really confirming directly
with NDIS what the best way to go about that is.
But we do have several more than several. We've had
hundreds of people who have successfully claimed it through the NDIS.
So it really is, very individual around what the person's

(10:18):
plan is.

S1 (10:19):
Yeah.

S2 (10:20):
Access.

S1 (10:20):
Yeah. Let's go to the end in a nutshell, isn't it? Yeah.
Very individual and depends on what response you get. What
about in terms of uh is there a one off
or do you have to renew it? Uh, for example
the photo etc.. Does it, has it got a sort
of an end date?

S2 (10:34):
It's a one off. So you get one time only.
You only have to apply once. But you can, uh,
update it if you feel that, um, the information on
the card is no longer or if the photograph changes.
So we know we have a lot of, uh, children
and young people get the card. So obviously, as they grow,
it would be appropriate to update it. But also the

(10:55):
information on the QR code can be updated at any time. So, um,
for example, we have people who might upload their um,
epilepsy action plan. And if the details on that change annually,
then they're able to re upload a new version. So, um,
it's not like a licence where you have to renew
it every few years. It's really up to the individual

(11:18):
and how they want to update it or not.

S1 (11:21):
How can we find out more?

S2 (11:22):
Probably the easiest way is to jump on to our website,
which is National Assistance Card, or to give our staff
a call at 1300 680 045.

S1 (11:36):
Terrific. We'll put those details up there. Michael, great to
talk to you and congratulations to you on all those involved.
It's it's fantastic that you know literally has gone national.
So well done on that. And hopefully the people that
use it in a sense don't need to use it.
But there's a a bit of faith in the knowledge
that it's there just in case.

S2 (11:55):
Absolutely. Thanks so much for having me, Peter.

S1 (11:57):
That's my Clare Cooper there from the Brain Injury Association
in Tasmania, the National Assistance card. Those details up there.
Maybe you've got one. Maybe you want to get one.
It sounds like a maybe a very good thing to do,
particularly at this time of the year.