A legal support solicitor says people living with disability in far west NSW are struggling to access health services, accommodation and transport.
It comes after service providers from across the state visited Broken Hill last week to hear about issues in the area and assist with submissions for the Disability Royal Commission.
The initiative was aimed at helping to provide further awareness of the DRC, but did not involve taking any submissions or holding any public hearings.
Your Story Disability Legal Support solicitor William de Waal said providers came to the area aiming to hear as many diverse voices as possible and empower people to speak up.
"It's to enable people to make an informed choice about whether they want to engage in it, and how they can engage with the royal commission," he said.
Your Story Disability Legal Support solicitor Georgina Davey said she heard from people living with disabilities, carers, as well as those working in health and justice.
She said there were major issues accessing National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) in the area.
"To get the NDIS package to access the disability services is a huge barrier here," Ms Davey said.
"Lots of allied health professionals, like occupational therapists, and speech pathologists are just not available in Broken Hill or are very fly-in, fly-out," she said.
Barriers to services
Ms Davey also said people living with disabilities had difficulties finding places to rent and ensuring they were accessible.
"Whether that be the houses not being accessible for someone's needs, or needing a lot of maintenance," she said.
"But also, with the lack of professionals, even if you do get an occupational therapist to come, there might not be a place for them to live.
"So, it's hard to establish people here or house professionals if you do get to hire them."
Ms Davey also said there was a lack of accessible transportation, with calls from people to have more options.
"We've heard there were only a few taxis in Broken Hill, and people who can't drive or have mobility issues or rely on taxi services need more of those around," she said.
Lack of awareness of royal commission
Ms Davey said there was not enough awareness of the Disability Royal Commission due to a lack of publicity and engagement with communities.
"This royal commission also hasn't been publicised as widely as some other royal commissions," she said.
Interrelate Counselling community development worker Arlene Cassel said there had been improved awareness of the royal commission when compared to when it was first announced three years ago.
But she said she would like to see more people feeling confident in telling their story in a way that would make them feel comfortable.
"The best outcome would be that more people felt empowered to say what they wanted to say and just tell their story about their experiences of mistreatment," Ms Cassel said.
"It might be artwork, it might be music, it might be just an oral thing could be a video, it can be in writing, some people do drawings, [it] just depends."
Submissions for the Disability Royal Commission close on December 31.
An NDIA spokesperson told the ABC they acknowledged "the challenges faced by some participants living in remote areas of Australia" and said there was "a strong focus on connecting Australians with a disability to local support".
They said participants were encouraged to contact their Local Area Coordinator, who would facilitate connections to supports available in the Broken Hill community, even if not eligible for an NDIS support plan.
"The agency acknowledges the need to continue to improve the NDIS so that it works for everyone," the spokesperson said.
"This includes addressing the historical challenges faced by people with disability in finding support services in rural and remote areas, including parts of far western New South Wales."
