Governments’ respond to Disability Royal Commission

The Australian Government Response to the  Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability (Disability Royal Commission) was released last week, fully accepting just 13 of 172 recommendations under its primary or shared responsibility. It has accepted another 117 in principle, with 36 recommendations under consideration.

The final report of the Disability Royal Commission, released in September last year, made 222 recommendations. It called for the introduction of an Australian disability rights act, a new disability government portfolio, a minister for disability inclusion, and a department of disability equality and inclusion.

The Tasmanian response to the Disability Royal Commission includes a commitment to making Tasmania a place where people with disability have the same choices as everyone else in the community. It focuses on ensuring students with disability and their families are supported to make the best choices about how and where they want to be educated, based on their individual needs.

The Tasmanian Government has accepted or accepted in-principle 13 of the 15 education-related recommendations. The remaining two recommendations are noted.

The Victorian Government has also provided a response to all recommendations and has committed to work closely with the other states, territories and the Federal Government.

Of the 45 recommendations which are entirely the responsibility of states and territories, the Victorian Government has accepted 11, with a further 23 accepted in principle, three accepted in part and eight requiring further review.

The Disability Royal Commission found that the Victorian Labor Government is leading in several areas of disability inclusion, including the protection of rights of people living in Specialist Disability Accommodation, recent changes to the guardianship system and how co-design is used to design and deliver programs and services.

The Victorian Government has committed to amend its legislative definitions of family and domestic violence to include any relationship in which a person with a disability experiences domestic and family violence.

Federal Government Response snapshot: Children’s recommendations

Recommendation 4.11 Consultation with people with disability

Responsibility: Australian Government

Response: Subject to further consideration

The Disability Rights Act should require Commonwealth entities (as defined in the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (Cth)), in developing and evaluating policies, laws and programs and in planning new initiatives or making major changes to services that are provided to the public, or have a direct and significant impact on the public, to consult with

• children and young people with disability where appropriate, or representatives of children and young people (including, as relevant, disability representative organisations, the National Children’s Commissioner, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner or equivalents in the states and territories)
• families, carers and supporters of people with disability (which could include their representative organisations) on issues that will or could affect families, carers and supporters in their caring role.

Recommendation 5.4 – Review of national agreements, strategies and plans

Responsibility: Australian, state and territory governments

Joint response: Accept in principle

The Australian Government and state and territory governments, should review national agreements, strategies and plans that affect people with disability. This work should be undertaken through the Disability Reform Ministerial Council in conjunction with other ministerial councils (includes National Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children 2021-2031 and the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022–2032.

Inclusive education (Recommendations 7.2, 7.3, 7.6 and 7.13)

Response to Recommendations 7.2, 7.3, 7.6 and 7.13

Responsibility: Australian, state and territory governments

Joint Response: Accept in principle

Recommendation 7.2 Prevent the inappropriate use of exclusionary discipline against students with disability

Recommendation 7.3 Improve policies and procedures on the provision of reasonable adjustments to students with disability

Recommendation 7.6 Student and parental communication and relationships

Recommendation 7.13 National Roadmap to Inclusive Education

The Australian Government and state and territory governments support the Disability Royal Commission’s vision for more accessible and inclusive education for school students with disability.

Education Ministers commit to work in partnership with people with disability to set out how this vision will be achieved over time.

Education workforce capability and complaints management (Recommendations 7.8 and 7.10)

Response to Recommendations 7.8 and 7.10

Responsibility: Australian, state and territory governments

Joint Response: Accept in principle

The Australian Government and state and territory governments supports the Disability Royal Commission’s vision to build workforce capability and expertise and strengthen complaints management practices.

Recommendation 7.8 Workforce capabilities, expertise and development

Continuing professional development

1. c) State and territory educational authorities should create and implement professional development strategies based on an inclusive education capability framework for principals, teachers, teaching assistants and teachers of deaf children.

Recommendation 7.10 Complaint management

State and territory governments should create or expand existing complaint management offices that operate within educational authorities at arm’s length from schools to help resolve complaints about schools, specifically complaints concerning the treatment of students with disability.

Education data, evidence and funding (Recommendations 7.9 and 7.12)

Response to Recommendations 7.9 and 7.12

Responsibility: Australian, state and territory governments

Joint Response: Accept in principle

Implementing these recommendations requires further consideration by governments, including further work to consider data collection categories and reporting. In addition, implementing components of these recommendations will require consideration of impacts on workload for schools and data management systems.

Recommendation 7.9 Data, evidence and building best practice (p.118)

1. b) State and territory governments should enhance data systems and processes to enable all schools to submit at least the minimum data required in the prescribed format.
2. c) State and territory school registration authorities should:

• embed data requirements set by the Education Ministers Meeting in registration requirements for all schools in their jurisdiction
• require parents registering children with disability for home schooling with the state or territory school regulator to submit standardised information about their child’s educational, social and behavioural progress and support needs to improve understanding of students with disability who are being home schooled and their outcomes

Recommendation 7.12 Improving funding

The Australian Government and state and territory governments support a vision for improved data and evidence on the experience and outcomes of students with disability, building best practice for inclusive education and improving funding for students with disability.

Phasing out segregated education (Recommendations 7.14–7.15) (p.124)

Recommendation 7.14 Phasing out and ending special/segregated education

Recommendation 7.15 An alternative approach

Responsibility: Australian, state and territory governments

Joint Response: Note

The Australian Government and state and territory governments note the differing views held by Commissioners and the community on special /segregated settings.

The Australian Government recognises the ongoing role of specialist settings in service provision for students with disability and providing choice for students with disability and their families.

State and territory governments will continue to be responsible for making decisions about registration of schools in their jurisdictions, with the intent to strengthen inclusive education over time.

Preventing homelessness when people with disability transition from service or institutional settings (Recommendation 7.39)

Recommendation 7.39 Preventing homelessness when people with disability transition from service or institutional settings

The Australian Government (including the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA)) and state and territory governments should commit to a policy of ‘no leaving into homelessness’ for people with disability.

Recommendation 7.40 Address homelessness for people with disability in the National Housing and Homelessness Plan

Responsibility: Australian, state and territory governments

Joint Response: Subject to further consideration

In developing the National Housing and Homelessness Plan, the Australian Government, working with state and territory governments, should:

1. a) identify people with disability, particularly people with intellectual disability or cognitive impairment, as a discrete cohort or cohorts for intensive homelessness support, recognising their needs, circumstances and diversity

Ending violence against women and children with disability (Recommendation 8.23) 

Recommendation 8.23 Action plan to end violence against women and children with disability

Response to Recommendation 8.23

Responsibility: Australian, state and territory governments

Joint Response: Accept in principle

The Australian Government and state and territory governments should develop a five-year Action Plan for Women and Children with Disability to accompany the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022–2032. The Action Plan should:

• be developed by and for women with disability
• prioritise cohorts at greatest risk of violence
• coordinate with other relevant plans and strategies, in particular the forthcoming Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Action Plan and Australia’s Disability Strategy 2021–

The Action Plan should include comprehensive actions and investment to address violence experienced by women and children with disability across the focus areas of:

• prevention
• early intervention
• response
• recovery and healing.

Rather than developing a new action plan targeted at women and children with disability, all governments are committed to applying a disability lens to the implementation of the 10 actions within the existing action plan, including ensuring that policy, program and service reform and change is responsive to the needs of women and girls with disability and that associated communication material and resources are accessible.

Disability-inclusive definition of family and domestic violence (Recommendation 8.24)

Recommendation 8.24 Disability-inclusive definition of family and domestic violence

Response to Recommendation 8.24

Responsibility: Australian, state and territory governments

Commonwealth, VIC: Accept in principle

ACT, NSW, NT, QLD, SA, TAS, WA: Subject to further consideration

In working towards nationally consistent, inclusive definitions of gender‑based violence under the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022–2032, states and territories should amend their legislative definitions of family and domestic violence to include:

• all relationships in which people with disability experience family and domestic violence, including but not limited to carer and support worker relationships
• disability-based violence and abuse
• all domestic settings, including but not limited to supported accommodation such as group homes, respite centres and boarding houses.

The Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) and any relevant state and territory laws should also be amended consistently with this recommendation.

Reportable Incidents (Recommendation 11.18)

Recommendation 11.18 Dual oversight of reportable conduct and incidents

Response to Recommendation 11.18

Responsibility: Australian, state and territory governments

Joint Response: Accept in principle

The Australian Government and state and territory governments agree on the fundamental importance of robust oversight of reportable conduct schemes that provide clear reporting pathways to help prevent and respond to allegations of abuse against all children, including children with disability.

State and territory reportable conduct scheme operators and the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission should:

1. a) jointly develop guiding principles to support the efficient and effective handling of reportable incidents that are also allegations of reportable conduct
2. b) develop broadly consistent guidance material to assist organisations to better understand key issues relevant to notifying, managing and investigating allegations of reportable conduct and incidents involving children with disability.

Links

• Tasmanian Government response to the Disability Royal Commission
• Victorian Government response to the Disability Royal Commission
• Australian Government response to the Disability Royal Commission
• Australian Government Response