Disability Commissioner, Australian Human Rights Commission
Alastair McEwin is Australia’s Disability Discrimination Commissioner. He commenced in this role in August 2016.
Alastair’s educational background is in arts, law and business administration. Following his undergraduate studies in Adelaide, he spent time in Vancouver, Canada, pursuing postgraduate studies. Prior to moving to Sydney to commence as a consultant with Accenture, a global management and IT consulting company, he worked as Associate to the Hon. Justice John von Doussa at the Federal Court. Alastair has a strong background in working with non-profit organisations. He was the Executive Director of Community Legal Centres NSW, the peak body for Community Legal Centres in NSW. Other roles include CEO of People with Disability Australia and Manager of the Australian Centre for Disability Law.
Prior to commencing in his current role, he was the Chairperson of the NSW Disability Council, the official advisory board to the NSW Government on disability issues. He was also the President of the Deaf Society of NSW and Chairperson of the Australian Theatre of the Deaf. He has also been the coordinator of the World Federation of the Deaf Expert Group on Human Rights and an adjunct lecturer for the Masters of Community Management degree at the University of Technology Sydney.
Sessions
Righting the script: Moving legislative and cultural barriers facing people with disability
Friday 2nd September, 2016: 5:00am - 6:00am
Legal instruments such as the Disability Discrimination Act, Victorian Disability Act, Equal Opportunity Act, the State Disability Plan and the Victorian Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities are often applied by dvocates to defend the rights of people with disability. The discussion focused on how these instruments might work in an NDIS environment and what … Continued
Keynote address: What should the NDIS look like within a Human Rights Framework?
Friday 15th September, 2017: 10:10am - 10:30am
In this presentation, the Disability Discrimination Commissioner will reflect on some of the human rights issues that have arisen since the NDIS began and what is required to ensure we see an NDIS reach its true potential within a human rights framework.