Posted February 12, 2021
The Third Progress Report summarises the work carried out by the Royal Commission during the period 1 July to 31 December 2020 including conducting six important public hearings, despite the restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, through the use of remote technology The Progress Report notes that the Chair of the Royal Commission wrote to the Prime Minister on 30 October 2020 requesting a seventeen-month extension to the Royal Commission. If the request is granted, the Final Report and recommendations will be due by 29 September 2023.
Posted February 4, 2021
Are you interested in knowing more about laws that affect people with disability? This research report lists key elements of legislation covering people with disability in national, state and territory jurisdictions in a range of areas including housing, employment, transport, NDIS, civil and criminal law to name a few.
Posted January 29, 2021
This report provides an update on the growth of Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) across Australia and shares insights into current market sentiment. The data in this report results from a survey of SDA providers in October and November 2020. This is the third annual report of its type. Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) is housing that … Continued
Posted December 14, 2020
Community Visitors are volunteers who play a vital role in safeguarding the rights of people with disability and fostering their inclusion in the community. This is an annual report that identifies a range of issues critical to the safety, treatment, care and human rights ofVictorians who, due to their disabilities, require 24-hour care in state- regulated or managed services. The challenges presented by the pandemic and the ensuing lockdowns, required service provision to pivot to remote contact by phone or video when prevented from visiting disability group homes, mental health units and Supported Residential Services (SRS) in person. Facilities could only be attended in person for 65 per cent of the year due to lockdowns.
Posted December 14, 2020
The report provides an update on the committee’s recent activities and makes 10 recommendations to improve the NDIS for participants, providers and other key stakeholders. The activities focus on independent assessments and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Posted December 14, 2020
This is an interim report which makes 14 recommendations to address key issues facing the NDIS workforce. The committee will continue to consider these issues next year and intends to present a final report on the NDIS workforce to Parliament in 2021.
Posted December 3, 2020
This research abstract reports on a survey of over 700 families that explored how Australia’s National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) supported children and young people and their families to learn remotely during COVID‐19. The results suggest that participant experiences varied widely, with some people able to make the changes they required and others left with a significant service gap. This shows that individual funding schemes are not necessarily more flexible than traditional systems in an emergency situation.
Posted December 1, 2020
For years, participants, advocacy groups and the sector have been calling for reform in the planning arena. This inquiry, including the committee’s interim report tabled in December 2019, and the Review of the NDIS Act and the new NDIS Participant Service Guarantee (Tune Review) make broad-ranging recommendations to address long-standing issues with the planning process. committee made 14 recommendations in its interim report and it makes another 42 recommendations in this final report. These recommendations are intended to bring greater transparency, consistency and accountability to how the NDIS is administered and implemented.
Posted December 1, 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic has been the greatest challenge Australia’s aged care sector has faced. Those who have suffered the most have been the residents, their families and aged care staff. The report is the result of a hearing of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety into the impact of COVID-19 on aged care, which was held in Sydney from 10 to 13 August 2020.
Posted December 1, 2020
The report makes 22 wide-ranging recommendations in light of evidence from people with disability, advocates, experts and government representatives during the Royal Commission’s fifth public hearing held in August. Chair Ronald Sackville AO QC said it was clear that official lines of communication had failed between decision-makers and people with disability, leaving them feeling “forgotten and ignored”.
Posted November 13, 2020
This report was commissioned by the Disability Royal Commission and looks at how First Nations people with disability speak about their experience of violence and abuse. It finds that First Nations people with disability are less likely to discuss issues of violence and abuse with others outside their community because their experiences are too ‘raw’ to talk about. They often mention the terms ‘loss’ and ‘lost’ in reference to traumatic events.
Posted November 5, 2020
The report sets out what the Royal Commission has done in its first 15 months, the cut-off point being 31 July 2020. The report says people with disability experience attitudinal, environmental, institutional and communication barriers to achieving inclusion within Australian society. It shows that a great deal needs to be done to ensure that the human rights of people with disability are respected and that Australia becomes a truly inclusive society.
Posted October 19, 2020
Melbourne’s tram network is a crucial public transport mode, with 205 million trips taken each year. In Victoria, 17 per cent of the population lives with some form of disability. A person with a mobility restriction cannot have, in any practical sense, an accessible tram journey without both a level-access stop and a low-floor tram. This report finds that tram services are not meeting the accessibility needs of passengers with mobility restrictions. In 2018–19, only 15 per cent of tram services delivered a low-floor tram at a level-access stop.
Posted October 2, 2020
The Royal Commission held a public hearing in Melbourne from Monday 2 December to Friday 6 December 2019. It inquired into homes and living for people with disability in Victoria and particularly the experiences of people who have lived or are currently living in group homes. This report finds that the closure of large institutions housing people with disability, with the resulting development of group homes has not eliminated institutional forms of violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation experienced by people with disability, particularly those with serious intellectual disabilities.
Posted September 29, 2020
New data released has revealed the significant impact the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is having on young Australians with disability and their families.
