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.
The Disability Royal Commission’s issued a scathing report into how government agencies failed disabled Australians during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings point to failures by government officials to consult with people with a disability in the early stages of the pandemic and to even consider what was needed to protect them from the virus. And that left people with disability feeling anxious and stressed, and forgotten by both governments and wider
It was a “serious failure” that no Australian Government agency with responsibility for disability policy, including the Department of Health, made “any significant effort” to consult with people with disability or their representative organisations during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, a report by the Disability Royal Commission says.
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”.
Babies are being removed at birth from First Nations mothers living with disabilities, the disability royal commission has heard. Giving evidence in Brisbane, Ms Schwartz said she had witnessed the removal of Indigenous babies first hand. “I would call it a heinous practice,” she said.
“We are among the most seriously disadvantaged members of the Australian community, and are also experts on the impact of policies on us,” says First Peoples Disability Network Chief Executive Officer Damian Griffis. “This week, a number of First Nations people with disability will give evidence about the different racist and ableist systems that harm our children.”
The essential functions and value of advocacy and representation in the protection and advancement of rights are described throughout the report and evidenced through The contribution advocates made at hearings, and submissions received from advocacy organisations.
Supporting the rights and needs of people with disability for equal access to safe, nutritious and enjoyable food is the call behind Dietitians Australia’s latest submission to the Disability Royal Commission.
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.
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.
The disability royal commission’s interim report was handed down on Friday, detailing how people with disability were experiencing violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation across all aspects of their lives. The 561-page report outlines the attitudinal, environmental, institutional and communication barriers people with disability face when seeking inclusion within Australian society.
Your Story Disability Legal Support is a free national service funded to give information and legal advice to people about safely sharing their story with the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability. National Legal Aid and the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal services are funded by The Australian Government to deliver the national service. There are three lawyers who work for Your Story in Victoria – Dayle Partridge and Michelle Bowler based at Victoria Legal Aid and Anna Potter based at the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service. They will outline the scope of the service and referral pathways and how to work together effectively with advocacy organisations.
Disability advocates fear the most severe cases of systemic abuse will not be exposed during the royal commission unless greater privacy protections are given to people making submissions.
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.
Far too many people with a disability are denied choices about their accommodation, often leading to neglect and abuse, a royal commission says. It said a shift from large housing complexes to smaller group homes had not eliminated institutional forms of violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation.