The Royal Commission report on disability remains a contentious issue in the House of Representatives, with the shadow minister dismissing the minister’s claims of following its recommendations.
“We should acknowledge that disability advocates were disappointed to find out last week that only 13 recommendations were fully accepted, despite 117 being accepted in principle, 36 set aside for further consideration, and six simply noted,” said Shadow Minister for Social Services Michael Sukkar, as he requested the House to refer the matter to the Federation Chambers for debate.
In a 30-minute response to the report’s findings, Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth assured her government is committed to implementing even those recommendations accepted “in principle.”
“I want to assure the disability community that we have listened and are taking action. We are absolutely committed to driving progress and real change across all aspects of society,” Rishworth said.
“Our government accepts and is committed to the vision set out by the Disability Royal Commission, and we are dedicated to enabling policy and delivering services that realise the vision of an Australian community where people with disabilities live free from violence, abuse, neglect, and exploitation.”
The final report of the Royal Commission comprises 12 volumes, 6,788 pages, and 222 recommendations.
“Of these, 172 recommendations are the sole or joint responsibility of the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth government has accepted, or accepted in principle, 130 of these,” Rishworth noted.
She highlighted that the commissioners were divided on some recommendations, offering alternative options for the government.
“To implement reforms effectively, we'll partner with people with disabilities,” she said.
Rishworth further stressed the importance of equal participation from state governments in implementing the measures.
“States and territories will undertake a similar process to provide updates on the 50 recommendations that clearly fall within the sole responsibility of state and territory governments,” she added.
Last week, the Albanese government announced improvements to job pathways for Australians with disabilities as part of a $371 million (US$245 million) package in response to the harrowing stories from the Royal Commission report.
Reacting to the government’s response, disability representative organisations described the long-awaited joint federal, state, and territory response as “deeply disappointing” and said it “fails to address the scale of violence, abuse, neglect, and exploitation of people with disabilities.”
Released in September of last year, the recommendations 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.
