Additional hearing day on barriers to education for students with disability
The Disability Royal Commission will hold an additional day of Public hearing 7 on Friday 7th May 2021 commencing at 9am (AEST) to receive submissions on the key barriers encountered by students with disability when trying to access a safe, quality and inclusive education.
Public hearing 7 took place in October last year and at that time seven young people with disability told the Royal Commission about their school experiences. The Royal Commission also heard evidence from parents of students with disability, disability advocates, health professionals, academic education experts, and representatives from the Departments of Education in Queensland and New South Wales.
At the additional hearing day on 7 May, Counsel Assisting will present oral submissions drawing together the themes from the evidence as to some of the key barriers to accessing a safe, quality and inclusive education, as well as making submissions as to some findings, recommendations and areas for further investigation that the Commissioners might consider.
It should be noted that the key focus of the evidence at Public hearing 7 has been on the experience of students with disability in mainstream schools. The Royal Commission continues to inquire into the experience of students with disability in other education settings.
Chair Ronald Sackville AO QC will preside over the additional hearing day in Sydney and will be joined by Commissioner Roslyn Atkinson AO and Commissioner Andrea Mason OAM in the Royal Commission’s hearing room in Brisbane. Commissioner Rhonda Galbally AC will attend remotely from Melbourne.
The presentation of the submissions will be led by Senior Counsel Assisting, Dr Kerri Mellifont QC, and she will appear with Ms Elizabeth Bennett, Mr Ben Power, and Mr Andrew Fraser from the Brisbane hearing room.
This additional hearing day will be conducted virtually and livestreamed on the Royal Commission’s website. Due to ongoing COVID-19 related restrictions, the hearing room will be closed to the public.
For further information, please contact the Disability Royal Commission Media team on 0436 841 166