Volume 12 – Beyond the Royal Commission

Summary

Background

The Disability Royal Commission’s Final report tells the Australian Government what changes need to be made to prevent violence against, and abuse, neglect and exploitation of, people with disability.

We recommend change so people with disability can enjoy all human rights and freedoms fully and equally.

Our Final report has 12 volumes.

This video is a summary of Volume 12 – Beyond the Royal Commission. It is the last volume of our Final report.

Volume 12 is about how governments can deliver important change.

Chapter 1 recommends the steps governments should take to implement and monitor our recommendations.

Chapter 2 recommends ways to improve data collection and analysis on disability, so governments can improve disability policy and services.

Chapter 3 identifies the key impacts that our work has had on policies, programs and services to improve the lives of people with disability.

Chapter 1 – Delivering change

In Chapter 1 we recommend four steps for implementing and monitoring our recommendations:

• Step 1 – The Australian Government and state and territory governments (all governments) should each publish a written response to our Final report by 31 March 2024.

• Step 2 – The Disability Reform Ministerial Council includes Australian Government and state and territory ministers who have responsibility for disability policy. They meet and discuss ways to improve and implement policies affecting people with disability. The Disability Reform Ministerial Council should oversee the implementation of our recommendations.

• Step 3 – A new independent body, the National Disability Commission, should report on the progress of governments in implementing our recommendations. Starting in 2025, the Commission should report this progress to the Australian Parliament.

• Step 4 – The National Disability Commission should also evaluate and report on the effectiveness of our recommendations. This should be done five years and 10 years after our report is delivered. This way people will know whether our recommendations have led to real change for people with disability in Australia.

Chapter 2 – Building the policy evidence

We found it difficult to get reliable and useful data. This made it hard for us to understand violence against, and abuse, neglect and exploitation of, people with disability. It also made it hard for us to address it and prevent it.

In Chapter 2 we identify ways to improve data collection and analysis about the experiences of people with disability. This will improve the evidence base for disability services and policy.

We say the Australian Government and state and territory governments should:

• develop a nationally consistent approach to collecting disability information

• adopt a disability flag across data collections for mainstream services to identify people with disability.

We say all governments should support a strategy to extend collection of disability data. Data collection should:

• include groups of people with disability who are particularly at risk of violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation, such as in group homes and prisons. It also includes those with communication support needs, such as people who are non-verbal.

• improve data on type of impairment, for example, physical, deaf, blind

• improve data on:

  • women with disability

  • children and young people with disability

  • First Nations people with disability

  • people with disability from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds

  • people with disability who are members of LGBTIQA+ communities.

We also say all governments should agree to long-term support and funding for the National Disability Data Asset (NDDA) to link data across systems, such as health, education, transport, employment, housing.

The NDDA is a project involving all governments. It collects information from different government agencies about people with disability to understand life experiences. Linking data helps to build a full picture of the experiences of people with disability.

In this chapter we also look at current disability research in Australia. We found many gaps. Australia needs more research that looks at ways to promote social inclusion to prevent violence against, abuse, neglect and exploitation of, people with disability.

Chapter 3 – Our impact

Our work has brought about many changes that will improve the lives of people with disability.

In this chapter we identify some of the key impacts our reports and public hearings have had on government policies, programs and services.

These include:

• better access to COVID-19 vaccinations

• changes in education policies on suspensions of students with disability

• review of Disability Employment Service providers

• initiatives to improve health care of people with cognitive disability

• funding to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls with disability.

We recognise that we did not do our work alone. We have built on the long-term advocacy of people with disability and their supporters to improve the lives of people with disability.

More information

For more information about our Final report, and to access all volumes, visit our website. Go to the ‘Publications’ section and click on ‘Final report’.

www.disability.royalcommission.gov.au

Volume 12 – Beyond the Royal Commission

Recommendations

Background

The Disability Royal Commission’s Final report tells the Australian Government what changes need to be made to prevent violence against, and abuse, neglect and exploitation of, people with disability.

We recommend change so people with disability can enjoy all human rights and freedoms fully and equally.

Our Final report has 12 volumes.

This video summarises recommendations in Volume 12 – Beyond the Royal Commission. Volume 12 is about how governments can deliver important change.

This volume has eight recommendations. They cover:

• the steps governments should take to implement and monitor all the recommendations in our Final report

• ways governments can improve data collection and analysis on the experiences of people with disability, so they can improve disability policy and services.

Recommendation 12.1

We recommend that the Australian Government and each state and territory government (all governments) publish a written response to our Final report by 31 March 2024.

Their responses should say whether they:

• accept our recommendations, and if so, how they will be implemented

• reject our recommendations, and if so, why

• are considering our recommendations further, and if so, provide a timeframe.

Recommendation 12.2

We recommend that the Disability Reform Ministerial Council oversees implementation of our recommendations.

The Disability Reform Ministerial Council members include Australian Government and state and territory ministers who have responsibility for disability policy.

They meet and discuss ways to improve and implement policies affecting people with disability.

They should report on their progress in implementing our recommendations, and any issues or challenges they experience.

The Australia Government and each state and territory government should report to the Disability Reform Ministerial Council every six months.

Recommendation 12.3

In Volume 5 of our Final report, we recommend a new body called the National Disability Commission. 

This Commission would be independent from government and be led by people with disability.

In this final volume of our Final report, we recommend the National Disability Commission report on the progress of all governments in implementing our recommendations.

The Commission should report to the Australian Parliament. 

Recommendation 12.4

We recommend the National Disability Commission lead independent evaluations about:

• how well the recommendations are being implemented. What are the barriers? What is helping? How can implementation be improved?

• how the recommendations are improving outcomes for people with disability.

The evaluation reports should be tabled in the Australian parliament:

• in 2028 – five years after our Final report is delivered

• in 2033 – 10 years after our Final report is delivered.

Recommendation 12.5

We recommend that the Australian Government and state and territory governments develop a nationally consistent approach to collecting disability information.  These questions should be used across all mainstream services and surveys. 

All governments should agree to a set of core questions that identifies disability. The questions should be co-designed with people with disability, their representative organisations and experts in the First Nations field. This would address the lack of consistent disability data.

Recommendation 12.6

We recommend the Australian Government and state and territory governments implement disability flags in data collections for mainstream services. This would help address the lack of disability data available in Australia.

All governments should develop a plan. This plan should outline how mainstream services incorporate consistent ways to identify people with disability in their data collections. We recommend governments publish this plan by 2025.

Recommendation 12.7

We recommend the Australian Government and state and territory governments support a strategy to extend disability data collection.

Data collection should:

• include people with disability who may be at risk of violence, abuse neglect and exploitation, such as in group homes and prisons

• improve data on types of impairment, for example, physical, deaf, blind

• improve data on:

  • women with disability

  • children and young people with disability

  • First Nations people with disability

  • culturally and linguistically diverse people with disability

  • LGBTIQA+ people with disability.

Recommendation 12.8

We recommend that the Australian Government and state and territory governments agree to long-term support and funding to the National Data Disability Asset (NDDA).

The NDDA is a project involving all governments. It collects information from different government agencies about people with disability to understand their life experiences.

We recommend the Australian Government and state and territory governments:

• publish a summary of the NDDA’s linked data every year

• start data projects using the NDDA that:

  • identify what puts people at greatest risk of violence, abuse, neglect or exploitation

  • demonstrate the outcomes and experiences of people with disability moving between systems. This includes moving between education and employment systems, and the NDIS and mainstream services.

  • evaluate how accurately services have collected data on disability status.

More information

For more information about our Final report and to access all volumes, visit our website. Go to the ‘Publications’ section and click on ‘Final report’. 

www.disability.royalcommission.gov.au