Royal Commission announces important dates for submissions and registrations for private sessions

The Disability Royal Commission today announced key dates in 2022 for making submissions and registering for private sessions. People’s experiences of violence, abuse, neglect or exploitation - shared through submissions and private sessions - are critical to the work of the Royal Commission.

Submissions and private sessions help the Royal Commission understand the nature and extent of the violence, abuse and neglect people with disability face, as well as identify systemic issues that must be addressed. These stories of people with lived experience of disability have informed the work of the Royal Commission to date and will also inform the contents of the Final Report and the Royal Commission’s recommendations.

So far, the Royal Commission has:

  • received 3,552 submissions
  • received 11,757 phone enquiries; and
  • held 811 private sessions.

The Final Report is due to be delivered to the Governor-General by 29 September 2023. Registrations for private sessions and submissions must be finalised well in advance of this date in order to ensure the information can be processed and used for the purposes of the Final Report of the Royal Commission.

We ask anyone who would like to have a private session to register before 30 June 2022.

Private sessions will still be held after 30 June 2022, but registrations will need to be finalised by 30 June. This deadline will ensure all information provided to us during private sessions can be taken into account in preparing the Final Report. Based on current registration rates, the Royal Commission is very confident that everyone who registers by 30 June 2022 (and is within terms of reference) will be able to participate in a private session. The Royal Commission strongly encourages individuals who wish to have a private session register as soon as possible and in any event prior to 30 June 2022.

We ask that any submissions be sent to and received by the Royal Commission by 31 December 2022.

If submissions are to be taken into account in the Final Report they will need to be received by the Royal Commission no later than 31 December 2022. The Royal Commission will retain submissions provided to it after 31 December 2022 in accordance with its obligations under the Archives Act 1983 (Cth). However, because of the time constraints this information is unlikely to be used in the Royal Commission’s work or counted in its statistics. For this reason, the Royal Commission strongly encourages individuals and organisations to make submissions as soon as possible and in any event prior to 31 December 2022.

People can make a submission in any way they find comfortable – including email, video or as an artwork. Multiple submissions are accepted. Phone submissions can also be made by booking a time through our Hotline on 1800 517 199.

Confidentiality

Any information provided in confidence to the Royal Commission, whether by way of private session or in a submission, will be protected from disclosure for a period of 99 years after the Royal Commission ends, except in extremely limited circumstances.

Please direct all inquiries to the Disability Royal Commission Media team on 0436 841 166 or via our email DRCmedia@royalcommission.gov.au.