Share your story

Thank you to all of those who were able to share with us your views, and experiences of violence, neglect, abuse or exploitation of people with a disability. Your generosity and strength in sharing your experiences and your recommendations for change with the Royal Commission has helped us learn more about the problem and how we can help prevent it in the future.

Registrations for private sessions closed on 30 June 2022. We expect to continue holding private sessions into 2023.

Submissions closed 31 December 2022.

Hearing from people with disability, families, support people, organisations and the broader community has helped the Royal Commission understand the extent and the impact of violence, neglect, abuse and exploitation against people with disability. This will help us to make recommendations to prevent it from happening again. 

Sharing your experiences with us has helped us to:

  • understand the extent of the problem
  • learn more about the contexts in which abuse is more likely to occur
  • understand the impacts on people with disability, their families, support people and our community
  • understand what needs to change to prevent and better respond when violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation of people with a disability occurs.

The Royal Commission cannot decide or resolve individual cases or award compensation.

The Royal Commission acknowledges that coming forward to share your experience is a big step. Counselling and support is available to help you.

What happens after I make my submission?

Once the Royal Commission has received your written, audio or video account, we will contact you to confirm we have received it. You will be sent a letter of acknowledgement. Because we received a large number of submissions just before the the end of registrations, there may be a short delay in you receiving this acknowledgement. The submissions team will acknowledge your submission as soon as possible.  

If you share your story with the Royal Commission it may be made public. We will not make your information public without your consent.

All videos submitted to the Royal Commission will be transcribed and assessed and analysed in the same way as written submissions. Transcriptions are for internal use only.

 

Amendments to the law about Royal Commissions, made in August 2021, meant that when you shared your experience of violence, abuse, neglect or exploitation with the Royal Commission and any information you provided in confidence to the Royal Commission will be protected from disclosure for a period of 99 years after the Royal Commission ends. This means that your information cannot be published or disclosed to anyone outside the Royal Commission, including after the Royal Commission ends, except in limited circumstances.

You can get free legal advice to help you understand sharing your experience with the Royal Commission. Please call Your Story Disability Legal Support on 1800 771 800 (Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays).

If you are worried about information you provided to the Royal Commission being disclosed and the potential consequences of any such disclosure, the amendments to the law about Royal Commissions made in August 2021 mean that you can share your experience of violence, abuse, neglect or exploitation with the Royal Commission and information you provide in confidence to the Royal Commission will be protected from disclosure for a period of 99 years. This means that your information cannot be published or disclosed to anyone outside the Royal Commission, including after the Royal Commission ends, except in limited circumstances.

You can get free legal advice to help you understand sharing your experience with the Royal Commission. Please call Your Story Disability Legal Support on 1800 771 800 (Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays).

We understand that people may be concerned about retribution, for example if they make a public submission that is critical of an employer or accommodation provider. We take this concern very seriously and encourage people to get legal advice about the protections the Royal  Commission is able to offer.