M2 - Learner Manual

The Disability Royal Commission

A Royal Commission is an investigation, independent of government, into a matter of great importance. Royal Commissions have broad powers to hold public hearings, call witnesses under oath and compel evidence. Royal Commissions make recommendations to government about what should change. Each Royal Commission has terms of reference, which define the issues it will look into.

The Disability Royal Commission was established in April 2019 in response to community concern about widespread reports of violence against, and the neglect, abuse and exploitation of, people with disability. These incidents might have happened recently or a long time ago.

The Disability Royal Commission will investigate:

·       preventing and better protecting people with disability from experiencing violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation

·       achieving best practice in reporting, investigating and responding to violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation of people with disability

·       promoting a more inclusive society that supports people with disability to be independent and live free from violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation.

The Disability Royal Commission will investigate and report on experiences and conditions in all settings and contexts, including:

·       schools

·       workplaces

·       jails and detention centres

·       secure disability and mental health facilities

·       group homes or boarding houses

·       family homes

·       hospitals

·       day programs

The Disability Royal Commission gathers information through research, public hearings, the personal experiences people tell us about and submissions, private sessions, and other forums.

We will deliver a final report to the Australian Government by 29 September 2023. In this report, the Royal Commission will recommend how to improve laws, policies, structures and practices to ensure a more inclusive and just society.

Sourced on 4/8/22:  https://disability.royalcommission.gov.au/about-royal-commission

Your Story Disability Legal Support

A free legal advisory service is available to help you interact with the Disability Royal Commission. Your Story Disability Legal Support is independent from the Royal Commission. It provides free legal advice to:

·       people with disability

·       their families

·       carers

·       supporters and

·       advocates.

Your Story Disability Legal Support is funded by the Australian Government and is delivered by National Legal Aid and the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services.

Some of the reasons you might want to contact Your Story Disability Legal Support include:

·       You want to use the name of an organisation or person in your story

·       You have a confidentiality or non-disclosure agreement that stops you sharing some, or all, of your story

·       You are concerned about payback if you share your story

·       You are worried that you or someone else will be unsafe, lose access to services or employment, or your rights will be affected

·       Your story talks about current or past court matters

·       Your story talks about something you did, that you should not have done or think may be illegal

·       You are registered to speak at a Royal Commission community forum

·       You want support to get ready for a private session with the Royal Commission.

Legal financial assistance

You may be able to get financial support for reasonable legal costs when you are:

• being called, or granted leave to appear, as a witness at a hearing of the Royal Commission
• being requested to attend, or attending an interview of the Royal Commission
• complying with a notice to give information or a statement in writing that will be used as evidence in the Royal Commission, and/or
• complying with a notice to produce issued by the Royal Commission.

If you have been called by the Royal Commission in your personal capacity you will be eligible for legal financial assistance. If your organisation has been called, you may be eligible for legal financial assistance, subject to an assessment of whether the organisation can meet the cost of its legal representation without incurring serious financial difficulty.

The legal financial assistance scheme is administered by the Attorney-General's Department, independently of the Royal Commission.

Sourced on 4/8/22: https://disability.royalcommission.gov.au/counselling-and-support/legal-services

First Nations People

If you are an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander (First Nations) person with a disability, and you have experienced violence, abuse neglect or exploitation, the Royal Commission would like to hear from you. We also want to hear from families, friends, and support people of First Nations people with disability.

·       violence – if someone is hurting you physically

·       abuse – if someone is treating you badly

·       neglect – if someone is not helping you the way they are supposed to help you

·       exploitation – if someone is taking advantage of you.

There are many ways to get involved with the Royal Commission. You can:

·       write or record your story in a submission

·       meet with a Commissioner in a private session (registrations closed 30 June 2022)

·       come to a community forum, or

·       participate in a public hearing.

Sourced on 4/8/22: https://disability.royalcommission.gov.au/share-your-story/first-nations-people

First Peoples Disability Network Australia (FPDN)

We are First Peoples Disability Network Australia (FPDN) – a national organisation of and for Australia’s First Peoples with disability, their families and communities. Our organisation is governed by First Peoples with lived experience of disability.

We proactively engage with communities around Australia and advocate for the interests of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with disability in Australia and internationally. We follow the human rights framework established by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, to which Australia is a signatory, and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

First Peoples with disability and their families are amongst the most seriously disadvantaged and disempowered members of the Australian community. We give voice to their needs and concerns and share their narratives of lived experience.

We work for the recognition, respect, protection and fulfilment of the human rights of First Peoples with disability and their families.

We work within a social model of disability, in which we understand ‘disability’ to be the result of barriers to our equal participation in the social and physical environment. These barriers can and must be dismantled. The social model stands in contrast to a medical model of disability, which focuses on diagnosis.

We were born of the efforts of advocates who were working from the early 1980s to bring attention to the specific needs of First Peoples with disability and their families.

Our journey has been long and difficult. Because of the intersection of race and disability, we have had to confront and overcome apathy, neglect and prejudice, both in the general community and in our own communities. That struggle continues.

FPDN was established informally in 2010 and registered as a public company limited by guarantee in 2014. Our founders are the leaders of the Aboriginal disability movement and have been working to uphold the rights of our people since the 1960s.

Sourced on 4/8/22: https://fpdn.org.au/about-us/

National Disability Advocacy Program

The National Disability Advocacy Program (NDAP) provides people with disability with access to effective disability advocacy that promotes, protects and ensures their full and equal enjoyment of all human rights enabling community participation.

Advocacy for people with disability can be defined as speaking, acting or writing with minimal conflict of interest on behalf of the interests of a disadvantaged person or group, in order to promote, protect and defend the welfare of and justice for either the person or group by:

• Acting in a partisan manner (i.e. being on their side and no one else's);
• Being primarily concerned with their fundamental needs;
• Remaining loyal and accountable to them in a way which is empathic and vigorous (whilst respecting the rights of others); and
• Ensuring duty of care at all times.

Approaches to disability advocacy can be categorised into six broad models being:

• Citizen advocacy: matches people with disability with volunteers.
• Family advocacy: helps parents and family members advocate on behalf of the person with disability for a particular issue.
• Individual advocacy: upholds the rights of individual people with disability by working on discrimination, abuse and neglect.
• Legal advocacy: upholds the rights and interests of individual people with disability by addressing the legal aspects of discrimination, abuse and neglect.
• Self advocacy: supports people with disability to advocate for themselves, or as a group.
• Systemic advocacy: seeks to remove barriers and address discrimination to ensure the rights of people with disability.

NDAP agencies can also assist with issues that may arise with the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) or with service providers.

Sourced on 4/8/22: https://www.dss.gov.au/our-responsibilities/disability-and-carers/program-services/for-people-with-disability/national-disability-advocacy-program-ndap