Policy submission: Department of Social Services and the Commonwealth Disability Royal Commission Taskforce on the Australian Government’s response to the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation of People with Disability (DRC)

Introduction

JFA Purple Orange commends the establishment of the Commonwealth Disability Royal Commission Taskforce and strongly supports the need for an effective coordinated response to actioning the recommendations of the DRC between all parts of the Federal Government and its agencies, as well as other tiers of government. Evidence to the DRC highlighted the multitude of ways in which Australians living with disability experience violence, abuse, neglect, and the deprivation of material, social, cultural, and personal resources that are essential to living a good ordinary life. It demonstrated that these are not problems of times gone by, but an ongoing everyday reality for so many people living with disability in 21st century Australia. While some progress has been made across a number of areas, our country must confront and address the continuing segregation, exclusion, and discrimination that is pervasive in many aspects of life, including in segregated forms of education, employment, and housing, which were a significant focus of the DRC.

Segregation involves the separation of a group of people, based on a particular characteristic, from all other people and/or the implementation of different conditions, treatment, or rules for one group alone. It exists in education settings through so-called ‘special’ schools and units; places of employment under the Supported Wage System (SWS) and Australian Disability Enterprises (ADEs); ‘alternatives’ to education and employment, such as ‘day programs’ or ‘day options’; and for housing in group houses and other quasi-institutionalised accommodation types.

The DRC undertook a huge workload and examined a wide range of topics, making important recommendations across many areas of government policy. However, segregation emerged as one of the most fundamental questions for the DRC and gained increased prominence as a result of the diverging recommendations among Commissioners regarding the best way forward. JFA Purple Orange wholeheartedly endorses the position of the Commissioners with lived experience of disability who unanimously recommended an end to segregation, although we strongly believe the proposed timeframes for transition are far too long. Given the breadth of issues covered by the DRC and the limited time for submissions to be lodged, our submission primarily focuses on the need to end policies and practices of segregation and to co-design and fund effective national transition plans to achieve this. Our submission draws on input from people living with disability through a range of discussions and consultations we regularly undertake, including some specifically about the DRC’s recommendations.

Importantly, we are not proposing to just close segregated settings immediately as this would leave people unsafe, unsupported, and isolated. Rather, we will be arguing strongly for co-designed and appropriately funded national transition plans in each of the areas of education, employment, and housing, among other measures that will help underpin a successful coordinated response to the DRC. We fully appreciate that a lot needs to change in mainstream schools, workplaces, and housing before fully inclusive approaches can be realised, and we acknowledge that changes and reforms in the past have failed some people living with disability. We must learn the lessons of those experiences and from the transitions occurring in other jurisdictions around the world. Similarly, we recognise there are some positive attributes within segregated settings, particularly the social connections and relationships that many people hold dear. However, these exist despite segregation, certainly not because of segregation. People living with disability are resilient and adaptable, hence they have sought to make the best of the circumstances they are in. The reasons for the presence of these positive attributes should not be misunderstood or misattributed to practices of segregation. They will continue – indeed, can be significantly enhanced – by embracing inclusive approaches to education, employment, and housing.