Unfortunately, the Disability Royal Commission (DRC) Public Hearing on ‘The Health and Safety of Women and Girls With Disability’ due to be held in Hobart 13th – 19th October has been postponed until early 2022. 

With most of the Commissioners residing in NSW, COVID19 outbreaks and restrictions on travel have made it very difficult for Commissioners to travel to Tasmania to hold the public hearings in person. The DRC has consulted with people who have requested to attend the public hearing and there is a general preference to wait until the Hearing can be held face to face rather than going fully online. 

In the meantime, the DRC are currently working with WWDA on holding some online forums on the 13th – 14th October in the lead up until the Hearing in the new year. We will provide more details as this becomes available. 

One positive is that it gives us more time to prepare and make submissions!  WWDA can still have a conversation with you about giving evidence at a public hearing, a private hearing or making a submission in whatever way suits you. 

Please get in touch with Tess at tessm@wwda.org.au if you would like to talk more about this. 

Image description: A light purple background with a black heading in large print, ‘DRC news flash: Hobart public hearing postponed until 2022’. Black logo for Women With Disabilities Australia is in the bottom right corner which is a map of Australia made up of people and the words Women With Disabilities Australia WWDA beside it. There is a small half-circle in the top left corner that is violet purple, a large stripy patterned half circle in the top right corner in purple with a smaller white half circle in the centre, a stripy patterned half circle in the right about half way down in light blue, a small half white circle in the bottom right corner