Many of the national Disability Representative Organisations (DROs) have raised key issues and concerns in a joint submission on the Australian Government’s response to the final report of the Royal Commission into Violence Abuse Neglect and Exploitation of people with Disability.

People with disability must lead the responses to the Disability Royal Commission, including via our representative organisations. We are the people who have experience of violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation, and need to be at the forefront of measures to stop this happening to us. 

The Disability Royal Commission provided a critical, once in a lifetime opportunity for Australia to understand the context, impact and extent to which violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation of people with disability occurred, and still occurs, in our society.

It is vital that the Australian Government place people with disability and their representative organisations at the centre of their response to the recommendations to make significant reform.

When the Disability Royal Commission’s report was released, many disability rights organisations came together to call on the Australian Government to work with us to design and enact the solutions needed to address the recommendations put forward by the Royal Commission. Our organisations call again on the Government to work with us and give us the leadership, engagement, time and resources we need to make reforms succeed.

Disability Representative Organisations are funded by the Department of Social Services (DSS) to represent people with disability. The following organisations have endorsed this joint submission:

  • Children and Young People with Disability Australia
  • First Peoples Disability Network Australia
  • Disability Advocacy Network Australia
  • Inclusion Australia
  • National Ethnic Disability Alliance
  • People with Disability Australia
  • Women with Disabilities Australia

This submission was prepared by Disability Advocacy Network Australia, in their role as the National Coordination Function for the Disability Representative Organisations program.

Other links:

Media Release: Call to work with disability groups to design the solutions from the Disability Royal Commission | Disability Advocacy Network Australia (dana.org.au)