Position Paper: Segregation of People With Disability is Discrimination and Must End

People with disability and our representative and advocacy organisations
remain extremely concerned by existing law, policy and practice
frameworks that maintain the segregation of people with disability from
community life.

The everyday reality for many people with disability is one of inequality and discrimination that separates us from community life by preventing us from undertaking everyday activities, such as catching public transport, getting a job, going grocery shopping, eating out with friends and family, living in appropriate, accessible housing, accessing news and public information and participating in sport and recreation.

It is imperative that the segregation of people with disability is recognised and conceptualised as discrimination and as not adhering to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)1 and other international human rights conventions to which Australia is a party. The CRPD underpins the law, policy and practice frameworks for the development of the next ten-year National Disability Strategy (NDS),3 the ongoing implementation of the National Disability insurance Scheme (NDIS), the implementation of the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission (NDIS Commission) and the work of the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation (Disability Royal Commission). It is essential that, consistent with Australia’s international human rights obligations, concerted action to end the segregation of people
with disability is incorporated within these critical disability reform processes.