Disabled people seek control over the reforms
“Our right to participate in all aspects of Australian life must become a reality,” Lee said. PWDA sought national plans with deadlines to end segregation and wanted people with disability involved in designing the response. Its demands connected protection from violence with the right to participate in ordinary community life. [1]
A report covering twelve volumes
The commission’s final report was published on 29 September 2023. Its twelve volumes examined violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation, with recommendations covering legal rights, public services and everyday participation. The report gave governments a wide programme of proposed reforms after years of hearings and submissions. [2]
PWDA sets out its priorities
In February 2024, PWDA published its response to the commission’s 222 recommendations. Its nineteen position statements called for a Disability Rights Act, stronger government responsibility and the phasing out of segregated education, employment and housing. The organisation also pressed for action on wages below the minimum wage and restrictive practices, and sought a formal role in deciding the order and priority of reforms. [3]