OPA submission in response to the DRC Rights and Attitudes Issues Paper

Recommendations

Recommendation 1

Governments and the National Disability Insurance Agency and the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission should continue support for cultural-change training for disability service providers, which seeks to counter violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation, such as the zero-tolerance initiatives.

Recommendation 2

The Disability Ministers’ forum should consider the national evaluation of Community Visitors Programs and endorse its recommendations.

Recommendation 3

Governments should strengthen human rights protections by funding peer support, self advocacy and individual advocacy at a level commensurate with demand, by substantially extending the National Disability Advocacy Program.

Recommendation 4

The Australian Government should commit to funding advocacy programs as a crucial NDIS safeguard. Such programs and funding should remain separate from any funded supports that are provided to individual NDIS participants.

Recommendation 5

Governments should strengthen human rights protections to make ‘choice and control’ more meaningful by funding a range of supported decision-making initiatives. This can be achieved by making it possible for NDIS participants to purchase such supports through their NDIS plan.

Recommendation 6

The Australian Government should implement the Recommendations of the Australian Law Reform Commission in its 2014 report Equality, Capacity and Disability in Commonwealth Laws.