Disability Rights update: February 2009

Other recent editions: December 2008 | October 2008 |August 2008 . Material from older editions is incorporated in the Commission's annual reports available online.

About this update

This Update from Disability Discrimination Commissioner Graeme Innes is a slightly edited version of his regular disability rights project report for meetings of the Australian Human Rights Commission. It is published as close as possible to Commission meetings, which are generally held 6 to 8 weeks apart. Events are notified first in the What´s New section of the Disability Rights home page, so check there if you want to keep fully up to date.

You can subscribe to our email list to be notified when new editions of this update are issued and when other major developments occur, by sending a blank message to join-drupdate@list.humanrights.gov.au

Your comments on any project or issue are welcome, preferably sent by e-mail. Contact us at: disabdis@humanrights.gov.au , or by mail to Disability Rights Unit, Australian Human Rights Commission, GPO Box 5218, Sydney NSW 1042.

National Disability Strategy

See also the Commission's submission and the NDS consultation home page

We have asked FAHCSIA to consider possibilities for making submissions on the National Disability Strategy available publicly .

Convention on Human Rights and Disability

For more in this area see our Convention page.

As part of our continuing work to promote effective implementation of the Convention we conducted this month a very successful seminar and series of meetings for government, community and academic experts with Professor Gerard Quinn of the University of Ireland Galway. We are grateful to the Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions for their support for Professor Quinn's visit.

International co-operation

We have submitted our revised activity proposal to build the capacity of national Disabled People's Organisation's (DPO's) and government representatives to progress disability issues in the Pacific to AusAID in accordance with suggestions made by the selection panel. The proposal has been designed with our partner, the Pacific Disability Forum, and lodged under AusAID's Pacific Governance Support Program 2008-2009. The project, if final approval is granted, will commence in August. The aim of the activity is to build linkages and enhance the capacity of each DPO and the Government to promote and protect the rights of people with disability in each country. The 3 day training program will include a focus on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, policy development, working with government, successful approached to advocacy and improving governance.

Commissioner Innes has also recently met with the Hon. Bob McMullan, Parliamentary Secretary for International Development Assistance to discuss the Australian Government's disability strategy for Australia's aid program (AusAID) Development for All: Towards disability inclusive Australian aid program 2009-2014 and an increased focus on the rights of people with disability and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in the Strategy.

Amendments to the DDA

For more information see the parliamentary home page for the Bill

While welcoming the Bill for amendments to the DDA to implement the reforms recommended by the Productivity Commission almost three years ago, and a number of associated reforms, the Commission has recommended a number of further improvements, in particular in the definition of discrimination and of reasonable adjustment. Commissioner Innes and staff have appeared before the Senate Legal and Constitutional Committee to present the Commission's views.

Access to Premises

For more in this area see our access to premises page .

As previously reported, draft Disability Standards on Access to Premises have been tabled by the Attorney General and referred to the House of Representatives Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee with a request that the committee consult on the draft and report in the first half of 2009. Submissions are open until 27 February. We have been working intensively to ensure that interested organisations can make fully informed input to this inquiry. This includes a series of seminars around Australia in partnership with the Australian Building Codes board and issuing a range of information on the draft Standards.

National Inquiry into Employment and Disability

National Mental Health and Disability Employment Strategy : In December the Government released a short paper National Mental Health and Disability Employment Strategy Update: Setting the Direction . This paper provided a brief summary of the major milestones of the consultation and review process and outlines some solutions being considered for inclusion in the Strategy.

It is not yet clear whether the Strategy will include the breadth of whole-of-government solutions as recommended in WORKability II, the final report of the Commission's National Inquiry into Employment and Disability. However, there have been positive developments in a number of specific areas.

Review of disability employment services: This review resulted in the development of a new model of service delivery which did incoporate elements of reform as recommended by the Inquiry. The Inquiry recommended the availability of appropriate support services to any employee with disability and his or her employer on an as-needed basis, without time limitations. The new model proposes the availability of services to all jobseekers with disability and their employers and the delivery of ongoing flexible support for defined groups. I recently wrote to the Minister of Employment Relation, the Hon Brendan O'Connor, both congratulating him on positive developments and outlining specific concerns with the new model for people with disability and their employers.

Employment for Indigenous people with disability : Our report outlining issues and barriers to employment for Indigenous people with disability is complete and will be ready for circulation in the coming weeks.

Occupational health and safety and employees with disability: Work continues on the resource for employers A Manager's Guide to Working with Employees with Mental Illness . Detailed comments to the second draft have been received from the OHS and Employees with Disability Working Group (co-hosted by the Commission and the Office of the Australian Safety and Compensation Council) and the Heads of Workplace Safety Authority. A third draft will be prepared in response to comments received. The Guide is being developed with the Office of the Australian Safety and compensation Council with a view that the resource will receive endorsement in the coming months by WorkSafe Australia when it is established.

Australian Fair Pay Commission: I received a reply from Professor Ian Harper, Chairman of the Australian Fair Pay Commission, in response to my request to consider the introduction of a minimum weekly wage for employees with disability working in Business Services which is equivalent to the guaranteed minimum weekly wage received by employees with disability working in open employment. Professor Harper indicated that the Australian Fair Pay Commission is unable to consider the request. We will consider other courses of action to achieve this outcome.

Audio description, captioning and media access

For more in this area see our captioning and media access page.

The Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy is expected to report progress shortly in its investigation into captining and other aspects of access to communications and entertainment media for people with disability.

Accessible public transport

For more in this area see our transport page.

Five year review of standards : We have been advised that the report of the initial five year review of the Disability Standards for Accessible Public Transport should be available very shortly.

Aviation issues: The first meeting of the Aviation Access Working Group established by the Government to achieve progress on issues identified at the forum convened last April by the Commission and the Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities was held on 6 February.

Bus stops: A draft guideline on accessible bus stops to assist those responsible for bus stops under the Disability Standards for Accessible Public Transport will be circulated this month to a range of community and industry experts for comment before being more widely released.

Web accessibility

We will be meeting this month with the Australian Government Information Management Office to discuss strategies for more effective promotion of accessible information provision by Commonwealth organisations, including in the context of the recent release of the second edition of the World Wide Web Consortium's Web Content Accessibility Guidelines.

Exemptions

For more in this area see our exemptions page.

Indigenous people with disability

Research and scoping work is continuing on the proposed cross unit (SJU and DRU) project examining the impact of hearing impairment and deafness in Indigenous communities.

Violence against women

We understand that the National Council to Reduce Violence Against Women and Children will soon release its National Plan. Given the absence of representation of women with disability on the Council, we will closely monitor the Plan for the inclusion of strategies to prevent and respond to violence and abuse against women and girls with disability.

Recent meetings / speeches / media

As at 12 February 2009

Human Rights Commissioner and Commissioner responsible for Disability Discrimination, Graeme Innes

Date	Event
11 Dec	Australasian Railways Association, Sydney
18 Dec	NSW DDLC, Sydney
21 Jan	Senate Legal and Constitutional Committee inquiry on DDA amendment Bill, Sydney
23 Jan	Minister McMullan re AusAid disability strategy
28 Jan	NSW Minister for Housing, Sydney
3 Feb	ABC radio re obesity and air travel
4 Feb	Meeting Council of The Ageing re premises standards, Sydney
6 Feb	Aviation Access Working Group. Canberra

Disability rights policy staff

8 Dec	Medicare reference group on access, Sydney (Mr Maguire, Mr Small)
19 Dec	Disability community briefing on access to premises, Sydney (Mr Small)
22 Jan	Access to premises briefings, Melbourne (Mr Small)
29 Jan	Access to premises briefings, Canberra (Mr Small)
5 Feb	Aust. Network for Universal Housing Design, Sydney (Mr Small)
9 Feb	Access to premises teleconferences: blindness reps; VEOHRC (Mr Small)
10 Feb	ABCB seminar, Canberra (Mr Small)
11 Feb	Aust. Institute Building Surveyors, Sydney (Mr Small)
11 Feb	Aust. Fair Pay Commission, Melbourne (Ms Ricci)
12 Feb	Access to premises community briefings, Hobart (Mr Small)

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