Government Implementation of the Standard Rules
As Seen By Member Organizations of
Inclusion International - ILSMH

Australia

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© Dimitris Michailakis 1997

National Council on Intellectual Disability, Australia
Compare with the following Country Report(s): the Australian Government, WFD

General policy

The officially recognized disability policy in Australia is expressed in law, in guidelines adopted by the government, in guidelines adopted by a National Disability Council, in policy adopted by political parties and in policy adopted by NGOs. According to the Government, disability policy in Australia is expressed in two laws which underpin the disability policy. The Disability Services Act of 1986 provides a framework for developing support services designed to increase individual independence. The Disability Discrimination Act enacted in 1992 recognizes that people with a disability are equals before the law and makes discrimination on the grounds of disability unlawful. The emphasis in this policy - in descending scale - is on: anti-discrimination law, accessibility measures, individual support, prevention and rehabilitation.

Since the adoption of the Standard Rules the government has not done anything to initiate and support information campaigns conveying the message of full participation. According to the Government, educational materials have been developed to raise the awareness of public servants to the needs of people with disabilities. A series of posters, pamphlets, information guides and a staff training kit including a video have been produced and distributed. Marketing strategies for promoting the employment of disabled people in the open labour market have been undertaken with employment support agencies funded by the federal government. Funding has been provided to create Special Employment Placement Officer positions in a range of large corporations to enable them to identify jobs and arrange large scale placement for people with a disability.

Legislation

The rights of persons with disabilities are protected by special legislation. The judicial mechanism adopted to protect the rights of persons with disabilities is recourse procedure by a special agency dealing with anti-discrimination issues. The non-judicial body available for that purpose is a government body (administrative). According to the government judicial mechanisms include also due process (legal remedy through the courts).

General legislation applies to persons with different disabilities only with respect to education. According to the Government the Disability Discrimination Act applies with respect to employment, education, access to premises used by the public, provision of goods, services and facilities, accommodation, buying or selling land, activities of clubs and sport. The only benefit guaranteed by law to persons with disabilities is financial security. According to the Government the following benefits are guaranteed by law to persons with disabilities: health/medical care, financial security, participation in decisions affecting themselves. While the provision of employment support services, training, rehabilitation and counselling and services which assist people to attain independent living are also covered by legislation, access to these services is subject to eligibility criteria and limited by the availability of financial support from Federal and state Governments.

No new legislation has been enacted since the adoption of the Standard Rules.

Accessibility

There are laws and regulations to ensure accessibility of the built environment which establish national design standards requiring that public places, the outdoor environment and means of public transport are made accessible. Accessibility in the built environment is observed by local governments. According to the Government the Building Codes Board of Australia - a national authority - oversees the operation of accessibility standards. The following measures have been promoted by the government in order to facilitate accessibility in the built environment: marking parking areas, installing automatic doors, lifts, accessible toilets, ensuring access to public places, using contrast colours for visually impaired and providing of specially adapted motor vehicles. According to the Government the using of contrast colours for visually impaired and specially adapted motor vehicles are not provided. Special transport arrangements include taxi voucher schemes. Special transport is available for medical treatment only. The Government does not specify for what purpose special transport is available. The most difficult obstacles when planning to build accessible environments are attitudinal factors, lack of legislation and regulations, lack of planning and design capacity, lack of user participation and lack of enforcement mechanism. According to the Government, economic/budgetary factors are the foremost obstacle for building accessible environments. There is no disability awareness component incorporated in the training of planners, architects and construction engineers. According to the Government, a program is being developed under the Commonwealth Disability strategy, to ensure that planners, architects and construction engineers have access to adequate information on disability policy and measures to achieve accessibility.

Sign language for deaf people has no officially recognized status. According to the Government, sign language is recognized as the official language of deaf people. It is used as the first language in education of deaf people, also recognized as the main means of communication between deaf persons and others. There are no government measures to encourage media and other forms of public information to make their services accessible for persons with disabilities. According to the Government, all service providers under the Disability Discrimination Act, are expected to provide non-discriminatory services to members of the public. Measures to make other forms of public information services accessible are addressed by the Commonwealth Disability Strategy. The following services are provided in order to facilitate information and communication between persons with disabilities and other persons: literature in Braille/tape and sign language interpretation being available, however, for major events only. According to the Government even easy readers for persons with mental disabilities are provided.

Organizations of persons with disabilities

There is a national umbrella organization. There are no legal provisions mandating the representatives of persons with disabilities to participate in policy-making or to work with governmental institutions. Organizations of persons with disabilities are never consulted when laws and regulations with a disability aspect are being prepared. According to the Government, organizations of persons with disabilities are consulted whenever legislation or policy concerning disability issues is being prepared and their views are incorporated into legislation and policy, where appropriate. The government supports financially existing or new organizations of persons with disabilities. Persons with disabilities participate to a very limited extent in judiciary and political parties, to some extent in government and legislatures and to a great extent in NGOs. The role of disabled persons' organizations is to advocate rights and improved services, mobilize persons with disabilities, identify needs and priorities, contribute to public awareness and provide services. According to the Government, organizations also participate in the planning, implementation and evaluation of services and measures and promote income generating activities.

Co-ordination of work

There is a national co-ordinating committee reporting to the Ministry of Health and Family Services. There are, according to the Government, three main co-ordinating bodies. The committee includes representatives of the Ministries of Justice, Health and Social Affairs and of organizations of persons with disabilities. The government expects the co-ordinating committee to participate in policy development but not to perform other tasks.

The adoption of the Rules has led to a rethinking of the approach to disability policy but practical outcomes are yet to be seen. According to the Government, the adoption of the Standard Rules has reinforced the Australian Government's commitment to the rights of disabled people to participate in all areas of public life.