The Shadow Report to the United Nations Committee on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) is a comprehensive and wide-reaching look at the current state of disability rights in Australia. To zoom in on specific areas, we’ve created a series of factsheets based on the report. You can download them here…
Background Australia has not fully incorporated the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) into Australian domestic law and there remains no comprehensive legislative, administrative, judicial framework for the protection of human rights. Australia’s implementation of its CRPD obligations are set out in the National Disability Strategy 2010-2020 (NDS),[i] a ten year national…
Background A number of Australian laws, policies and practices deny or diminish recognition of people with disability as persons before the law, or deny or diminish the right of a person with disability to exercise legal capacity. This takes place in laws such as guardianship, estate management and mental health laws and affects areas such…
Background All Australian jurisdictions have in place legislation that addresses a defendant within the criminal justice system and their ‘fitness’ to stand trial. These justice diversion provisions are applied when people with disability, particularly those with cognitive or psychosocial disability are deemed ‘unfit’ to stand trial. An unfitness test may arise as an issue before…
Background The current education system in Australia is failing to adequately meet the needs of students with disability, and it is rare for students with disability to be provided with a genuine inclusive educational experience.[i] Despite available data showing that 90.2% of students with disability attend regular or mainstream schools, only 36% of people with…
Background Across Australia, mental health laws, policy and practice authorise the forced treatment of people with psychosocial disability, limiting individual rights to liberty and security and equal recognition before the law. Laws have failed to prevent, and in some cases actively condone unacceptable practices, including invasive and irreversible treatments, such as the authorisation of psychosurgery,…
