Category Archives: Disability royal commission

Neurodiverse kids ‘dumped’ from mainstream education amid debate over special schools

Posted on by

The disability royal commission was split in its final report over whether segregated education should be phased out from 2025

Australian schoolchildren with neurodevelopmental disorders are being “dumped” from the mainstream system, a leading researcher says, as debate grows over whether special schools for students with a disability should be phased out.

The final report of the royal commission into violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation of people with disability, released on Friday, was split on the issue of special schools.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Penny Wong refuses to release documents related to Qatar Airways decision – as it happened

Posted on by

The foreign minister claims public interest immunity over Dfat advice. This blog is now closed

Rishworth won’t confirm adoption of any disability royal commission recommendations, ahead of report release

Families and Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth has refused to confirm if the government will be adopting any of the recommendations made in the disability royal commission report ahead of its public release today.

I’m not going to comment on any specific recommendations.

Obviously, we need to also make sure people with disability have choice and control.

You never change a country for the better through fear, you change it through hope and optimism and compassion and justice.

That’s what this referendum is about.

This is a body that won’t provide funds, that won’t run programs, that will just give advice to the government, and that experience of past bodies, and issues that have arisen has been factored in by Indigenous Australians when they’ve made this request.

Continue reading...

‘Should never have happened’: Queensland apologises for neglect and abuse of brothers with autism

Posted on by

Disability royal commission finds state should have done more to protect pair, who were found malnourished in house with dead father

The Queensland government has apologised to two boys with autism who were found severely malnourished, naked and locked in a squalid room after their father died.

The child safety minister, Craig Crawford, said he was “disgusted” to learn about the abuse and neglect experienced by the teenage brothers over two decades, as revealed by the disability royal commission.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Anglicare asked to review procedures after royal commission finds it failed to report sexual assault

Posted on by

Organisation found to have ‘lacked a trauma-informed approach’ and failed to support disabled woman appropriately

Anglicare has been urged to immediately review its response to allegations of sexual abuse after a royal commission found it failed to report a woman’s assault to police and did not undertake a proper investigation.

The disability royal commission heard last April that Niky* – who lives with a developmental disability – was sexually assaulted by another person with a disability at an Anglicare respite centre in Queensland in 2018.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

In Australia, the national family violence counselling service is on 1800 737 732. In the UK, call the national domestic abuse helpline on 0808 2000 247, or visit Women’s Aid. In the US, the domestic violence hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233).

Continue reading...

Australia’s airlines and airports urged to improve treatment of travellers with disabilities

Posted on by

Disability royal commissioner writes to company bosses after hearing of people dropped on the floor and discrimination against assistance dogs

The chair of the disability royal commission has written to Australian airline and airport chiefs about improving their treatment of travellers with disabilities, after the inquiry heard stories of people dropped on the floor and discrimination against assistance dogs.

The royal commission has so far heard that people with disabilities are routinely subject to violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation when flying domestically, with participants telling the inquiry they felt airlines were “dehumanising” them and that complaints were rarely followed up. Advocates have told Guardian Australia that complaining through the Australian Human Rights Commission is often the only way to seek recourse.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Australian man says he was booted from Qatar Airways flight because of his disability

Posted on by

Craig Nolan incident comes after disability royal commission hears airlines are ‘dehumanising’ passengers with disabilities

A man requiring a wheelchair claims he was booted from his Qatar Airways flight after boarding the plane and left stranded at Melbourne airport because of his disability.

The story of Craig Nolan, an Australian man with spina bifida whose plan to return to his home in Finland via Doha was disrupted, comes after the disability royal commission heard evidence in recent weeks that airlines are “dehumanising” Australians with disabilities, who they treat as an “afterthought”.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Disability royal commission hears of abuse, neglect and fraud in supported residential system

Posted on by

Victorian facility did not breach legislation for failing to afford woman dignity by declaring she was no longer technically a resident because she had died

A Victorian regulator elected not to punish a disability home for failing to afford a 65-year-old woman dignity because her death meant she was “no longer” legally a “resident”, an inquiry has been told.

The disability royal commission, which is examining housing and homelessness issues this week, has spent the past two days investigating the troubled supported residential services (SRS) system.

Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning

Continue reading...

Indigenous boy featured in NDIS promotional material placed in state care after funding cut

Posted on by

Disability royal commission begins hearings in Alice Springs focused on NDIS for First Nations people

An Indigenous teen once featured in national disability insurance scheme promotional material was placed in state care after the agency running the NDIS cut his funding package, an inquiry has heard.

The disability royal commission on Monday began five days of hearings in Alice Springs, focused on the experience of the NDIS for First Nations people with disability in remote communities.

Continue reading...

How Australia’s vaccine rollout overlooked people with disabilities

Posted on by

A draft report from the disability royal commission found the federal health department’s approach to the vaccination rollout has been ‘seriously deficient’, having overlooked people with disabilities in favour of aged care residents.

Laura Murphy-Oates speaks to David Belcher, a disability advocate and city council member in Lake Macquarie, about the difficulty he faced in accessing a Covid-19 vaccination. And inequality editor Luke Henriques-Gomes talks about the failures of the Australian government in protecting some of its most vulnerable populations

Read more:

Continue reading...