Queensland Advocacy is one of over 200 organisations which have co-authored and endorsed the Australian Human Rights Scorecard, which was published today by the Human Rights Law Centre, Kingsford Legal Centre and Caxton Legal Centre. 

The report was prepared ahead of a United Nations Human Rights Council review of Australia, and identifies 22 key areas of concern for the review. You can find the media release on the report here and the full report here

Below is an extract from the report on People with Disability. 

People with Disability

The National Disability Strategy (NDS) is Australia’s policy framework to implement the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. In 2019, the CRPD Committee raised serious concerns about the lack of implementation, funding and oversight of the NDS. 

The new NDS must be properly resourced through a robust National Disability Agreement between all levels of Government. Transparent monitoring and evaluation of outcomes for people with disability must be linked to accountability measures across Governments, ensuring targets are met. People with disability, and their representative organisations, must also be positioned at the centre of the NDS’s development, implementation and monitoring. 

Legislation regulating legal capacity remains problematic. Australia’s Interpretative Declarations to CRPD Articles 12, 17 and 18 prevent reform and allow human rights violations. No progress has been made towards a national Supported Decision-Making Framework. Despite persistent UN recommendations, behaviour management,  involuntary treatments and restrictive practices occur across a range of settings. 

Australia must withdraw CRPD Interpretative Declarations before 2026 and modify, repeal or nullify laws, policies and practices which deny or diminish equal recognition before the law. Australia must eliminate restrictive practices, involuntary treatment, forced sterilisation and medically unnecessary interventions of people with disability. 

People with disability, particularly women, experience significant violence and abuse. 

The Disability Royal Commission must address the systemic drivers of this violence and establish national mechanisms for redress, complaint and oversight.