Advocates warn of rising violence as only 3 per cent of reforms are implemented

People with disability will face increased rates of violence and abuse, advocates warn, after new analysis revealed just 3 per cent of the more than 200 recommendations from the disability royal commission have been implemented.

The Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability was launched in 2019 and heard evidence from almost 10,000 people over 4½ years.

The commission’s final report, published in 2023, included 222 recommendations covering areas such as housing, employment, human rights, health and education. Federal and state governments were required to submit progress reports on the implementation of each recommendation the following year.

But analysis by the Queensland Independent Disability Advocacy Network (QIDAN) found only a fraction of the recommendations have been implemented. More than half (53 per cent) have no updates on implementation.

Queensland Advocacy for Inclusion chief executive Matilda Alexander described the findings as “a huge failure” of all levels of government, and said violence, abuse and neglect of people with disability would increase without action and accountability.

“These are absolutely vital and life-saving recommendations for people with disability that were the result of extensive consultation [and] extensive sharing of stories and experiences,” she said.

“Every one of these recommendations was very well considered by the royal commission and is achievable.”

University of Queensland Disability Collaboratory director Professor Paul Harpur remembered the royal commission being announced shortly before he delivered a presentation at Harvard University.

“This was obviously in America, not Australia, but everyone in the room started clapping and cheering that this was finally happening,” he said.

“And that was because there’s a global need for this level of effort to actually understand the problem.

“There was a lot of hope and expectation that this was a turning point.”

Harpur said inaction was leaving many people behind, and he called on governments not to waste the once-in-a-generation opportunity presented by the inquiry.

“We have the evidence, we have the solution … it’s just about doing it,” he said.

QIDAN’s report was especially critical of the Queensland government, with analysis showing it had changed its position or support commentary, without explanation, on almost 40 recommendations originally published by the former Labor government.

In one instance, a recommendation allowing First Nations organisations to support Indigenous people with disability in custody was altered to remove the sentence, “to ensure First Nation peoples in custody or under supervision are managed in a culturally sensitive and culturally safe manner”.

Another recommendation regarding vilification because of disability, originally accepted in principle, was changed to be subject to further consideration.

Queensland Minister for Disability Services Amanda Camm did not respond to specific questions about the government’s changes or the steps it was taking to implement the royal commission’s recommendations.

“My priority is ensuring Queenslanders have a disability support system that is sustainable and allows them to continue accessing the supports they rely on to participate fully in everyday life,” Camm said.

Alexander said QIDAN only learnt of the Crisafulli government’s changes through side-by-side comparison of the original and updated reports.

“Our concern is that we can’t see the reasoning for why things have been rolled back [or] slowed down,” she said.

“There may well be good reasoning [and] great work happening behind the scenes, but we’re lacking a transparent and accountable system where people with disability who shared their stories can see that progress.”

QIDAN’s analysis comes at a time of national scrutiny of the disability sector, with federal Minister for Disability and the National Disability Insurance Scheme Mark Butler announcing significant cuts to support frameworks and funding this year.

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