Shayne Neumann (Blair, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I commend the member for Murray for actioning this motion. She is the deputy chair of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs and I am the chair. I commend her for the work she does in that regard.

People who are suffering from FASD and their families can get considerable support from the federal government, everything from the disability support pension to carer payment, carer allowance, carer supplement, the child disability assistance payments and, of course, there are the family support programs which we are rolling out across the country. Community organisations will share in more than a billion dollars over the next three years to support local families. In my electorate alone there is $5.9 million for family services supporting many vulnerable families and often there is the impact of foetal alcohol spectrum disorder, FASD. I commend the work that those local organisations do.

The standing committee of which I am the chair, received compelling evidence on the issue of FASD and the links with offending behaviour. FASD is a term encompassing a range of physical, mental, behavioural and learning disabilities. People with FASD are unable to learn from mistakes, cannot change their behaviour and many times do not understand the consequences of their action. There is really yet no diagnostic measure in relation to this, although DoHA has stated that it is in the final stage of procurement process for the development of a diagnostic screening test to assist clinicians in diagnosing babies and children affected by FASD.

Sue Miers, the spokesperson for the National Organisation for Foetal Alcohol Syndrome and Related Disorders, stressed that FASD is not an Indigenous problem, although it is compelling that it is more of a problem in Indigenous communities than in the non-Indigenous communities. But there is anecdotal evidence which the inquiry received, of the impact in Indigenous communities. Australian studies show that women who are most likely to drink alcohol during pregnancy have a high risk of their children developing FASD and clearly this is a significant problem. Early diagnosis is difficult, and problems with FASD compromise school outcomes, and lead to mental health problems, unemployment, homelessness, drug and alcohol abuse and often contact with criminal justice system eventuates.

In Australia it is pretty clear that FASD is certainly under diagnosed and there is no real concrete data on FASD prevalence. At most risk, as I said, are people with lower socioeconomic backgrounds, particularly Indigenous communities. The Equality Before the Law Benchbook of Western Australia discussed the lack of FASD data in Australia. The evidence that came from that was that the known birth prevalence for FASD in Aboriginal children is higher at 2.76 per 1,000 live births in WA and 4.7 per 1,000 live births in Northern Territory.

The federal government is putting money into the first study of FASD in Australian Indigenous community and it has been initiated by the Fitzroy Valley community and pools the expertise of paediatricians, allied health professionals, social workers and local Indigenous people. We have a group consisting of FaHCSIA, DoHA, the Attorney-General's Department and DEEWR, chaired by DoHA, tasked to report to the Australia Health Ministers Advisory Council in relation to this particular matter. Also we have made it clear that we need to take steps in relation to it.

Our committee recommended in recommendation 9 that the federal government urgently addresses the high incidence of FASD by developing and implementing a FASD diagnostic tool and therapy, particularly in partnership with Indigenous communities. The committee also recommended that there be a recognition of FASD as a registered disability, as a condition eligible for support services in health and education systems. We urge the government to consider carefully those recommendations. We also recommended that the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs, I see the chair here, the member for Moreton, conduct an inquiry into FASD. This sounds a little incestuous but in fact, I am looking forward to that inquiry, I happen to be a member of that committee as well. This is a very serious problem and we need to address it. I urge the government to adopt the recommendations in the Doing time report that I referred to. I commend the member for Murray for the motion.

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