Andrew Wallace (Fisher, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I was talking last night about the fact that there are 4.4 million Australians who are living with a disability. People who live with a disability are 10 times more likely to experience violence. They are three times more likely to be victims of sexual assault than people who don't have a disability. Their life expectancy and their quality of life is significantly less than most Australians without a disability. Theirs—people who live with a disability—is a cause that we must all take up.

As the father of a young adult with disabilities, I have seen firsthand how government can help but also hinder efforts to raise kids and empower young adults with disabilities. That's why I've advocated for accessibility, amenity and health and social care since day one in this House.

I'm proud of the way that our parliament has worked together over the last 40 years to realise a fairer, more equitable and more accessible Australia. For over a decade, both sides of this chamber have been united in their pursuit to make the National Disability Insurance Scheme a world-class, functional and resilient institution. It's really worthwhile stopping and pausing a moment to recognise just how world-leading the NDIS is in the disability sector. We were the first country in the world to adopt such a scheme. I'm not sure if it's been replicated, even to this day.

There are critics of the NDIS about its cost, and it does cost a significant sum of money, but the lives that it changes, from young kids, to young adults, to adults—it is a remarkable scheme. It is a testament to both sides, both parties of government, working together to achieve the intended outcome. The NDIS is as much valued today in our Australian society as is our universal commitment to Medicare.

The current Disability Services Act has been in place for 37 years. In the decades since 1986, there have been numerous developments in the disability sector, including changes in legislation, regulations, international agreements and the provision of disability services.

The Disability Services and Inclusion Bill 2023 will support all Australians with a disability, regardless of whether or not they are participants in the NDIS. The bill will provide a single-source statutory framework for the Commonwealth to fund disability supports and services that are not funded by the NDIS, the states or territories. This bill will not change, nor will it impact, the NDIS or the disability support pension paid under social security law. The Disability Services and Inclusion Bill 2023 will provide legislative authority for new and existing spending on disability related programs outside the NDIS. The bill does not directly allocate funding for specific supports or services; rather, it oversees these supports and services. The bill also improves quality and safeguarding arrangements by introducing a mandatory code, which will mirror the NDIS Code of Conduct. Under this bill, supports and services may be provided to any person with a disability, including those with a physical, psychosocial, cognitive or intellectual condition or sensory impairments.

Whilst there are good parts of the bill, I don't agree with all parts of the bill. One of the concerns I have with the bill is its failure to define target groups. This is where the key issue lies with this piece of legislation. The bill does not define target groups that will be eligible for supports and services. This is a departure from the current legislation. Under section 8 of the current legislation, the Disability Services Act 1986:

(1) … target group … consists of persons with a disability that:

(a) is attributable to an intellectual, psychiatric, sensory or physical impairment or a combination of such impairments;

(b) is permanent or likely to be permanent; and

(c) results in:

(i) a substantially reduced capacity of the person for communication, learning or mobility; and

(ii) the need for ongoing support services.

While not having a legislated definition of 'target group' may provide greater flexibility and access to services and supports, without the additional infrastructure in place there may be unknown practical consequential impacts on the provision and delivery of timely supports and services to those who are most in need. The inquiry currently underway in the Senate should provide greater insights into these concerns.

I'm also concerned about the changes to funding channels through the new legislation. The current legislation only allows for funding through grants, while, under this legislation, other forms of financial arrangements, such as procurements and contracts, are permitted. The act also enables the minister to make grants of financial assistance to states and territories or to eligible organisations for capital works, research activities, disability services and rehabilitation programs. I think that in many ways this is actually a positive thing. The social care sector is in desperate need for innovation and reinvigoration. The old model of the care economy is changing, and we need to be more responsive to technology, health and medical research and opportunities for more effective but perhaps lesser recognised service providers. Loosening the legislation to allow better public access and engagement only works where procurements and contracts are awarded fairly, transparently and with regard to the private sector and community sector—specifically, localised services and small and family businesses.

I am concerned about this for a few reasons. Firstly, this either directly or indirectly means relying on the minister's discretion. Labor have shown that their exercising of ministerial discretion is unreliable. It's the same discretion which saw mobile phone service rorts. It's the same discretion which saw cuts to space, cyber and defence technologies. It's the same discretion which has seen a 90-day review to infrastructure become a 200-day political exercise, at the expense of regional communities across this country. Labor's discretion is guided by union interests and political expediency. You cannot count on Labor to have your best interests at heart.

Along the same lines, I'm incredibly concerned about the disproportionate impact of Labor's discretionary decisions on regional and remote communities. Mobile services, road and rail and defence manufacturing projects; taxes and red tape on truckies, fisheries, forestry and agriculture; and Pacific labour mobility, backpacker visas and regional student worker incentives—all of these have unfairly impacted on regional communities, regional economies, regional businesses and regional families. The fact is that, when Labor gets into power, regional Australians miss out. When Labor gets hold of the purse strings, regional Australians pay the price. Labor seriously need to consider how they engage and actually implement the concerns of regional Australians, their service providers and their businesses.

When we were in government we understood this. In 2021 we released the landmark Australia's Disability Strategy 2021-2031, which was a transformative new strategy backed by a $250 million investment. It was a decade-long plan guided by an implementation advisory council of experts and lived experience practitioners. The aim of the strategy is to improve the lives of all Australians with a disability. It sets out priorities and plans for governments at all levels to work with the community, business and people with disability to deliver the needed changes. This includes providing good employment opportunities; providing high-quality, inclusive education; and making homes and communities safe, inclusive and accessible. Signatories to the new strategy include the Prime Minister, the first ministers of all state and territory governments and the president of the Australian Local Government Association.

In our last full financial year in office the coalition government delivered more than $39 billion in direct support to Australians with a disability, including $17.7 billion in the disability support pension, $1.4 billion for disability employment services, $155.3 million for the disability royal commission, $134 million for the Information Linkages and Capacity Building program to support community based and evidence based support services and $13.8 million for the Disability Gateway. We mainstreamed the vulnerabilities of people with disabilities across all portfolios, including child safety, family violence, education, employment, industrial relations and even foreign policy. That's what a government does when it cares—it listens, it learns, it leads and it legislates where required.

We await the findings of the Senate committee inquiry into these bills. I simply ask that the government take into consideration the two concerns that I've raised: firstly, that it reconsiders the broad definition of target groups and, secondly, that it seriously considers its track record in relation to supporting regional communities and looks to rectify this before it legislates to allow funding that is open to ministerial discretion. If the government cannot be trusted to keep the faith with regional Australians then it cannot be trusted with the social care of our most vulnerable.

In the short time left for me I want to raise one thing in relation to disability services. I recently travelled with my daughter in a mobility scooter through Sydney Airport. I have to say that the disability services at Sydney Airport were absolutely appalling. Sydney Airport, particularly Qantas, needs to take a very good, long hard look at itself. I cannot imagine how a person who is unassisted would be able to navigate their way around terminals. With transport—

Scott Buchholz (Wright, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Fisher for his contribution.

Zaneta Mascarenhas (Swan, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I start by thanking the member for Fisher for sharing his experience as an MP and also as a father of a daughter with a disability. It sounds like he has firsthand lived experience of the way our world is geared. It sounds like he had a pretty awful process at Sydney Airport. I hope someone is listening and they can action how we can improve accessibility for all Australians, including those with a disability.

Inclusion is something that is close to my heart. There are many people here in this place who have a connection to someone—a friend or a loved one—with a disability. The person who comes to my mind is Alice Migdale. She is a woman I have known for over 20 years. She has cerebral palsy   . She is incredibly smart and positive. She was studying psychology when I met her. She is also a really great social justice advocate. She is also in an electric wheelchair. We always love spending time with Alice.

One thing I think is important in this place is that we are conscious of the decisions we make and how they impact the lives of others. Fundamentally, I believe in an Australia where everyone belongs and where everyone can be understood, heard and included, so I welcome this opportunity to contribute to the debate on this very important legislation—the Disability Services and Inclusion Bill 2023 and the Disability Services and Inclusion (Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2023—and I am proud to be part of a government that puts the interests of people with a disability who live in our community at the centre of its public policy.

A sense of belonging is feeling that you belong to a group or a community. The opposite is isolation and exclusion. Fundamentally, belonging is important for everyone's health and wellbeing. Unfortunately, many of our systems, institutions and structures are still catching up with the needs of people living with disabilities. Because of this, people living with disabilities are at risk of being marginalised and are probably being marginalised at times.

When individuals are unable to participate fully in economic, social, political and cultural life, it leads to social exclusion. When people are denied full access to rights, opportunities and resources that are normally available to members of a different group, this leads to exclusion. Some may describe exclusion as unintentional, such as when disabled people are excluded from services or excluded from participating in social or civic life or have issues travelling through Sydney airport simply because there is a lack of awareness about their needs. This is why we need to be very intentional and make concerted efforts to ensure that structural exclusions are rectified and stamped out.

This means introducing laws that actively include people with a disability and encouraging programs and activities that promote awareness of the needs of people with disabilities. It is something that I have thought about in my role as an MP. In fact, for my last mobile office that we held in my electorate, we had an Auslan interpreter. It's a small step at a local level, but it's an example of how we can include people in our community and make sure they can be included in providing feedback to the government and be consulted with. It's an example of how we can provide access to participation in civic life to make sure that the voices of all people are heard.

It's time for the entire community to become more aware of our deaf community and recognise their culture, their language and their achievements. The National Week of Deaf People occurred last month, and the national organisation representing deaf people, Deaf Connect, hosted a parliamentary breakfast in this place to promote those achievements. I was inspired by the representatives from the deaf community speaking out about their experiences. They talked about the importance of the NDIS and the wonderful Auslan language in promoting the inclusion of deaf people in the community. They also threw some great questions to the NDIS minister, Bill Shorten, which I think that some people, including the media in the press gallery, would be a little bit jealous of. Similar events have taken place around the country. Such events will continue to make sure that we're making a difference to ensure that deaf people are known and included in communities and groups and that their needs are known and understood.

But more needs to be done at a statutory level. For all of us, a sense of belonging gives us the sense of wellbeing that we need to prosper, so why should people with a disability be excluded from that? That's why I'm proud to be part of a government that, through statutory reform, is delivering a commitment to enabling people with a disability to participate fully in a society. The current legislative framework is outdated. Legislation that is now almost 40 years old does not account for changes to the public policy framework since it was introduced.

Firstly, it doesn't account for Australia's international obligations in protecting the rights of people with disability. It was a commitment made by Australia when we ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2007. The purpose of this treaty is to promote, protect and ensure the full, equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities and to promote respect for their inherent dignity. Parties to this convention are required to ensure that people with disabilities are treated equally and fairly. The changes made by this bill will reflect our commitments and obligations.

Secondly, the current statutory framework does not account for the introduction of the National Disability Insurance Scheme in 2013, which was rolled out across Australia by 2020. The NDIS now supports more than half a million adults and children with a disability. Many of these people are receiving support for the first time. This includes people in my electorate, who can get support through a wonderful, homegrown organisations which is leading the way as an NDIS service provider. It's in East Victoria Park, and it's called the Healthy Strides Foundation. I am really proud to share with you that Healthy Strides is a world-class and leading facility that puts the latest science, technology and research into practice through intensive therapy programs, and the results are truly transformational. It's providing outcomes for nearly 300 NDIS clients who access their work and facilities.

When you step into Healthy Strides, you see enthusiastic staff and high-technology equipment, and it's a fun, bright and child-friendly environment. I can see all the students upstairs here right now, watching the parliamentary proceedings; the truth is that we want all children to achieve their full potential. We want to see these children and students having a sense of belonging so that they can engage in community. We want to see every single person with respect and inherent dignity. This is part of the philosophy at Healthy Strides; it's an approach that's based on the needs of individuals.

They have intensive therapy programs where, basically, they look at the individual and measure each child's development by using high-tech equipment and then tailor their program accordingly. It's innovative technology transforming the lives of NDIS clients on a scale that was unimaginable decades ago. This is why this government wants to ensure that the NDIS is sustainable for the future—to make sure that it's here to stay so that organisations like Healthy Strides will prosper and be replicated. This will ensure that we see more fantastic outcomes for children across the nation. The changes introduced by this bill will ensure that our legislative framework supports such initiatives. It will do this by matching the achievements of the NDIS.

The bill will reflect on another significant milestone: the implementation of Australia's Disability Strategy 2021 to 2031. The strategy outlines a vision for a more inclusive and accessible society in Australia—a place where all people with disability can fulfil their potential as equal members of the community. For the strategy to achieve its mission, it needs the legislative framework to support it. That's why the legislation we have before us today is critical. It will establish a framework that reflects the current landscape for service provision for people living with a disability and it will adapt to changing needs.

How will the bill do this for all? It will introduce a code of conduct that mirrors the NDIS Code of Conduct. This will contribute to an improvement in the safeguarding arrangements for disability services. It will also align quality standards with those that have been put in place by the NDIS, and will provide the ability for disability services to recognise other standards relevant to disability service provision. It's this provision which is relevant to the release of the disability royal commission final report, which made 222 recommendations. This bill will strengthen safeguards and support a timely response to the recommendations of the commission. It will strengthen the legislative framework that supports people with a disability and won't exclude non-NDIS initiatives.

One of the recommendations of the royal commission was the development of a disabilities rights act, and this is a development that I welcome. This will be an important step towards a proactive approach in good mechanisms for the treatment of people living with a disability. The Disability Discrimination Act 1992 is reactive; it comes into force when discrimination against people with a disability is already allegedly occurring or has occurred. The proposed disability rights act will enshrine in law the ability to make proactive and positive actions to ensure the inclusion of, and the protection of the rights of, people with a disability. This bill will work towards those actions and will mean the inclusion of some of the most marginalised people in our society, such as Indigenous Australians who live with a disability. For example, it will support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people by providing them with culturally-sensitive protective rights. It will provide legislative authority for current and future programs, as identified for attention by the royal commission.

The bill will not be restricted by a definition of 'disability'. That means that it will provide a broad approach, not limited in its application, and the ability to respond to current needs and adapt to future ones. Including a definition of 'disability' in the bill would function to exclude. This would be contrary to the overarching premise of this bill. Therefore, I support the position of the bill to omit the definition of 'disability', noting that it was a decision made after two rounds of consultation.

In conclusion, people with a disability have the same rights as every other member of our Australian community: the same right to receive support or services, the same right to control over the decisions that affect their lives and the same right to pursue a remedy or complain after receiving poor services. The bill before us today is based on the principles that I have outlined and upholds this fundamental premise that people living with a disability have the same rights as everyone else. It honours the commitment of the Albanese Labor government, and I stand here advocating for the passage of this bill as a proud member of the government. It means that we, in this House, can create the legislative framework to safeguard the rights of people living with a disability, to create an environment for people in the community to construct the standard of service that is needed to ensure that people living with a disability are heard, to ensure that people living with a disability are included and to ensure that people living with a disability experience the same sense of belonging as other people in our community. It means including people to ensure they have the best opportunity to reach their full potential and have autonomy and control in terms of how they do this. That's what this bill is about.

This single, unified piece of enabling legislation will ensure consistency. It will promote best practice. It will be responsive to the modern public policy framework, and it will develop a more streamlined approach to the administration of disability supports and services. It's fit-for-purpose legislation, and I think that it has the ability to improve the lives of all Australians with a disability. For that reason, I commend this bill to the House.

Stephen Bates (Brisbane, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to start by thanking all those in the disability community who contributed to the feedback on the Disability Services and Inclusion Bill 2023, throughout both the initial government consultations and the inquiry. Their continued involvement has allowed for the voices of those with lived experiences to be heard.

The Australian Greens welcome the repeal of the Disability Services Act 1986, which entrenches segregation and fails to set out a vision for an inclusive Australian society. By stating that the objectives of this bill are to 'provide funding, outside of the National Disability Insurance Scheme, to persons that provide supports and services for the benefit of people with disability, their families and carers' and 'advance the inclusion and social and economic participation of people with disability', the government sets itself a benchmark of success in this legislation which it seriously fails to meet.

This bill also fails to implement recommendations of the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with a Disability. The Australian Greens are disappointed and frustrated by these failures because we understand the effort expended by the disability community over decades to share clearly with the federal government the barriers to inclusion experienced by disabled people and the services and policy responses needed to break those barriers down. In my own electorate of Brisbane, I have heard from dozens of constituents calling for change.

In their submissions, the disability community are clear that this bill is an opportunity to put into action Australia's commitment to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. This would include committing to time frames for the end of segregated employment, segregated education and segregated housing. Moreover, it would include proactive steps to ensure the provision of services for disabled people over 65 who are not eligible for the National Disability Insurance Scheme. This is an area that has particularly impacted residents in my electorate, and I'd like to share the story of one constituent who, unfortunately, was not able to access the NDIS because she had just reached 65 years of age. This jeopardised assistance with all her activities of daily living, including cleaning and meal prep, as well as support for her to access social events and connect with her community. Moreover, access to the NDIS would have offered her an array of assistive technology to be determined through consultation, assessment and support by an occupational therapist.

This is an opportunity to tangibly and immediately improve the lives of disabled people, including by making reforms to the disability support pension, ensuring the provision of equitable access to preventative and primary health care and making reforms to ensure national standardisation, including a national assistance animal framework. Such reforms are all absent from this bill. The only barrier to the inclusion of these mechanisms is political will. Therefore, while the Greens are supporting this bill in the House, we will seek to make significant amendments to the bill in the Senate, in line with the calls of the disability community. We implore the government and opposition to support these amendments. It is imperative that this opportunity to replace the Disability Services Act does not pass by without our doing everything we can to end the cycle of segregation that too many disabled people find themselves trapped within.

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

I rise to support the Disability Services and Inclusion Bill 2023. This is a very important piece of legislation because it will help one in six Australians who are living with disability. This bill, together with the Disability Services and Inclusion (Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2023, replaces the Disability Services Act 1986. Anyone listening to this broadcast who thinks of how we understood people living with disabilities back in 1986, compared to our much better understanding of the needs, aspirations and wants of people living with disability now, will appreciate that this bill is a very important piece of legislation that will help so many Australians.

The bill will establish a framework for the funding and regulation of programs for the benefit of people living with disability. And it doesn't just affect the one in six Australians who are living with disability. Think about their families and their carers and how important this type of legislation is. Through this bill, the Albanese Labor government is going to strengthen supports for people living with disability outside the National Disability Insurance Scheme. We're reforming that scheme. Under the previous government, that scheme was let go. It wasn't operating anywhere near effectively enough for the hundreds of thousands of people who are enjoying the benefits of that scheme. There are many, many more Australians living with disability who are outside of that scheme because they do not qualify for the NDIS, and this piece of legislation that is before the chamber will support them. The bill seeks to repeal and replace that old piece of legislation from 1986 with a stronger piece of legislation that has better safeguards and a more modern approach to disability. It seeks to ensure that we provide a better way to fund disability services and support them now and into the future. There are quality and safeguard requirements for supports provided outside the NDIS—and as I said, this bill goes beyond the NDIS—through a mandatory code of conduct and certification, when required.

The bill also gives effect to Australia's obligations. Under our Constitution, there is a foreign affairs power that gives the federal government power to pass laws and sign treaties and also to bring those treaties into effect in Australian law. The legislation that is before the chamber gives effect to Australia's obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. It introduces a more modern and inclusive framework to provide responses to the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability. It supports people living with disability to participate in the development and review of services and supports. That consumer choice is absolutely critical. We consider that is really important in the aged-care reforms that we introduced when we were last in government—the living longer, living better package under the current Minister for Health and Ageing. The reforms in this legislation are about giving people greater choice as well.

Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The debate is interrupted in accordance with standing order 43. The debate will be resumed at a later hour, and the member will be granted leave to continue speaking when the debate is resumed.