Disability Inclusion (Review Recommendations) Amendment Bill

Second Reading

Adjourned debate on second reading.

(Continued from 12 September 2023.)

S.E. ANDREWS (Gibson) (17:27): I rise to speak on the Disability Inclusion (Review Recommendations) Amendment Bill. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities recognises that disability is an evolving concept, and that disability results from the interaction between persons with impairments and attitudinal and environmental barriers that hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others.

People may live with disabilities that are visible or invisible to others, and some may live with varying degrees of requirements for assistance. It is never for us to judge or deny a person their rights due to a disability. The federal Disability Discrimination Act 1992 that protects Australians against discrimination based on disability provides a broad definition of disability including these eight types: physical disability, intellectual disability, mental illness, sensory disability, neurological disability, learning disability, physical disfigurement, and immunological disability.

Clause 3 of this bill deals with the definition of 'barrier' as something that is physical, architectural, technological or attitudinal or based on information and communications or the result of policy or practice. Let's look at some examples.

Does a building only have stairs, so that it cannot be accessed by someone in a wheelchair or with other mobility issues? Does a building have glass doors with nothing tactile on them to warn a visually-impaired person? What about touchscreens that do not have screen reader software for the hearing-impaired? Does a document only have text and no images, or does an organisational policy intentionally or otherwise discriminate against a person living with disability? If any of these things are true, then a person living with a disability is at a disadvantage, and that is not okay.

Clause 4 of the bill takes the effort to remove barriers even further by inserting an object that demands we make gain towards achieving an inclusive community where the principles of the UN convention underpin the development and delivery of services, especially by removing barriers so that people with disability, regardless of age, are able to access services and participate in the community in the same way as other members of the community. This importantly recognises that disability can be lifelong, or can develop throughout a person's life, or occur suddenly due to an accident or other devastating event, such as an instant loss of hearing. I seek leave to continue my remarks.

Leave granted; debate adjourned.

At 17:30 the house adjourned until Thursday 14 September 2023 at 11:00.