Amnesty International Australia has made a submission to the review of the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth) (DDA).
The recommendations contained in this submission go towards improving protections from discrimination in the DDA so that the rights of people with disability are better protected and so people with disability can enjoy their human rights.
People with disability have contributed to many reviews and inquiries since the DDA has been in force, including the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation of People with Disability. The government has said that “this review will draw on the reports and submissions from these reviews and inquiries so that people with disability do not need to advocate again about the same issues and experiences.”
In line with the participation of full participation contained in Article 3 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) Amnesty International Australia (AIA) reiterates that the Australian government in this review must be led by the voices and input of people with disability. In this regard, AIA endorses the submissions made by Welcoming Disability, Women with Disability Australia, and Queensland Independent Disability Advocacy Network.
These recommendations include removing deficit-based language from definitions, aligning the DDA with the CRPD, strengthening the direct and indirect discrimination clauses to improve access to justice, and recognising intersectionality in the DDA.
Whilst AIA understands that the purpose of this review is not to consider the whole federal human rights and anti-discrimination framework, we nonetheless take the view that the consolidation of federal anti-discrimination laws, the legislation of Human Rights Act (HRA) and the implementation of a federal human rights framework would strengthen the protection of the rights of people with disability.
A Human Rights Act that protects people’s right to housing, healthcare and education, alongside a strengthened DDA, will significantly improve the lives of people with disability.
Human rights protections are currently fragmented across federal laws and the common law, and many fundamental rights are not protected in Australia. A HRA that protects people’s right to housing, healthcare and education, alongside a strengthened DDA, will significantly improve the lives of people with disability; better preventing discrimination by imposing a proactive duty on government to consult with people with disability and to consider human rights when making decisions concerning about laws, policies, and services that impact people with disability, and giving people with disability a tool to take action and remedy injustice if they suffer human rights abuses.
It is our strong view that the introduction of an Act will also improve the operation of the DDA. An improved DDA will also strengthen the operation of a Human Rights Act by ensuring that the rights contained in the Act must be enjoyed without discrimination.
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