Queensland Advocacy Incorporated (Q A I) is an independent, community-based systems and legal advocacy organisation for people with disability in Queensland, Australia.
Key reforms to Queensland’s guardianship laws take effect on Monday 30th November 2020.
They strengthen the protection afforded to Queenslanders with impaired decision-making capacity.
To help explain these important reforms, QAI has created a factsheet outlining the main changes.
Last month, the Department of Social Services commenced the second phase of consultations seeking feedback on a Position Paper to develop a new National Disability Strategy.
QAI made several recommendations:
QAI recommends: 1. The addition of the word ‘all’ before ‘people with disability’ in the proposed vision for the Strategy, so that it aims to achieve ‘An inclusive Australian society that enables all people with disability to fulfil their potential as equal members of the community’.
2. The inclusion of a person-centred approach to the ‘Involve and engage’ guiding principle, where policy processes engage with and listen to people with disability at all stages, people with disability are provided accessible information and opportunities for feedback and where implementation is person-centred and takes into account the needs and wishes of individuals.
3. The removal of ‘where possible’ in relation to the ‘Design universally’ guiding principle, removing any ambiguity and ensuring it is a minimum standard of practice.
4. The return to the previous Strategy’s order of outcome areas, with ‘economic security’ listed as the third not first policy domain.
5. Accept and adopt proposals for a federal Human Rights Act to extend the human rights protections now afforded to all Queenslanders to every single Australian, removing disparities in access to justice between state and territory jurisdictions and ensuring a coherent approach to implementation of the Strategy and Australia’s obligations under the CRPD.
6. Adoption of the Senate Committee’s recommendation that the government develop best practice guidelines for consultation with people with disability.
7. The development of a multi-layered plan to address community attitudes at the personal, organisation and government levels.
8. The development of mandatory disability action plans in all jurisdictions.
9. The creation of an Office of Disability Strategy to act as a coordinating agency for the Strategy under the auspice of the Disability Reform Council. Ensure the Office of Disability Strategy can integrate the key findings from the Disability Royal Commission into the Strategy over the coming years.
10. Further clarification regarding the interface between the NDIS and mainstream services. Update the current publicly available information to ensure the content is easy to understand, including the development of Easy Read versions.
11. Widening the scope of the Strategy to encompass non-government entities. For example, place greater emphasis on addressing media bias toward people with disability, seek to remove barriers to employment created by employers, continued and increased funding for individual disability advocacy services and community legal services, and working to ensure the dominance of the social model of disability and the supported decision-making model in the health setting. 12. Biannual, mandatory reporting by all levels of governments regarding progress against an outcomes framework to be developed in consultation with people with disability. QAI considers the International Day of People with Disability a suitable milestone on which to report progress. QAI further recommends that governments be required to issue ‘statements of compatibility’ when creating new policies, to signify compliance with the Strategy’s vision and guidance principles.
13. Consultation of people with disability on the development of all Targeted Action Plans, with clarification as to whether state and territory jurisdictions will have tailored targets under the outcomes framework to reflect varying levels of progress under the six domains. Regular program evaluations to become mandatory for states and territories. Collaboration with non-government entities to develop industry specific Targeted Action Plans is also recommended.
14. The employment of people with disability at all levels of government decision-making to ensure people with disability are actively involved in the delivery of the Strategy. A well-funded and
well-resourced disability advocacy sector is integral to this.
Read all the submission here
QAI made a submission in November 2019 to the Australian Human Rights Commission on the Priorities for Federal Discrimination Law Reform.
Summary of QAI’s Recommendations:
You can read the full submission here.
QAI made a submission to the Queensland Law Reform Commission Inquiry into the Mistake of Fact defence.
Retain mistake of fact defence, because some people with intellectual impairment can misinterpret, for example, body language, or verbal cues if CALD, but:
You can read the full submission here.
QAI made a submission in regards to the Criminal Code (Child Sexual Offences Reform) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill.
Here is an excerpt from the submission of our recommendations:
You can read the full submission here.
30/4/19 – QAI has broken down our support on the proposed reforms and you can see our full submission to the Department of Justice and Attorney-General here.
MEDIA RELEASE
27 February 2019
For immediate release
Rights ON Queensland! High Score for Queensland Human Rights Protection
The Queensland Government made history today, passing legislation protecting the human rights of all Queenslanders. The Human Rights Bill, passed in Parliament this afternoon, protects 23 fundamental human rights and establishes responsibilities by public entities making decisions that impact on the rights of all Queenslanders.
Leading disability advocacy organisation Queensland Advocacy Incorporated (QAI) applauds the Palaszczuk Government for this historic law reform. QAI Director Michelle O’Flynn noted the important protections that this Bill includes for people with disability in Queensland.
‘We are particularly excited by the inclusion of the economic, social and cultural rights to education and health in the Bill,’ Ms O’Flynn said today. ‘These are fundamental human rights that are not equitably enjoyed by people with disability and mental illness in Queensland. People with disabilities are also particularly vulnerable to uman rights violations such as discrimination and cruel and degrading treatment, so this new legislation offers much needed protection,’ Ms O’Flynn said.
The Act will commence operation in two phases. On 1 July 2019, the Anti-Discrimination Commission will be re-branded as the Queensland Human Rights Commission and from 1 January 2020, the complaints mechanism will commence, which will allow people who consider that their human rights have been violated by a public entity to lodge a complaint directly with the Commission.
Emma Phillips, Senior Lawyer – Law Reform and Systems Advocacy with QAI who has worked on the campaign for a Human Rights Act for the past four years, noted that the inclusion of this complaints mechanism will make the legislation workable and practical and provide ordinary people with an accessible way to have human rights issues heard and responded to. ‘With the inclusion of this complaints mechanism, along with the economic, social and cultural rights to education and health, Queensland is leading the way in human rights protection in Australia.’
In enacting human rights legislation, Queensland joins the Australian Capital Territory and Victoria, which have had human rights act or charters since 2004 and 2006 respectively. QAI hopes that the passage of this legislation will prompt the remaining states and territories without human rights protections and the federal government to swiftly follow suit.
‘We call upon the federal government to respond to the increasing calls to enact a national Human Rights Act, which translates the commitments Australia has made at an international level, by signing and ratifying human rights treaties, into protection that is meaningful for all Australians,’ Ms O’Flynn said.
Queensland Advocacy Incorporated (QAI) is an independent, community-based systems and individual advocacy organisation and a community legal service for people with disability. Our mission is to promote, protect and defend, through systems and individual advocacy, the fundamental needs and rights and lives of the most vulnerable people with disability in Queensland.
For more information, please visit the campaign website: humanrights4qld.com.au.
Media contact: Emma Phillips: (07) 3844 4200
Information provided in this release is not intended to constitute legal advice and should not be construed as such. You should obtain your own legal advice before applying any information provided in this release to specific issues or situations.