Disability Right, Inclusion and Safeguarding Act, Tas

Theme song 0:00

New Horizions. It's up to you and me to shine a guiding light and lead the way. United by our cause, we have power to pursue what we believe we'll achieve the realisation of our dreams...

John Simpson 0:29

Hello and welcome to New Horizons. I'm John Simpson. Thanks for joining us. Recently, in fact, in October of 2024 the Tasmanian Parliament enacted the disability rights, inclusion and safeguarding act to discuss the Act and its implications for people with disabilities in Tasmania. I'm joined by Michael small chair of disability voices Tasmania. Michael, october 24 of course, is the date that the legislation was enacted, but the consultation process goes back a long way before that.

Michael Small 1:03

Yeah, absolutely. So this, this new law is a replacement for the old Disability Services Act, which was certainly not fit for purpose. The consultation process itself started around about 2021, and government initiated a number of processes to engage with the community and interested people, and over a couple of years, work went on drafting. We saw some early drafts of the legislation, and we're hoping to be engaged with government throughout the whole process, up to the point of the bill being presented to to Parliament. But it didn't quite work out that way.

John Simpson 1:52

Michael, when does the ACT take effect?

Michael Small 1:56

It is our law now, but various aspects of it. For example, the very important establishment of a disability commissioner is still in train as as they are advertising that position at the moment. 

John Simpson 2:13

We'll come to the various features of the act in a moment. But before that, can I ask you, did the process have cross party support, or was there opposition to the new legislation? 

Michael Small 2:26

That was pretty, pretty clear across party and with independent support for for the legislation. What... wasn't as clear was some of the detail and some of the key features that we from the disability community felt needed to be there. There was some potential tensions there.

John Simpson 2:52

And that's where your organisation, Disability Voices Tasmania, came in. 

Michael Small 2:57

Exactly, exactly. And just to go back a little bit to the to the consultation process.... we felt very early on that whilst government quite correctly claimed that it was consulting widely, our view was that such an important piece of legislation as this required a deeper level of what you might call in a very broad umbrella term, consultation. Consultation often consists of people being informed and being asked to provide views on particular initiatives. Our view was that this was such an important piece of legislation that we needed a co design engagement with government in order to get to get things right. 

So whilst we acknowledge there was wide consultation, our view from very early on was that that the process really required a much more cooperative and collegiate approach. Once we found out that a bill was going to be presented to Parliament, we took action immediately to try to engage with the relevant Minister and the department to ensure that the the the final legislation was was fit for purpose in our eyes. So, yes, it first found its way into the Legislative Council. It was an extremely interesting and engaging debate that took place. We had influence, we believe in number of areas of the second reading speech in the Upper House, which which picked up on many of the issues that disability voices Tasmania had continuing thoughts about, but which weren't going to be embedded in the legislation at this point. 

So yes, it was, it was a fair it was actually a really positive experiences. It's a shame that we had to bang on the door very loudly to get to get into that position of sitting around the table and negotiating. But once we were there and once we showed the legitimacy and the value of our contribution, I believe that we were welcomed both by the Department and by the Minister and her office.

John Simpson 5:31

But the upside of that, of course, Michael, is that Disability Voices Tasmania has firmly established its credentials and its position as the legitimate voice of people with disability in your state.

Michael Small 5:46

Look, I think that's, I think absolutely, and it's not just this piece of legislation where we... claim to have established a legitimacy. We don't speak for other disability community organisations, but we seek to develop a common voice by discussing and engaging with our colleagues and friends in the broader disability community... and I think we've  established ourselves as a body that can do that with with delicacy and with sensitivity, so that we we're not seen as as shoving ourselves into a space, but legitimately bringing together the views of the community and presenting them in a very rational and creative way. Yeah.

John Simpson 6:39

Okay, so let's turn to the legislation itself. The media release that I've seen lists or points to a number of major features that are enabled by the legislation, and you mentioned already the appointment of a Tasmanian Disability Commissioner. What's the mandate of that person, of that role going to be?

Michael Small 7:02

Yes, we're very excited about this. I think I'm writing saying it's the only dedicated Disability Commissioner position in in Australia - there are other jurisdictions that have senior people who've got part of their role as that covered by our Commissioner, but this is the only dedicated one look that person's role - who, by the way, must be a person with disability, which is one of the great provisions in the legislation. That person's role is essentially to promote and protect the rights of people with disability, to monitor the obligations that government has under the legislation and that service providers have under the legislation, and to essentially ensure that our rights are protected and promoted in the community. 

It's an independent position, and as I said, there are some some elements, for example, the the obligation on government departments and agencies to develop access and inclusion plans. The Commissioner has a role in reporting to Parliament on the outcomes in that area.

John Simpson 8:27

And I understand there's also a disability inclusion advisory council that is set up to support the process. 

Michael Small 8:35

That's right - here in Tasmania, we have long had both the Premier's Disability Advisory Council and a ministers Disability Advisory Council - which, again, is unique. What will happen when... we implement the legislation, is that there'll be a new Advisory Council established, and again, another first for us is that members of that council will be, will actually be paid for their expertise and their contributions, which is... a principle that has been long held by Disability Voices Tasmania, that where we are in engaging in providing advice and experience, we should be paid for that work, like any other consultant should be. 

John Simpson 9:25

I understand that other provisions, Michael, include management of the restrictive practices among Disability Service Providers, and also a Community Visitors Program.

Michael Small 9:36

Yeah, that's right. Look, we lobbied very hard that the restrictive practices provision, which was really essentially came out of the old Disability Services Act, with some refinements, we argued very strongly that that should be removed from this piece of legislation, because this piece of legislation is about rights, and it just seemed incongruous to us to... include in that provisions which are essentially about, at the end of the day, removing the rights of people with disability. Our view is that restrictive practices should sort of sit separate to a rights-based piece of legislation. And we're very pleased that in her second reading speech, the Minister actually referred to a commitment to referring on that whole question - so that... was great. 

In relation to community visitors, we will be establishing a scheme, and we hope, on behalf of disability voices, Tasmania, we very much hope that we are engaged in in defining and giving structure to what that community visitor scheme will look like. There are various models around Australia, and we need to learn from other people's experience. But at the heart of that, obviously, has to be ensuring that people with disability are safe and confident that they can that their lives are experienced as as full and equal citizens. So yes, it's another big area of work that we hope to be engaging with government on.

John Simpson 11:15

And one final question before we go: Michael, where does the legislation sit in relation to disability discrimination and corrective action? You know, quasi judicial processes there.

Michael Small 11:30

This piece of legislation is more about the the experience of full citizenship rather than addressing discrimination issues. I mean, in some ways, the two are inextricably linked. But we see, I think we see this piece of legislation as being about the fullness of life, the fullness of experience, the elimination of all forms of abuse and coercion, and I think it just sits aside alongside the discrimination law, which will continue to be a really important tool for people with disabilities to get their rights.

John Simpson 12:14

Well, Michael, thank you very much for that terrific explanation of what is a fantastic piece of legislation, and thanks for joining me for this week's edition of New Horizons. 

Michael Small 12:23

Lovely. Just one last plug... the position of disability commissioner is currently advertised, and applications close on the eighth of December. Go and look on Seek, and you'll find that position. It is a dedicated position for a person with disability. So please, let's encourage people to apply. 

? BCA speaker 1 12:42

And just before we finish this week's program, I've just dropped in to read a notice from Blind Citizens Australia, and it reads, In June 1975 a meeting in Melbourne of people who were blind or vision impaired led to the formation of an organisation that individuals across Australia could join. By right, the organisation which adopted a constitution was called the National Federation of Blind Citizens, NFBCA. 

Next year, the organisation now called Blind Citizens Australia will celebrate its 50th anniversary with a national convention in June, and there will be many other celebratory events throughout the year. It will be a time to reflect on what the lives of people who are blind or vision impaired were like, then, how their situation has changed, and the role our organization has played in that change, as well as looking forward to what may confront us in the future. The May 2025 edition of Blind Citizens News will be a special anniversary issue with a focus on five decades of advocacy, shared experiences, peer support and great change, as well as what challenges face us and what our future might be like. 

We invite you to send us your suggestions about what might be included in the anniversary issue. Let us know in a few words about your ideas. We can't guarantee to include it at all because the length is limited, but we'll do our best. If you're interested in writing for this issue, please let us know that as well, we will need to hear from you by Friday the 13th of December. In order to contribute, you can contact bcnews@bca.org.au that's bcnews@bca.org.au ... now back to John.

John Simpson

And don't forget that if you want to contact Blind Citizens Australia, you can phone them on 1 800 zero, double 3, double 6 zero, or email bca@bca.org.au, I'm John Simpson, thanks for joining us.

Theme song 14:38

We'll achieve the realisation of our dreams... of our dreams...