PWDA backs Human Rights Commission President's call for national Human Rights Act
People with Disability Australia
Key Facts:- People with Disability Australia (PWDA) supports calls for a Human Rights Act, citing insufficient protections under current legal frameworks
- The current system requires individuals to navigate complex complaints processes rather than proactively protecting rights
- Evidence from the Disability Royal Commission shows existing legal protections fail to prevent or address widespread abuse and discrimination
- PWDA highlights concerns about NDIS reforms, particularly regarding human decision-making and appeal rights that would be addressed through a Human Rights Act
- The organisation emphasises the need for the Federal Budget to include measures to improve income support and reform the disability support pension alongside investment in economic inclusion initiatives for people with disability, who face disproportionate poverty rates.
People with Disability Australia (PWDA), the national advocacy and representative organisation led by and for people with disability, has backed President of the Australian Human Rights Commission Hugh de Kretser’s call for a Human Rights Act, made in an address to the National Press Club. PWDA agrees with the observations made that without enforceable rights, people with disability will continue to be exposed to harm with limited pathways to challenge it.
PWDA said this is borne out in the daily experiences of people with disability, who are too often left to navigate discrimination and exclusion without clear or accessible ways to enforce their rights.
PWDA President Jeramy Hope said Australia’s current legal framework is not consistently protecting people with disability or providing accountability when things go wrong.
“Australia’s human rights framework has gaps, and people with disability are living with the consequences,” Mr Hope said.
“PWDA consistently hears from people who have experienced discrimination, exclusion or harm and are left without a clear, accessible way to have their rights upheld.”
Evidence provided to the Disability Royal Commission documented widespread experiences of violence, abuse, neglect and exclusion, and made clear that existing legal protections are not sufficient to prevent these harms or respond when they occur.
PWDA has also highlighted in its submissions on a Human Rights Act that the current system places the burden on individuals to pursue complaints through complex and often inaccessible processes, rather than requiring systems and institutions to proactively uphold rights.
PWDA Vice-President Jarrod Sandell-Hay said enforceable rights and clear safeguards are essential, particularly in systems where government decisions have a direct impact on people’s daily lives.
“We need systems that are designed to respect rights from the start, not ones where people are left to try to fix harm after it happens,” Mr Sandell-Hay said.
“When there are no clear safeguards or accessible pathways to challenge decisions, people are left exposed. Our patchwork of legal protections is simply not effective at addressing or preventing harm to our community.”
PWDA said the Commissioner’s reference to the harm caused by the Robodebt scheme highlights the risks of government service decision-making without strong human rights safeguards, including the right to a fair hearing and access to independent review.
These risks remain live in current NDIS reforms. In the context of the NDIS New Framework Planning, the Minister for Health, Disability and Ageing Mark Butler has not guaranteed human decision-making or access to independent appeal rights in all cases. That is how harm occurs in practice.
“Around 90 per cent of NDIS cases at the Administrative Review Tribunal are decided in favour of participants. That shows the system is getting decisions wrong, often. Without the right to independent review, people with disability will be left to deal with decisions they cannot challenge, including losing essential supports," Mr Sandell-Hay said.
“A Human Rights Act would require governments to properly consider people’s rights when designing and implementing systems like NDIS New Framework Planning.”
PWDA also supports the Commissioner’s call for action on poverty, noting people with disability are disproportionately impacted by low incomes, barriers to employment and rising living costs.
New research from the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) and UNSW shows almost nine in ten people agree income support should be enough so people do not have to skip meals, yet less than a quarter say they could live on current payments. At the same time, the Australian Government’s own Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee has again made lifting income support its top recommendation, warning current payment rates leave people unable to meet basic living costs.
PWDA has called on the Federal Government to use the upcoming Budget to lift income support, reform the Disability Support Pension, invest in accessible housing, and provide employment programs and supports that create real opportunities for mainstream employment.
Mr Hope said a Human Rights Act would provide a clear, enforceable framework to guide these decisions, and must reflect Australia’s international obligations, including incorporating rights under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
“This is about making sure people’s rights are considered in the decisions that shape their lives, whether that is access to housing, income support or services,” he said.
“We know what the problems are. We know what works. What’s missing is the commitment to a Human Rights Act.”
About us:
People with Disability Australia (PWDA), is a national disability rights and advocacy organisation led by, and for, people with all kinds of disability. We are a non-profit, non-government organisation and our membership is made up of people with disability and organisations mainly constituted by people with disability.
https://www.pwd.org.au
Contact details:
PWDA Media and Communications
0491 034 479