14th Feb 2019, 12:13 PM – Senate Motions - Disability Services - Establish a royal commission

The majority voted in favour of a motion introduced by WA Senator Jordon Steele-John (Greens), which means it succeeded. Motions like these don't make legal changes on their own, but they are politically influential because they represent the will of the Senate.

Motion text

(1) That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

(i) despite the hard-won progress of the disability rights movement, disabled Australians continue to be subjected to discrimination and are routinely denied the right guaranteed them under international law,

(ii) this discrimination creates and sustains the barriers to employment, education, transport, social and political participation experienced by disabled Australians and, most concerning, manifests itself in horrific violence, abuse and neglect to which they are subjected, and

(iii) from July to September 2018, over 184 incidents of abuse and neglect were reported to the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission (the Commission) – the Commission has also released data that shows in the same three months it received 62 reports of expected and unexpected deaths, 91 reports of injuries, 34 complaints against individual staff or service providers and 75 cases of unauthorised restrictive practices; and

(b) calls on the Government to request His Excellency the Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia issue Letter Patent to establish a royal commission to inquire into violence, abuse and neglect of people with a disability.

(2) That a message be sent to the House of Representatives seeking its concurrence in this resolution.