E&OE TRANSCRIPT

Topics: Initial response to the Disability Royal Commission Final Report

AMANDA RISHWORTH, MINISTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES: Good morning everyone. I’m pleased you could be here. I’m joined by Minister Shorten, Minister for the NDIS and along with Government Services and Minister Butler, Minister for Health and Ageing, who are just two of the 16 Commonwealth Ministers that have been involved in developing the Australian Government's response to the Disability Royal Commission. The Disability Royal Commission into violence, abuse and neglect and discrimination of people with Disability was a key moment in our nation's history. The Royal Commission received evidence from almost 10,000 people over four and a half years. It was a momentous piece of work. What was uncovered throughout the Royal Commission was confronting, shocking and often incredibly disturbing. Circumstances of appalling experiences of abuse and neglect and discrimination against people with disability were revealed that have absolutely no place in our country and, quite frankly, anywhere. Evidence was presented to the Royal Commission by those who either personally experienced harm, abuse or neglect, or had it occur to someone that they love, know and care for. I, once again, would like to acknowledge the work of the Royal Commission and the determined efforts of families, carers, advocates, service providers and other individuals who have worked tirelessly to contribute to this inquiry. It is not always easy sharing your own experience, but many did so because they wanted to make it better for others. As a Government we importantly did not wait for the Royal Commission's Final Report to start taking action to improve the lives of people with disability. But today we are releasing the Commonwealth’s initial response to the Final Report as the next step forward in a more inclusive Australia. All governments, Commonwealth, state and territory have taken seriously and responded to all 222 recommendations. In addition to the Commonwealth's initial response, there is also a joint response with states and territories, along with individual, state and territory responses. Governments, both Commonwealth and state and territory, have worked together in most cases to form a common position on recommendations where there is joint responsibility and we are absolutely committed to continuing this work in order to sustain long-term, meaningful change for people with disability. Of the recommendations, there are 84 that fall solely in the Commonwealth's responsibility, 85 which there are joint responsibility between states, territories and the Commonwealth, and 50 recommendations that are entirely in the area of states and territories. A further three recommendations are the responsibility of the Commonwealth and non-government organisations. Achieving the vision of the Disability Royal Commission will require all governments to work together and each and every state and territory government, along with the Commonwealth, to be directly accountable to the Royal Commission's recommendations. Now our Government is absolutely committed to the vision set out in the Disability Royal Commission and is committed to enabling policy and delivering services that realises the vision of an Australian community where people with disability are free from violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation, where human rights are protected and individuals live with dignity, equality, respect and can fulfil their potential. The Australian Government accepts or accepts in principle 130 of the 172 recommendations that the Commonwealth has sole or joint responsibility in. Our initial response to the Disability Royal Commission today gives us an even stronger path towards a more equitable and inclusive Australia where people with disability can be safe, thrive and we are absolutely committed to achieving this goal. When it comes to the Commonwealth, our response follows the volumes of the Disability Royal Commission final report. Against each recommendation the Government has accepted, accepted in principle, indicated further consideration is required or noted the recommendations. Our Government has put people with disability front and centre of the reform agenda. We've been listening and engaging with people with disability throughout the Royal Commission and have continued to listen since the Final Report was released. Coming from our consultations, four key pillars have emerged that are central to our Government's response. These are better safeguarding, promoting inclusion and accessibility, upholding human rights, and recognising the unique perspectives and experiences of First Nations people with disability. These are all areas that people with disability have continuously highlighted as important and will drive the focus of our Government as we progress reform towards a more inclusive Australia. Now we know improving the lives of Australians with disability and preventing harm, neglect and discrimination requires financial investment, along with policy and legislative reform. To support the Commonwealth's initial response, we are making significant new financial investments, but we're also committing to policy and legislative reform. This builds on the already $3 billion extra our Government has invested over the last three budgets to make Australia safer and more inclusive for people with disability. Progressing the work arising from the Disability Royal Commission will take time and our Government will be taking a phased approach to implementing our response. We are committed to making ongoing progress to implement many of the recommendations and have set up a number of mechanisms to ensure that progress is made across government as well as across governments. We will progress in implementation, and it will continue to be open and transparent in partnership with people with disability. The Disability Royal Commission Taskforce our Government stood up will continue to lead the work across Government for Commonwealth recommendations. In relation to joint recommendations Disability Ministers across states and territories and the Commonwealth will play a leading role, supported by seven other ministerial councils that have responsibility for joint recommendations and reform. Our Government and all governments will remain accountable through six-monthly public reporting on implementation progress and there will be an annual update provided to National Cabinet. This work is on-going, and we have put the structures in place to ensure that there is momentum behind the Royal Commission response. I want to make it clear our Government and the Ministers here today, and across the Commonwealth, are committed to taking action. We are committed to realising that vision of the Royal Commission that says people with disabilities should be free from neglect, abuse and discrimination, but also should experience inclusion in all facets of life. And we will, as a government, keep working every day to ensure that people with disability are included and that we make this a reality for many. I'll now pass to Minister Shorten and then Minister Butler to make some remarks and then we'll go to questions.

BILL SHORTEN, MINISTER FOR THE NDIS AND GOVERNMENT SERVICES: Good morning and thank you very much, Minister Rishworth. She's done a fantastic job coordinating 16 different Federal Government Ministers and all the states and territories to get us here today. But I should also acknowledge the Royal Commission, the testimony of thousands of witnesses who revealed over four long years the unacceptable abuse that still occurs to our fellow Australians with disability. The Royal Commission was harrowing reading. It was an extensive survey into the lives and the experiences of people with disability. It went for more than four years and cost hundreds of millions of dollars. Minister Rishworth has made clear that the Commonwealth and the Albanese Government is taking a considered and strategic approach which has got us here today. Very briefly, in the areas of the National Disability Insurance Scheme and the Safeguards Commission there's about 65 recommendations which wholly or partly go to that. We are making clear that we agree with many of the recommendations and we've got to think about a few more of the issues that are raised there. But the Government has not waited for the Royal Commission, or indeed today, to start moving on some of the issues that are contained in the Disability Royal Commission. Specifically, I refer to a strengthening of the Safeguards and Quality Commission. That was around chapter ten and eleven about the complaints process. The Safeguards Commission was identified in the Royal Commission as not working as it should do. The Quality and Safeguards Commission, when we came to office, was chronically underfunded. In fact, when Labor first called for the Disability Royal Commission in 2017, the response of the then Morrison Government was to set up the Safeguards Commission rather than have a Royal Commission. To be fair, the then government did eventually see the light and have the Disability Royal Commission. But the Safeguards Commission has been historically underfunded. So, a simple example of how we're getting on with the business of the Disability Royal Commission and improving the lives of participants, people with disability on the NDIS, we've practically tripled the workforce and we've doubled the budget. Also, within the National Disability Insurance Agency itself, where evidence came out that people had an inconsistent experience. On one hand, some on the scheme had a good experience, it was changing lives. On the other hand, they might get planners or people they'd talk to who they feel didn't understand their issues and then the experience wasn't as satisfactory or consistent. We've added an extra 2,000 people to the agency, we've added extra resources to the agency, and of course, we have turbocharged co-design. Another example of where we've been getting on with the Royal Commission's recommendations, or there was a co-alignment between the Government and the Royal Commission, is, for example, putting someone with a First Nations background on the board of the NDIA. The history of disability in Australia sometimes has been formed, indeed, the chapters start from an initial discovery or indeed re-discovery of the abuse and neglect of people with disability and the people who love them. Today, as a strategic response, all levels of government, and I congratulate Minister Rishworth for helping bring this work all together, and I thank again, all the people who worked on the Disability Royal Commission. This is another watershed moment to stop the abuse of our fellow Australians. But there's a lot of work to go on from here. But this, I believe, will helpfully signpost the directions that we seek to take as a nation in the better treatment and the true equality of people with disability in Australia.

MARK BUTLER, MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND AGEING: Well, thank you, Bill and thank you, Amanda. Can I also thank the Royal Commission for this incredibly detailed, important piece of work and to the thousands of Australians, as Amanda said and Bill echoed, who bravely told their stories and really gave shape to a very detailed report we received from the Royal Commission. I also though, want to thank Minister Rishworth for the extraordinary job she has done in leading the Commonwealth response to this commission. I don't recall a Royal Commission report or a commission-style report to government that has been this complex and has covered as many portfolio areas as this one has. So coordinating our response, not just across 16 different ministers and assistant ministers at a Commonwealth level, but also with all eight state and territory governments, has been an extraordinary piece of work. Minister Rishworth has done an outstanding job in getting us to this position. Now, access to high quality healthcare that is sensitive and appropriate to the different needs of people living with disability is an important issue that was identified in the Royal Commission and we heard too many stories that too often a lack of that access is leading to poorer outcomes and lower life expectancy for those Australians. And so there are 11 recommendations out of the 222 in the royal commission report that are relevant to the health portfolio, most of them capturing responsibilities that are shared between the Commonwealth, the states and the territories. It's important to say, as Minister Rishworth did in her introduction, that we don't begin this response to the Royal Commission report with a blank sheet of paper. We have, in our two years of government, been acting very steadfastly across different portfolio areas to improve conditions for Australians living with disability. In the last couple of budgets in the health portfolio, for example, we funded $260 million for Australians living with psychosocial disability. We funded $43 million for five priority actions under the national roadmap for better healthcare for Australians with intellectual disability. But as part of this response released by Minister Rishworth, we are also responding directly with additional funding to two of the recommendations that are identified in the health portfolio. In particular, we will be providing $3 million to enhance primary care workforce capability for Australians with disability. This will particularly focus on primary care situations like general practice to ensure that GPs and their support workforce, including practice nurses, are very well equipped to deal with the particular needs of Australians with disability. Also, in response to a recommendation from the Commission for Disability Health Navigators, as part of the work being led, I think, by Minister Shorten, I will be working with my state and territory colleagues also to develop a framework for disability health navigators that responds directly to that Commission report. The vast bulk of the other recommendations relevant to the health portfolio will be incorporated into existing work structures that I, along with my state and territory health minister colleagues, are already doing in the area of health workforce, in the area of responsibility for a number of accreditation authorities that are identified by the Disability Royal Commission as well. But again, I really want to thank all of those thousands of Australians who patiently across four and a half years, told their stories and were able to inform a really detailed landmark Royal Commission report that has been the subject of very deep, detailed consideration by our Government. Thank you very much.

JOURNALIST: Minister the Prime Minister has attended responses to major Royal Commissions. Why isn’t he here today?

AMANDA RISHWORTH: I can tell you that I have been working very closely across Government, including with the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister has been engaged with this work, as has Prime Minister and Cabinet. The Taskforce that has been set up across the Government to lead this work is done by the Prime Minister's own department, along with my department, the Department of Social Services. I would say that the Prime Minister has been very interested in this, as has the Government across the board.

JOURNALIST: So why isn’t he here today and how would you respond to those that may feel a bit disrespected by that?

AMANDA RISHWORTH: Well, you've got three Government ministers that have responsibility to take this work forward, along with a commitment, as I've said, to accept or accept in principle the vast majority of recommendations from this Royal Commission. No one could accuse our Government of not taking this seriously. I'm very proud of the work we've done. I know the Prime Minister and his department are engaged. This is a whole of government effort and I look forward to continuing to lead this work with my colleagues, along with states and territories.

JOURNALIST: Minister how much will it cost to implement all of the recommendations today? And also, when do you expect to have them all?

AMANDA RISHWORTH: There are a number of recommendations that we have accepted and they are fully budgeted for, and we have made in this downpayment in addition to the $3 billion over three budgets our Government's invested, we are investing another $117 million as part of this initial response. And this includes things like disability advocacy, increasing the funding for that, which was a recommendation of the Royal Commission. There are a number of recommendations that are accepted in principle. This means that we accept the intent, but we are still working with our states and territories, in many cases about how those might be implemented. So, I can't put a financial figure on those recommendations, but there is a clear commitment that we will progress these recommendations. As I've outlined, there is a clear process with six monthly reporting to stay accountable. But I would remind people as well that the investment we've already made has been significant. And I look just at the Disability Employment Service program that we announced in the budget. Over $200 million more to make Disability Employment services better - better quality, better, responsive to people with disability, actually meeting their needs, and directly responding to one of the recommendations in the Royal Commission to remove the artificial restriction of zero to eight hours for people with disability who were not able to access Disability Employment Services. We're removing that, so these things are not only financial investment, but policy changes and other responses that we'll continue to make

JOURNALIST: Minister, why has the Government delayed the creation of a new national disability agreement when all the states agree that there should be a new one?

AMANDA RISHWORTH: Well, as you may be aware, there is significant work going on in terms of disability reform with the states and territories. I myself am working with states and territories on Foundation Supports, Minister Shorten is working on NDIS reform. There is a lot of work underway currently in the disability space. We need to work across all governments on reform for the Disability Royal Commission. There's a lot of work to be done to continue this work. I don't want to see delay in the reform processes that are underway. We need to get on with our work and we'll continue to work with the states and territories in that fashion.

JOURNALIST: I know it's detailed in the report, but what was the thinking behind putting off agreeing to an actual Disability Rights Act?

AMANDA RISHWORTH: There was a recommendation for the Disability Rights Act. What people may know is, at the same time there is work being done by the Parliamentary Committee on recommending a Human Rights Commission or a Human Rights Act. And so there is work that will be needed from the Government and how we respond to the committee's recommendation of a Human Rights Act and what that means for a Disability Rights Act. So, there is some sequencing work that needs to be done from government. There is mixed views in the disability community about whether they would prefer a Disability Rights Act or for disability to be embedded in a Human Rights Act. One of the things that we want to get on with, though, as government works through those issues, is to modernise the Disability Discrimination Act. So, one of the actions we're announcing today is work to modernise the Disability Discrimination Act. It's been 15 years since any substantive work has been done on modernising that Act. So, that is work that we'll undertake immediately while we do the sequencing work on a Human Rights Act versus a Disability Rights Act.

JOURNALIST: Minister the Government has not committed to a number of recommendations. As I can see here, some of them fairly major, such as ending segregation across society.

AMANDA RISHWORTH: So, there are a number of recommendations that went to segregation settings. I would note that the Disability Royal Commissioners were divided on those recommendations, but there were a number of other related recommendations. So, when it comes to schools, for example, there is a commitment to move to a more inclusive schooling system. No government accepts that we have done our work when it comes to more inclusive education. And I do understand Minister Clare, along with his state counterparts, will continue to look at how we provide a more inclusive education system. So, there are a number of recommendations that were conflicting, but I think the principle that comes out of this is that all governments have committed to more inclusive education.

JOURNALIST: And you have the recommendation to lift sub-minimal wages under further consideration. We're in a cost-of-living crisis. These are sub-minimal wages. Why does this need to be considered further?

AMANDA RISHWORTH: The Fair Work Commission is responsible for setting wages and conditions, and so the Fair Work Commission has recently reviewed the supported employment award and they are the independent body for setting wages and conditions. However, what I would say is, I have personally been working with the supported employment sector to look at how we evolve the sector, how we work towards achieving better wages and conditions for supported employees, but importantly, how we provide a pathway for open employment. And I've been talking a lot about employment for people with disability. I've got one strong message - businesses are missing out on the talent of people with disability, because they are not offering them the same opportunities. And so I would encourage a business to look a little bit outside the square, to look at what someone with a disability that they may have overlooked before can offer a workplace. So, there's a lot of elements to ensuring that we continue the path and supporting people to open employment, that we evolve our supported employment sector, and that we are on a pathway to paying better wages and conditions. But when it comes to the wage setting instruments in our country that sits with the Fair Work Commission.

JOURNALIST: What impact will this have on the plan to halve the growth rate of the NDIS?

BILL SHORTEN: I think the responses across government are about including Australians with disability in Australian life. So, this will not have a negative impact at all on our reform plans. But our reform plans, with the legislation currently being held up by the Liberals and the Greens in the Senate, will help the very people who the Disability Royal Commission says should be helped. The problem at the moment is that the NDIS legislation is loose. It has some loopholes which are seeing some service providers, and by the way, the majority of service providers are excellent, but there are some service providers having a lend of the system, exploiting people with disability, getting people to spend up their valuable packages in inappropriate ways or too quickly. So, I just say to the Liberals and the Greens, we need to get on with it. People with disability, the very people who this Disability Royal Commission is aimed at, it's in their best interests that we make sure the NDIS is a consistent, fair, transparent and equitable experience. That's what this legislation is aimed at doing.

JOURNALIST: The total of today’s initial response add up to  $37.1 million. How much more funding do you think is on the way to address the other agreed recommendations and how much do you see the states and territories lifting their weight financially?

AMANDA RISHWORTH: Well, firstly, I would say that the funding that we've announced today is in addition to the $3 billion that our Government has put in. Obviously, as we work on progress through the recommendations, the budget cycles, that these recommendations will form part of. I can only speak from the Commonwealth perspective we’re very committed to keeping momentum on responding to the Disability Royal Commission and we're committed to working collaboratively with states and territories. There's no doubt states and territories play a crucial role in that. Every single state and territory, along with the Commonwealth, is responsible to responding to this Royal commission. This isn't a Commonwealth Royal Commission, this is all of government's Royal Commission and we all will work together, I am really confident, to continue to put the energy in, as well as the resources and the changes to actually ensure that we achieve the vision set out by the Royal Commission.

JOURNALIST: Minister what is the Government’s thinking on the recommendation of the phasing out of group homes?

BILL SHORTEN: The Royal Commission had in its report, as Minister Rishworth said, probably three matters where they actually divided. Three issues, and you've heard Minister Rishworth talk about the school's issue, but then there was homes, was another one where they just divided. Now, the Royal Commission also said that it should phase out group homes in eleven years time and they didn't agree. What we're trying to do for our NDIS reforms is not use group homes. What we're trying to do is give people choice and control over how they live. A lot of people, there's about 30,000 people on the NDIS who receive some form of supported independent living. A lot of these people would be the people covered by the group homes category. But I must say most of them are not living in group homes already. So, this debate, the discussion about what's already been the investment and what's happened, I just want to remind people, because sometimes in the 24 hours news cycle it's possible to forget what's already been accomplished, under the Albanese Government in addition to the things that Minister Rishworth said, in the NDIS, we've made it clear that we want to improve the consistency of planning decisions. So, we've added 2,000 extra people to the NDIA. We've also said that we want to examine what are the best outcomes for supported independent living. So, without being definitive about the future of group homes, what we are doing is we want to make sure that the money which is given to people in supported independent living focuses on quality outcomes for them and that's where we think the most productive use of our energy can be - giving people options where they have meaningful social interaction, where they are being provided services which are quality and safe. And when you look at what we've also done on the complaint system, we've invested now in our new software, which, you know, before Labor, we had state of the art complaint system for 1988. Now what we've got is, through regular investment, we're lifting our ICT, we've doubled the number of people who work in the regulator, as I've mentioned. So, group homes, we don't have a final view, but we are moving towards where people live – so they live lives of meaning, fulfilling lives. And if that means sometimes they live with two other people, fine. But if that means that dependent on their needs, that isn't the best arrangement for them, then that's what we're looking at as well.

JOURNALIST: The decision not to create a Disability Inclusion Minister, why hasn't that been pursued, given the Royal Commission's report focused on inclusion and reducing stigma? And could it not be as simple as a title change if the work's already being done?

AMANDA RISHWORTH: We've got two Ministers in Cabinet for disability in myself and Minister Shorten. But as I have highlighted, this has touched 16 Ministers and Assistant Ministers. There's work that the Minister for Health is doing, there's work that the Minister for Education is doing, there's work that the Minister for Communications is doing. Of course, the Attorney-General is responsible for a number of these reforms. I think it's important that if we are going to shift the dial when it comes to disability inclusion in this country, there is a responsibility on every Minister in the Commonwealth, along with states and territories. At this point, while it's not directly related to this Royal Commission, I'd like to recognise the work that our Foreign Minister has done about including disability in some of her actions, her international engagement. So, this is a whole of government responsibility and what this Royal Commission does, the mechanisms we've set up across the Commonwealth, led by Prime Minister and Cabinet and the Department of Social Services, ensures that we keep the momentum for reform on this really important issue.

JOURNALIST: Why was it was not supported, the recommendation to ban sterilisation?

AMANDA RISHWORTH: The issue, I don’t know if Minister Butler wants to add to this, but the issue in most areas this is a responsibility of the states. As part of the response, of the joint response, the Commonwealth is taking responsibility in gathering more evidence. In some very rare occasions the family court is taking responsibility in gathering more evidence. In some very rare occasions that power is given to the family court around children. But that recommendation is predominantly a joint recommendation, and other states and territories will do further work on that.

JOURNALIST: So there's a number of recommendations the Government has accepted in principle that doesn't require the states for, such as introducing a compliance mechanism. What's stopping you from adopting that immediately?

AMANDA RISHWORTH: In terms recommendations that are in principle, what that means is clearly that there is a agreement with the intent of the policy. Some of the recommendations have been very prescriptive in how a recommendation needs to be implemented to inform the full implementation of that recommendation. So in terms of complaints processes, we've just funded our abuse neglect hotline further in this budget, as we do more work. But the intent for a complaints mechanism we agree with, and we will keep working to ensure that it's implemented in consultation with people with disability.