The Victorian Department of Families, Fairness and Housing has summarised key themes emerging from their public consultation on the exposure draft of the Disability Inclusion Bill 2022. The draft was released in September last year and the department asked for submissions until the end of October 2022.

At the time, NDS made a submission, and the key issues we identified are reflected in this summary of feedback. We note that, like NDS, almost everyone who gave feedback supported the proposed reforms.

Some common concerns cut across issues. The proposed legislation should:

• promote genuine consultation with people with disability
• put people with disability at the centre of decision-making
• hold entities and government accountable for results
• provide support to defined entities to enable effective implementation
• support self-determination of Aboriginal people with disability
• consider the unique experiences of diverse groups of people with disability.

However, despite broad support for the Bill, the summary teased out differences in opinion on many key points:

• the purpose and objectives of the proposed legislation
• how terms, such as ‘defined entity’, ‘disability’, ‘disability inclusion’, ‘intersectionality’, ‘ableism’ and ‘universal design’, should be defined
• what the inclusion principles should include
• whether there ought to be a duty to promote disability inclusion
• the right balance for Disability Impact Assessment requirements
• the involvement of people with disability, families, and carers in the development of the State Disability Plan and the frequency of reporting
• the scope of organisations who need to make Disability Action Plans and their interaction with the State Disability Plan
• the right balance on monitoring and compliance
• the powers and qualifications of the proposed commissioner for disability inclusion
• the composition of a strengthened Victorian Disability Advisory Council
• how to ensure the new requirements do not create legislative duplications
• how sufficient support and guidance will be provided when it is implemented.

NDS will continue to monitor progress of the Bill, provide feedback to government when we have concerns, and provide updates of significant developments. Feedback from members is welcome.

On the DFFH website, you can read the summary in pdf, Word, and easy-read versions, and in numerous languages, including Auslan.