Submissions are gradually being published on the official DRC website. Some organisations have published their submissions to the Disability Royal Commission on their own websites. Links to statements from disability advocates and other representatives of advocacy organisations, that have been submitted in preparation for hearings, are also included below:
Action for More Independence and Dignity in Accommodation (AMIDA) / Self Advocacy Resource Unity (SARU)
- Group Homes Issues Paper response
- Statement of Pauline Williams (Projects Co-ordinator)
- Statement of Colin Hiscoe (Self Advocacy Resource Unit and President of Reinforce)
- New Wave Bass Coast Self Advocacy Group response to DRC Issues paper – Inclusive Society
- Power and Culture and Ethnicity Self Advocacy Group: Submission to Disability Royal Commission (Made possible with funding from NEDA)
Advocacy for Inclusion
Advocacy Tasmania
- Response to Group Homes Issues Paper
- Response to Health care Issues Paper
- Response to Emergency Planning and Response Issues Paper
- Response to Restrictive Practices Issues Paper
- Submission on Guardianship and Administration
AED Legal Centre
- Statement of Kairstien (Kairsty) Wilson (Principal Legal Practitioner and Chief Executive Officer)
- Response to Emergency and Response Issues Paper
- Promoting Inclusion Issues Paper
- Response to Violence and abuse of people with disability at home Issues Paper
Aged & Disability Advocacy (ADA)
- Response to DRC Issues Paper: The Experience of First Nations People with Disability in Australia (made jointly with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Disability Network of Queensland)
- Response to DRC Issues Paper: Experiences of culturally and linguistically diverse people with disability
Amparo Advocacy
- Response to Promoting Inclusion issues paper
- The experiences of culturally and linguistically diverse people with disability: Response to Issues Paper
Australian Centre for Disability Law
Council for Intellectual Disability
- Statement of Justine O’Neill (CEO)
- Statement of James (Jim) Simpson (Senior Advocate)
- Statement of Rachel Spencer (Senior Manager, Inclusion Projects)
- Statement of Anthony Mulholland (Member and Self Advocate)
- Submission – Saying sorry for disability institutions
DACSSA Disability Advocacy
- COVID-19 and Disability – A Systemic Impact Report (in response to Emergency Planning and Response Issues Paper)
Disability Advocacy NSW
Developmental Disability WA
Disability Justice Australia
- Statement of Fiona Downing (Senior Advocate)
Family Advocacy
- Submission No.1: Inclusive Education
- Submission No.2: Response to Education and Learning Issues Paper
- Submission No.3: Response to Rights and Attitudes Issues Paper
- Submission No.5: Response to Restrictive Practices Issues Paper
- Submission No.6: Response to Promoting Inclusion Issues Paper
- Statement of Cecile Elder (Executive Officer)
Grampians Disability Advocacy
IDEAS
Independent Advocacy North Queensland (IANQ)
- Statement of Deborah Wilson (CEO) – statement of information, including client case studies from IANQ
- Statement of Joanna Mullins (Advocate/NDIS Appeals Support Officer)
Independent Advocacy SA
- Response to Group Homes Issues Paper
- Response to Health care for people with cognitive disability Issues Paper
Intellectual Disability Rights Service
- Introduction to Intellectual Disability
- Statement of Kenn Clift (Solicitor)
- Statement of Julia Wren (Advocate for Parents)
- Statement of Janene Cootes (Executive Officer)
- Statement of Michael Baker (Advocate)
- Statement of Taylor Budin (Self Advocate)
- Submission on COVID-19 pandemic experiences
- Criminalised People with Cognitive Impairment: The Cognitive Impairment Diversion Program Model (co-authored with UNSW researchers)
Leadership Plus
Melbourne East Disability Advocacy
- Response to Group Homes Issues Paper
- Response to Health care for people with cognitive disability Issues Paper
- Response to Restrictive Practices Issues Paper
Multicultural Disability Advocacy Association
- Submission on Rights and Attitudes – Mental Health and Trauma Experiences of People with Disabilities from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse and Non-English-Speaking Backgrounds
- Response to The experiences of culturally and linguistically diverse people with disability Issues paper
North East Citizen Advocacy Inc
Ngaanyatjarra Yankunytjatjara Pitjantjatjara Women’s Council (NPYWC)
People With disability WA
- Submission on Restrictive Practices
- Submission on Safeguards and Quality Services
- Submission on Promoting Inclusion
Physical Disability Council of NSW
Queensland Advocacy Incorporated (QAI)
- Submission on Inclusive Education of Students with Disability
- Submission on Emergency Planning and Response – Impact of COVID19 Restrictions on People with Disability in Queensland
- Submission on Group Homes
- Submission on Restrictive Practices
- Submission on Promoting Inclusion
- Submission on Criminal Justice System
- Submission on Disability Support Pension and institutional economic neglect
- Submission on Guardianship, Substituted and Supported Decision-Making
- Joint statement of Michelle O’Flynn and Nikki Parker (Then Director and Education Advocate)
- Statement of Courtney Wolf (NDIS Appeals Advocate)
- Final recommendations to the Disability Royal Commission
Queenslanders with Disability Network
- Response to Education and Learning Issues Paper
- Submission on Emergency Planning and Response
- Submission on Group Homes
Speak Out Association of Tasmania
- Issues Paper Response – Group Homes
- Issues Paper Response – Promoting Inclusion
- Statement of Kalena Bos (Self Advocate)
Speaking Up For You
- Submission on the use of psychotropic medication, behaviour support and behaviours of concern
- Joint statement of Dianne Toohey and Kathy Kendell
STAR Victoria
- Promoting Inclusion submission focusing on parents with intellectual disability and inclusive education
VALID
- Response to Promoting Inclusion Issues Paper
- Statement of Kevin Stone (CEO)
- Statement of Sarah Forbes (Advocacy Manager)
- Statement of Dariane McLean (Advocate)
- Statement of Kevin Stone in relation to COVID-19 (May 2021)
Villamanta Disability Rights Legal Service
- Statement of Naomi Anderson (Lawyer)
WWILD Sexual Violence Prevention Association
- Response to Violence and abuse at home Issues paper
- Response to Rights and Attitudes Issues paper
- Response to Criminal Justice System Issues paper
Women With Disabilities ACT
- Response to the Royal Commission Issues Paper on Group Homes
- Response to the Royal Commission Issues Paper on Emergency Response
Women with Disabilities Victoria
- Submission on Group Homes
- Submission on Violence in the Home
- Statement on Housing and Group Homes
- Statement of Leah van Poppel (CEO)
- Submission on Violence in the Home
National organisations
Australian Federation of Disability Organisations
- Statement on Experiences of people with disability during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic
- Joint statement of Ross Joyce and Patrick McGee (CEO and National Manager – Policy, Advocacy & Research)
Children and Young People with Disability Australia
- Emergency planning and response during COVID-19
- Education of children and young people with disability
- Not even remotely fair: Experiences of students with disability during COVID-19
- Response to Restrictive Practices Issues Paper
- Statement of Mary Sayers (CEO) in August
- Statement of Mary Sayers in September
- Response to issues paper: Employment of young people with disability
- Response to Promoting Inclusion issues paper
- Response to background paper – Supported decision-making and guardianship: Proposals for reform
- Submission: CYDA’s Summary of Recommendations 2019-2022
First Peoples Disability Network Australia
- Video submission
- Statement of Damian Griffis (CEO)
- Submission to Emergency Planning and Responses Issues Paper
- Submission to Promoting Inclusion Issues Paper
Inclusion Australia
- Response to issues paper on healthcare for people with cognitive disability
- Submission on the Criminal Justice System
- Submission to the DRC – The Omnibus
- Statement of Catherine McAlpine (CEO)
- Statement of Catherine McAlpine in relation to COVID-19 (May 2021)
- Pre-record of Tara Elliffe and Catherine McAlpine no. 1 and no. 2 and transcript
- Catherine McAlpine’s responses to questions on notice
LGBTIQ+ Health Australia
Mental Health Australia
National Ethnic Disability Alliance
- Statement of Dominic Golding (Projects and Policy Officer)
- See also under Joint submissions below.
People With Disability Australia
- We Belong Here: Our Nation Must End Exclusionary Systems that Harm People with Disability (Response to Promoting Inclusion Issues Paper)
- Safeguards help marginalised people with disability – Submission responding to Safeguards and Quality Issues Paper
- We have a right to choose homes without violence – Submission responding to Violence and Abuse At Home Issues Paper
- Submission in response to the Group Homes Issues Paper: Realising our right to live independently in the community
- Submission in response to Emergency Planning and Response Issues Paper
- Statement of Eleanor Gibbs (then Director of Media and Communications)
- Our lives, our decisions: Submission on guardianship, substituted and supported decision-making
- Vision for Realising Our Human Rights
- See also under Joint submissions below.
Women With Disability Australia
- Response to Issue Paper on Education and Learning
- Response to Group Homes Issue Paper
- Response to Employment Issues Paper
- Response to Emergency Planning Issues Paper
- Response to Rights and Attitudes Issues Paper
- Response to Restrictive Practices Issues Paper
- Response to Violence and Abuse at Home Issues Paper
National Disability and Carers Alliance
- Statement of Kirsten Deane (Campaign Director for Every Australian Counts)
Blind Citizens Australia
- Responses to Promoting Inclusion Issues Paper, including on Employment, Technology, Civic Participation, Public Transport, Education and Hospitals
- Response to Rights and Attitudes Issues Paper
Down Syndrome Australia
- Submission on Education and Learning
- Submission on Emergency Planning and Response
- Submission on Health Issues
- Submission on Rights and Attitudes
- Submission on Employment
- Submission on Inclusion
Deafblind Australia
Polio Australia
Joint submissions
- Eight of these National organisations (including DANA) have submitted a joint position paper on segregation: Segregation of people with disability is discrimination and must end. This submission has now been endorsed by over 50 organisations and 150 individuals. (See our DRC Blog)
- Australian Coalition for Inclusive Education is made up of 12 organisations and have submitted a number of documents, including a submission in response to the DRC’s Overview of responses to the first Education and Learning Issues Paper
- NEDA, PWDA and FECCA made a joint submission: The experiences and perspectives of people with disability from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds
- WWILD Sexual Violence Prevention Association and Community Living Association made a joint submission
- In August 2022, DANA joined with Inclusion Australia and People with Disability Australia on a joint statement ahead of Public hearing 26 on Homelessness: Housing action long overdue for people with disability
- In late 2022, eight National organisations collaborated on DRO Joint Submission to DRC on identified gaps – November 2022
- PWDA, CYDA and the Human Rights Law Centre collaborated on a Joint submission to the Disability Royal Commission: Charters of human rights benefit people with disability recommending an Australian Charter of Human Rights
See the Spotlight on Advocacy page for quotes and videos of appearances at the public hearings.
Email Siobhan at policy@dana.org.au if your advocacy organisation has published a submission to the DRC that we can link to from this page.