After four years, the Disability Royal Commission has come to an end with a final ceremonial sitting, ahead of the release of its final report. Before the report is tabled in government on Thursday 28th September, we are reflecting on the Final Ceremonial Sitting that was held earlier this month.
The Disability Royal Commission’s Ceremonial Closing Sitting was held in Sydney on Friday, 15 September 2023. Attending the event was DANA CEO, Jeff Smith, and DANA Director of Advocacy and Policy, El Gibbs (both pictured above).
“Being there, with so many other people with disability, families, supporters and advocates, was important to mark the end of a very long few years where we have shared so many hard and terrible moments, so the violence will stop,” said El Gibbs.
“There has been so much work that people with disability have done to ensure that no more people with disability have to experience violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation.”
A transcript from the event has been published on the DRC website today. Click here to download the transcript.
As the Royal Commission prepares to release its final report, DANA is urging the Australian Government to work with us to design and enact the solutions needed to address the recommendations put forward in the report.
DANA CEO, Jeff Smith, said “The evidence is very clear, when governments listen to and genuinely co-design the responses with people with disability, we get much better outcomes for everyone.”