Disability Services and Inclusion Bill 2023

A joint submission from Disability Representative Organisations

Disability Representative Organisations (DROs) and other individuals and organisations supporting this submission welcome the opportunity to provide feedback on the exposure draft of the Disability Services and Inclusion Bill 2023.

This submission responds to the five consultation questions posed by the Department of Social Services:

  1. Please tell us how much you agree or disagree with the objects and principles in the Bill.
  2. Please tell us how much you agree or disagree with this broad approach to who should receive supports and services.
  3. Please tell us how much you agree or disagree with these categories in the Bill. Do you have any additional comments about the categories?
  4. Please tell us how much you agree or disagree with the arrangements in the Bill to ensure delivery of safe and quality supports and services. Do you have any additional comments about arrangements in the Bill to ensure delivery of safe and quality supports and services?
  5. Do you have any additional feedback about the Bill?

This submission has been made by these organisations based on their collective expertise and experience, coordinated by the Disability Advocacy Network Australia (DANA). Many individuals who contributed to this submission bring their own lived experience of disability. However, the timelines for this consultation did not enable consultation with the broader membership of these organisations nor the wider community of people with disability. Working with people with disability and DROs should be a key feature of the development and implementation of the new Bill from now on.

Each of the organisations involved in this submission recognise the significant opportunity the replacement of the Disability Services Act 1986 represents. We look forward to continuing to work with the Department of Social Services to ensure the Bill is based on the voices of people with disability to make it the strongest Bill it can be, setting the framework for years to come.

View full submission: Word doc | PDF


People with Disability Australia Incorporated (PWDA) is a national disability rights and advocacy, non-profit, non-government organisation. We have a cross-disability focus, representing the interests of people with all kinds of disability and our membership is made up of people with disability and organisations mainly constituted by people with disability.

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