A year ago, the Federal government released its response to the 222 recommendations in the Disability Royal Commission’s final report.
Now, it is looking to reform the Disability Discrimination Act – a key plank of the government’s response.
Late last week the Federal government announced a $6.9 million review of the Act which will consider implementing 15 recommendations from the Disability Royal Commission. The recommendations were around strengthening the Act to improve protections for people with disability.
The government says it understands the disability community has already contributed to several reviews and enquiries over the past 30 years of the Act, so it will use those to inform the current review so people with disability don’t need to go through the process of advocating again.
How can you have your say?
People with disability, their families, carers and kin, advocates, service providers, employers, unions, businesses, legal professionals, education providers and academics, and the wider community are all invited to contribute to the review of the Disability Discrimination Act.
The government has released an Issues Paper setting out the scope of the review and the topics it will cover, many of which are in line with the Royal Commission’s recommendations.
They include:
- The definition of disability
- Intersectionality
- Positive duty to eliminate disability discrimination
- Provision of adjustments for people with disability
- Rules relating to assistance animals
- Exemptions to the Act.
The government says there will be multiple stages of public engagement on the review, with this consultation the first stage.
You can contribute to the review on the Attorney General’s website.
You can make a submission, or complete a survey.
Consultation closes on 24 October 2025.
“A vital piece of our legal framework”
News of the review of the Disability Discrimination Act was welcomed by the Australian Human Rights Commission.
“The DDA is a vital piece of our legal framework to ensure that over 5 million people with disability in Australia do not experience discrimination,” said Disability Discrimination Commissioner Rosemary Kayess.
“People with disability continue to experience inequality and discrimination on a daily basis and are marginalised and excluded in many areas of their lives due to ableist systems, policies and attitudes. This clearly shows the DDA isn’t working as intended.”
She said the Human Rights Commission has proposed many reforms over the past 10 years to modernise and simplify the Act, and strengthen the protections it gives people with disability. These were then echoed by the Disability Royal Commission.
“The DDA hasn’t been updated for over 15 years. Much has changed over that time, including court rulings which have made it harder to prove discrimination under the DDA. We need to modernise the DDA to ensure it’s fit for purpose now and into the future.”