Communities and Justice

Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability

The Disability Royal Commission was established in April 2019 in response to community concern about widespread reports of violence against, and the neglect, abuse and exploitation of, people with disability.

The Disability Royal Commission was tasked with investigating:

  • preventing and better protecting people with disability from experiencing violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation
  • achieving best practice in reporting, investigating and responding to violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation of people with disability
  • promoting a more inclusive society that supports people with disability to be independent and live free from violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation.

The Disability Royal Commission has now finished its work and produced its final report. Over its four and a half years, the Royal Commission heard from roughly 10,000 people across Australia and considered evidence from 8,000 submissions, 1,800 private sessions, more than 800 witnesses and 32 public hearings.

The NSW Government supported the establishment of the Disability Royal Commission and is closely considering its final report.

In December 2022, the NSW Government provided a whole of government NSW Government Submission to the Disability Royal Commission. This submission detailed what NSW is doing to make mainstream service systems more accessible and inclusive for the state’s more than 1.3 million people with disability.

Disability Royal Commission Final Report

On 29 September 2023, the Disability Royal Commission released its Final Report. The final report has 12 volumes plus an additional introductory volume. It is available in Easy Read and Auslan. The introduction includes a foreword from the Chair, the Commission’s  vision for an inclusive Australia, an executive summary and the full list of recommendations.

The final report makes 222 recommendations covering a wide range of issues and systems to strengthen the rights and inclusion of people with disability.

Development of NSW Government Response

The NSW Government is carefully and methodically considering each of the 222 recommendations and is developing a formal response to the Disability Royal Commission’s final report. The Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ) is leading the whole of government response to the report and is committed to consulting with stakeholders to inform the development of the response.

We would like to hear your views on the final report and are calling for submissions by 29 January 2024. For stakeholders in the Education sector only, in recognition of the school holiday period, we will accept responses from these stakeholders by no later than 12 February 2024.

We are also hosting consultation forums with disability organisations.

DCJ and the Disability Council NSW co-convened an initial forum with stakeholders from the disability sector on Monday 23 October 2023 to discuss the Disability Royal Commission’s recommendations. You can read the stakeholder forum Communique (PDF, 147.3 KB).

DCJ will be holding more stakeholder forums in 2024. The next forum will be held on 1 February 2024 and will consider the Disability Royal Commission’s recommendations relevant to First Nations people with disability. The forum is an opportunity to hear from the First Nations disability community about their views on the report and advice on recommendations and actions that should be prioritised in the Government response.

DCJ is collaborating with the Commonwealth and other states and territories as we develop our responses to recommendations that have a national focus. We encourage interested individuals and organisations to respond to the Commonwealth’s online questionnaire and/or send in submissions by 11:59pm Friday 19 January 2024. You can access the questionnaire or upload a submission.

More information about the Disability Royal Commission, including videos of past hearings, reports, issue papers and submissions can be found on the Disability Royal Commission website.

Support

Each state has a counselling and advocacy services funded by the government to support people impacted by the Disability Royal Commission. Information on NSW services can be found on the Australian Government Department of Social Services website.

People can also contact the National Counselling and Referral Service for counselling support, or to be referred to an independent advocate, legal service, or other support services. The number to call is 1800 421 468 or (02) 6146 1468. The service is available 9am–6pm AEDT weekdays and 9am–5pm AEDT weekends.

Contact

If you have a question about DCJs role in responding to the Disability Royal Commission, please email the Department’s Disability Royal Commission Team at NSWdisabilityroyalcommissionresponseteam@dcj.nsw.gov.au

Last updated:

10 Jan 2024