What is the Disability Royal Commission?
There has been a lot of violence, neglect, abuse and exploitation against disabled Australians.
It has happened in the past and is still happening now.
The Government has called a Disability Royal Commission to ask us about our experiences.
The Royal Commission will read our stories, talk to us and find ways to prevent those things from happening again.
Royal Commissions are independent of government.
That means they are not supposed to be run by government, but can be separate and not influenced by what the government thinks.
The Royal Commission will cost $527.9 million and will run for three years.
Terms of Reference
The Royal Commission has a set of rules about what they will look at during the Royal Commission.
This is called the Draft Terms of Reference.
The Royal Commission will cover:
• preventing, and better protecting, people with disability from experiencing violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation
• achieving best practice in reporting and investigating of, and responding to violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation
• promoting a more inclusive society that supports the independence of people with disability and their right to live free from violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation.
It will cover all forms of violence against, and abuse, neglect and exploitation of, people with disability, in all settings and contexts.
You can read fact sheets about the Royal Commission and the Terms of Reference here.
There is an Auslan video below.
Royal Commissioners
There are seven Royal Commissioners at
the Royal Commission.
They are helped by other staff, including legal counsel.
There are two disabled Royal Commissioners.
One is Dr Rhonda Galbally AC and the other is Alastair McEwin.
There is an Aboriginal Royal Commissioner.
Her name is Andrea Mason OAM.
The Hon Ronald Sackville AO QC is the Chair of the Royal Commission.
There are three other Royal Commissioners.
- Ms Barbara Bennett PSM
- The Hon Roslyn Atkinson AO
- John Ryan
Keeping updated about the Royal Commission
You can keep updated on social media or by going to the Disability Royal Commission websites.
They are at:
• dss.gov.au/DisabilityRoyalCommission
• ag.gov.au/DisabilityRoyalCommission
There is also an official Facebook page here.
https://www.facebook.com/disability.royalcommission.gov.au/
There is an official Twitter account here.
@DRC_Au
You can also keep updated at the Facebook page for the Disability Royal Commission Action Group (run by members of the disability community and not associated with the Royal Commission:
https://www.facebook.com/DisabilityRoyalCommission/
You can also contact the temporary hotline number on 1800 880 052 Monday to Friday from 9am to 7pm AEST.
If you are currently experiencing any form of violence or abuse, or are concerned for your safety, call 000 or contact Police.
There are seven Royal Commissioners at
the Royal Commission.
They are helped by other staff, including legal counsel.
There are two disabled Royal Commissioners.
One is Dr Rhonda Galbally AC and the other is Alastair McEwin.
There is an Aboriginal Royal Commissioner.
Her name is Andrea Mason OAM.
The Hon Ronald Sackville AO QC is the Chair of the Royal Commission.
There are three other Royal Commissioners.
- Ms Barbara Bennett PSM
- The Hon Roslyn Atkinson AO
- John Ryan
Keeping updated about the Royal Commission
You can keep updated on social media or by going to the Disability Royal Commission websites.
They are at:
• dss.gov.au/DisabilityRoyalCommission
• ag.gov.au/DisabilityRoyalCommission
There is also an official Facebook page here.
https://www.facebook.com/disability.royalcommission.gov.au/
There is an official Twitter account here.
@DRC_Au
You can also keep updated at the Facebook page for the Disability Royal Commission Action Group (run by members of the disability community and not associated with the Royal Commission:
https://www.facebook.com/DisabilityRoyalCommission/
You can also contact the temporary hotline number on 1800 880 052 Monday to Friday from 9am to 7pm AEST.
If you are currently experiencing any form of violence or abuse, or are concerned for your safety, call 000 or contact Police.