Jesuit Social Services welcomes the opportunity to respond to the Attorney General Department’s Review of the Disability Discrimination Act.
This submission focuses on the experiences of our participants with disability who have contact with the criminal justice system. The discrimination our participants face occurs in the context of their engagement with government systems and institutions. This often leads to compounding harms and entrenchment in the criminal justice system. We therefore argue that reform to the Act must ensure that it better addresses indirect discrimination, in particular systemic issues in government systems, programs and policies.
The submission recommends that any definition of disability in the Act should take into consideration the inconsistencies across different laws and systems and the challenges that this may give rise to, and that the Government should work with these systems to ensure that the protections afforded by the Act can meaningfully be upheld and protected by the systems that come under its remit.
It recommends that to address indirect discriminatory effects, the Act should define positive duties that require systems and services to ensure that the requirements made of individuals in applying for services are suited to their needs and can reasonably be met by them given their potential disability and circumstances.
It further recommends that the Australian Human Rights Commission or another appropriate body be given powers and responsibilities to oversee compliance with the Act and investigate systemic and individual breaches of it, and that the Government should provide education, training and support materials to educate Government systems, services and justice system staff on their positive duties to prevent indirect and direct discrimination against people with disability and on how to respond to people with disability.
