You did it! Thank you to everyone who took part in this campaign.
Let’s take a moment to celebrate a win. After a long campaign by the disability community, the government has finally changed the Royal Commissions Act 1912 to make sure anyone telling their story to the Disability Royal Commission can have their privacy protected.
Before these changes, the law said that confidential submissions could be accessed through Freedom of Information requests after the Royal Commission ends in September 2023. Now, people with disability can share our stories of violence, abuse, neglect, and exploitation and be certain that only the Royal Commission will see them, if that is what we want.
Many people have not yet told their story to the Royal Commission because they were concerned about things like:
- Perpetrators retaliating against someone for talking about the abuse
- Being sued for saying bad things about a service provider
- Family members finding out what happened and reacting badly
Now that the law has been changed, anyone who has concerns like that can ask for their submission, or part of their submission, to be made fully confidential. For more detail on what this means, or if you have any other legal questions about the Disability Royal Commission, you can get free legal advice from Your Story.
Find out more about how to make a submission to the Disability Royal Commission.
Do you need more support to tell your story? PWDA advocates and the counsellors at Blue Knot can help. An advocate can help you put your submission document together or support you as you tell your story in a private session or a public hearing. We can also help you with related issues, like changing service providers or applying for government assistance.
