Join the fight to end violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation of people with disability by engaging with the Disability Royal Commission.

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First Nations people with disability

In June 2020 the Disability Royal Commission released an issues paper asking for information about the experiences of First Nations people with disability.

In November 2020, public hearing 8 looked into experiences of First Nations people with disability and their families who have had contact with child protection systems, and the lack of culturally appropriate and accessible supports for them. In September 2021, public hearing 16 looked more specifically at the experiences of First Nations children with disability in out-of-home care, especially in the Northern Territory and Western Australia. There was also a First Nations focus in some of the criminal justice system hearings.

You may also wish to look up some of the language used in these hearings in our Jargon Buster, particularly Child Protection terms.


Both child protection hearings centred the first-hand experiences of First Nations people with disability. The Commission alternated between interviewing people with disability (and the carers of children with disability) and questioning witnesses representing state and territory departments responsible for child protection systems. We also heard from some First Nations community controlled organisations and academic experts.

You can find transcripts, video with Auslan interpretation and various documents mentioned in the hearings on the DRC website pages for Hearing 8 and Hearing 16.

You can also check out our commentary in the twitter threads for both hearings:

Hearing 8: MondayTuesdayWednesdayThursday and Friday.

Hearing 16: Friday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and the second Friday.

From 11-15 July 2022, Public hearing 25 heard about the experiences of First Nations people with disability living in remote and very remote communities with the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). Transcripts and video should be up soon.

Our live twitter commentary or hearing 25:  MondayTuesdayWednesdayThursday and Friday.

We’ve featured several First Nations people with disability in our ongoing Our Voice blog series:

The Stolen Generation And The Disability Royal Commission, an interview with Lisa Zammit, CEO of Connecting Home.

“First Nations People With Disability And The Criminal Justice System” – Part 1 and Part 2

Facts, links and numbers

Remote communities and the NDIS

Out of more than 66,000 First Nations people in Australia who need a lot of disability support, about 11 per cent live in remote or very remote areas.

When First Nations people in remote or very remote locations have NDIS plans, they get more funding than average, but have less opportunity to use it.

Many people report that the NDIA doesn’t understand their local communities, and they have trouble understanding the NDIS.

Sources:

First Nations children and families:

First Nations children represent 37% of the total population of all children that have been removed from their parents, even though they make up only 6% of all children in Australia.

Without urgent action, the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in out-of-home care is projected to double by 2029.

81% of First Nations children in out-of-home care are living permanently away from their birth parents until the age of 18 years.

In 2018-19, there were 19 adoptions of First Nations children. Of these, 95% have been to non-Indigenous carers, all in New South Wales and Victoria.

Source: https://www.familymatters.org.au/

Human Rights

Australia has signed the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), but is significantly behind on implementing its requirements. Think about the stories you’ve heard during these hearings from First Nations families and children with disability, and read Article 23 – Respect for home and the family.

“States Parties shall render appropriate assistance to persons with disabilities in the performance of their child-rearing responsibilities.”

“States Parties shall undertake to provide early and comprehensive information, services and support to children with disabilities and their families.”

“States Parties shall ensure that a child shall not be separated from his or her parents against their will, except when competent authorities subject to judicial review determine, in accordance with applicable law and procedures, that such separation is necessary for the best interests of the child. In no case shall a child be separated from parents on the basis of a disability of either the child or one or both of the parents.

States Parties shall, where the immediate family is unable to care for a child with disabilities, undertake every effort to provide alternative care within the wider family, and failing that, within the community in a family setting.”

The Western Australian government has even created neat educational booklets to teach children about their rights. But it seems that respecting those rights in practice, especially when it might cost money, is still a work in progress.

Past inquiries

A number of recent investigations into child protection systems have made relevant findings and recommendations on this topic. A few examples:

Other Resources:

First Peoples Disability Network (FPDN) put out a media release on hearing 8 which can be found here.

The Family Matters Report 2020 looks at the disproportionate removal of First Nations children from the care of their parents.

Kelly Thompson, a witness from Hearing 16, is the author of a report on the general principles of secure care for children at risk of harming themselves or another person. You can download the report here.

SNAICC (Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care) have done a guide to Understanding and applying the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle. You can find out more about SNAICC here.

QATSICPP are the peak body representing, advocating for and supporting the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child protection and family support services sector in Queensland. You can find out more about them here.

AbSec is a not-for-profit incorporated Aboriginal controlled organisation and the NSW Aboriginal child and family peak organisation. You can find out more about them here.

Hearing 16 included witnesses from community-controlled legal services like North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA) and Aboriginal Legal Service of Western Australia.

The Healing Foundation is a national Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisation that partners with communities to address the ongoing trauma caused by actions like the forced removal of children from their families. You can find out more about them here.

For more background, you can have a look at the Bringing Them Home Report from the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from Their Families.

The Royal Commission has published a commissioned research report that examines the experiences of family and domestic violence for First Nations women and children with disability.

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