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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 1 Hansard (20 February) . . Page.. 206 ..

MS TUCKER (continuing):

last 10 years there have been dramatic changes in how people with a disability are regarded. We have moved from the days when discrimination against people with a disability was the norm; when people were confined to institutions or within private homes and rarely given the opportunity to participate equally in the community. We now have in place Federal, Territory and State legislation whose objectives are to eliminate discrimination and to promote recognition and acceptance within the community of the principle that persons with disabilities have the same fundamental rights as the rest of the community.

Obviously, for such worthy goals to become a reality, Mr Speaker, there must be appropriate resources, policies and services in place. The Commonwealth/Territory Disability Agreement, known as the CSDA, attempts to introduce a national approach to disability services and also to coordinate the contributions of State, Territory and Federal governments. The CSDA was also instrumental in ensuring all States and Territories passed legislation in accordance with the objectives of the Commonwealth Disability Services Act 1986. The first CSDA was for five years and has recently been reviewed by Professor Anna Yeatman, who has produced a report entitled Getting Real. The committee has agreed for the most part in its report with Professor Yeatman's evaluation of the present CSDA.

Under this CSDA there have indeed been some significant improvements in outcomes for people with disabilities. The passing of the ACT Disability Services Act in 1991 has established the basic rights of people with disabilities and has provided a basis for policy development and purchasing of disability services by the ACT Government. There is concern, however, that the spirit of this legislation has not always been reflected in practice or resource allocation.

Our own inquiry was very valuable because it gave the ACT community a further opportunity to express their views about the local implications and consequences of the CSDA. The terms of reference included looking at gaps in service which had emerged during the CSDA, overlap or duplication, and the impact of the agreement on outcomes of ACT people with disabilities in terms of employment, support services, education services and funding. Mr Speaker, the inquiry turned out to be a pressure valve for many people with disabilities, advocates, workers and carers and parents who have become deeply frustrated by inadequate services and the lack of effective complaints mechanisms and transparent processes. The committee referred some of these people to the Health Complaints Commissioner, as it was not our brief to deal with such individual complaints. However, their submissions were valuable to the committee as they highlighted the systemic problems.

The committee found that there has been unmet need in important areas of service provision, particularly in linkages between employment and accommodation support, recreation, respite care, after-school care and holiday programs for children under and over 12 years. Quality assurance mechanisms are lacking, as is structured consumer input. There are also some serious occupational health and safety concerns for carers. This is clearly documented in the incidents report which came with the submission of the Health Services Union. There was an alarming number of injuries sustained by workers in the disability program of ACT Community Care. While this is only one service provider, it is alarming as it indicates the real challenges that some carers face in this work.

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