Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Website

Disability Rights update: June 2006

Other recent editions: April 2006 | February 2006; October 2005; August 2005; June 2005; April 2005; March 2005 . Material from older editions is incorporated in HREOC's annual reports available online.

About this update

This Update from Disability Discrimination Commissioner Graeme Innes is a slightly edited version of his regular disability rights project report for meetings of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission. It is published as close as possible to Commission meetings, which are generally held 6 to 8 weeks apart. Events are notified first in the What s New section of the Disability Rights home page, so check there if you want to keep fully up to date.

You can subscribe to our email list to be notified when new editions of this update are issued and when other major developments occur, by sending a blank message to join-drupdate@list.humanrights.gov.au

Your comments on any project or issue are welcome, preferably sent by e-mail. Contact us at: disabdis@humanrights.gov.au , or by mail to Disability Rights Unit, Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, GPO Box 5218, Sydney NSW 1042.

Employment Inquiry

I have written to and met with the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, Kevin Andrews to secure government support for the further work of the Inquiry and implementation of recommendations made in the final report Workability II: Solutions . I will also be meeting shortly with the Minister for Workforce Participation, Dr Sharman Stone.

Key collaborative working links with DEWR, established during the term of the Inquiry last year, have also recommenced. DEWR is keen to continue the working relationship and to discuss practical achievable objectives to further the recommendations of the Inquiry.

With regards to the employment of people in the disability in the public sector, a meeting has been held with the Public Service Commissioner, Lynelle Briggs and links have been established with the APSC. The Management Advisory Committee's 'Review into the Employment of People with Disability in the APS' is also nearing completion (the MAC is a group of 19 Secretaries across the APS who are responsible for advising the Australian Government on matters relating to the management of the Australian Public Service). HREOC was told that the MAC Committee relied extensively on the work of the HREOC Employment and Disability Inquiry. It is expected that the Committee will sign off this report in late June 2006. We intend to work closely with the Australian Public Service Commission once the report is released to address barriers in both the public and private sectors and improve employment of people with disability.

The Employment and Disability Inquiry also noted that one of the main impediments to the employment of people with disability lies in employer concerns about increased exposure to legal and financial risks related to occupational health and safety, disability discrimination and unfair dismissal laws. In April, the Department of Workplace Relations announced a review of the Occupational Health and Safety (Commonwealth Employment) Act 1991. A submission was prepared for this review highlighting the concerns and recommendations outlined in both the interim and final reports of the Inquiry.

Access to Premises

The Attorney-General has asked for advice on proposals for the Premises Standard and we will be providing this shortly.

Productivity Commission review of the DDA

Discussions are continuing on progressing the Government's decision to provide additional mechanisms for recognition of co-regulatory arrangements under the DDA. I anticipate further details shortly of implementation measures in other areas of the review of the DDA.

Health access

I have been working with representatives from a number of disability advocacy organisations on a project aimed at improving the availability of height-adjustable examination beds. A proposal from the disability sector will be finalised in the near future following discussions with the Department of Health and the Royal College of General Practitioners.

I will be meeting with Minister Abbott in early June to discuss a number of health access issues and to brief him on the range of concerns raised by the disability community in Forums held last year.

Copyright and information access

In my last report I advised that I had written to the Attorney to recommend that amendments to the Copyright Act to permit practices of format shifting, already widespread among consumers in such areas as copying CDs to MP3 players, should extend to remove restrictions on translating materials into formats accessible for people with disabilities.

It is very pleasing to note that the Attorney acted swiftly to accept this approach, as indicated in his press release of Sunday 14 May and welcomed in mine the following day. I also indicated in that release that further measures are needed to secure truly equal information access for people with print disabilities. As indicated in a paper I gave to the Round Table on Information Access for People with a Print Disability last month, I hope to pursue discussions with industry and government of possibilities for expansion by publishers of direct access to copyright material in accessible formats through a central repository or network as is now available in the United States .

Telecommunications

I met with the Australian Communications Industry Forum (ACIF) late in May to discuss issues in ensuring that guidelines being developed by ACIF on accessibility of mobile phones - which in principle have great potential to advance practical outcomes on this issue - are appropriate both in substance and in the approach taken to consultation in their finalisation.

Web Accessibility

As discussed in my last report, the WorldWide Web Consortium is presently revising its Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, Version 1.0 of which are referred to (as the accepted international benchmark) in the Commission's Web Accessibility Advisory Notes which seek to provide guidance on the level of accessibility required for compliance with the DDA.

I am close to finalising a submission to the W3C indicating concerns regarding our ability to give similar endorsement to proposed version 2.0 of the Guidelines both in terms of content and the process of consultation adopted to date (there being of course considerable expertise within HREOC on both sets of matters in relation to disability issues).

Pending implementation of the Government's decisions last year in response to the Productivity Commission's review of the DDA, the Commission does not yet have any power of formal certification of codes such as this for the purposes of compliance with Australian law, which would fairly obviously add weight to our views on issues such as this with standard setting bodies. I hope nonetheless our views may have some weight. I intend to copy our submission to regulatory bodies internationally which do have more fully fledged authority, so that they might use the authority which we presently lack in improving access outcomes for people with disabilities.

Accessible electronic financial services

I am continuing to work with the Australian Bankers' Association on access issues raised by the move towards improved authentication and security systems.

I expect to be involved in an ABA Working Group looking at this issue along with representatives from the disability sector.

Electoral access

I have been discussing further with responsible Ministers possibilities for ensuring that forthcoming trials of electronic voting include a specific focus on disability access issues, in view of the potential for technology in this area to make possible access to secret ballots for people with disabilities, in particular with a vision impairment.

Transport issues

Discussions are continuing on the Australian Railways Association application for exemptions in relation to the Disability Standards for Accessible Public Transport.

I have been approached by a number of Local Government Authorities and a consortium of Queensland organisations to comment on my interpretation of the application to bus stops of the Disability Standards for Accessible Public Transport . Drafting work is nearly complete and I intend to make my response available through the Commission's website.

Recent meetings / speeches / media

Commissioner Innes except where otherwise indicated

3 April: Speak to senior executives FACS re Disability Awareness, Adelaide
6 April: ARA Exemption Consultation
12 April: Speaker at Professional Development Day/Disability Education Assoc of NSW/ACT
12 April: Meeting with Suzanne Colbert/CEO Aust Employers Network on Disability
27 April: Launch MEA Guide at MEA Conference Gold Coast
4 May: Meeting with Barry Sandison, DEWR re Employment Inquiry
4 May: Meeting with Serena Wilson/PM&C
4 May: Meeting with Lynelle Briggs/APS Commissioner re Employment Inquiry
4 May: Presentation to Local Government on Accessible Footpaths (Mr Small)
9 May: Interview and filming for TAFE Disability Programs Unit DVD
10 May: Mtg Local Government and Shires Association (Mr Small)
11 May: Meeting with Alastair McEwin and Heidi Forest PWD Australia
16 May: Keynote at Dept Education & Training Professional Development Workshop Melbourne
16 May: Meet with Minister Hulls advisors in Melbourne re Access to Premises
16 May: Meeting with Fiona Smith at EOCV
16 May: Meeting with Nadia Mattiazo CEO Blind Citizens Aust in Melbourne
17 May: Keynote at DACV/EOCV/HREOC Forum Disability Action Plans
17 May: Mtg Australian Institute of Building Surveyors (Mr Small)
18 May: Interview Radio 2SER re copyright amendments
18 May: Mtg with Canadian Human Rights Commission Chief Commissioner (Cmr Innes, Mr Small)
20 May: Open 4th National Deafness Sector Summit , Perth
21 May: Interviews: Channels 7, 9, 10, ABC and Perth WA re taxi incident
22 May: Presentation at Round Table Information Access Conference
22 May: Meeting with John Mayo & others Spinal Injuries Assoc Brisbane
23 May: Interview Discrimination Alert re taxi incident, Perth
24 May Interview radio RPH Adelaide re copyright amendments
25 May: Meet with Minister Andrews re Employment Inquiry
25 May: Senate Estimates
31 May: National forum on aviation accessibility (Mr Mason)

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