After months of waiting, the Commonwealth, states and territories finally announced their responses to the Disability Royal Commission (DRC). Minister Palmer said, “Consultation and co-design with the Tasmania community is our priority in responding to the DRC recommendations”. The Tasmanian Government accepts 15 recommendations, accepts in principle 88 recommendations, needs to give further consideration to 24 recommendations and noted 95 recommendations.  

The Minister acknowledged the Tasmanian Disability, Inclusion and Safeguards Bill as the vehicle for enabling many of the recommendations. This includes strengthening disability rights protections to be consistent with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability (UNCRPD) and creating a consistent Community Visitors Scheme.  

We were disappointed, however, to see the Government only accept in principle the recommendation to strengthen government policies on disability employment procurement. They could have easily housed the recommendation in the Tasmania Positive (the state’s sustainability framework) and the Wellbeing framework, both of which they are drafting now. That would have ensured that the Government faced its responsibility to create employment for people with disability while spending tax-payers' dollars in a socially responsible manner.   

On 15 August, just a week after the response to the DRC recommendations were released, the Disability Inclusion and Safeguarding Bill 2024 had its second reading. To ensure they understood our position on the bill, NDS worked closely with numerous MPs in the lead up. Although there was widespread support for the Bill, we had some robust discussions on possible amendments.  

On 14 August, the Industry Skills Compact action plan was signed between NDS and the Tasmania State Government. It signified a strong partnership focused on the future of the disability sector through workforce development, skills and training. We hope the action plan will translate our  workforce budget request for 2024–25 into commitments come September when the budget is announced.

NDS in Tasmania continues to engage with the state government on the design of foundational supports. We are also in national discussions on early childhood foundational supports. It is now widely acknowledged that the first stages of the foundation support strategy will be in early childhood. Please contact me if you would like to know more or if you are keen to contribute to this work.   

Thank you very much to members who gave feedback on the Disability Services Medication Management Framework. The state government has acknowledged our submission, and will soon organise another chance to discuss how they will respond to submissions.  

Upcoming events 

The NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission is running a consultation on regulation for in-home and accommodation supports on Thursday 29 August in Hobart. To help shape the system you operate in, accommodation providers should attend.  

The Department of Social Services and Tasmanian State Government are hosting Tasmania’s Australia’s Disability Strategy (ADS) Forum 2024, entitled Your Say, Your Way. The ADS's goal is to shape policies and practices that improve disability inclusion and accessibility nationwide. 

And it’s not too late to register for the emergency scenario workshop in North and North-West Tasmania, to be held in Launceston on Wednesday 25 September. Similar to the event recently held in Hobart, the workshop will test your emergency response plan with live scenarios overseen by emergency services. Michelle Villeneuve, Deputy Director at the University of Sydney Impact Centre for Disability Research and Policy and who leads the Collaborating4inclusion, will be helping to run the session.