Advocacy for Inclusion (AFI) welcomes the opportunity to provide feedback to the 2022-23 ACT Budget. Our recommendations focus on upholding the human rights of people with disabilities in all areas of the community. We are hoping to see improvement of outcomes in the wellbeing domains of human rights, equity in education, access and equity and health.
Priority One: Funding of National Preventative Mechanisms to carry out OPCAT functions.
Investment supports improvements in the Wellbeing Domain for Human Rights
Priority Two: Begin transition to inclusive education model by increasing disability loading funding and implement universal design for learning in all schools.
Investment supports improvements in the Wellbeing Domain for Educations
Priority Three: Implementing recommendations made to the Healthy Prisons Review of the Alexander Maconochie Centre and to meet aspirations in Pillar 4 of R25 by 25 on recidivism.
Investment supports improvements in the Wellbeing Domains for Health and Human Rights
Priority Four: Funding key priorities for the meaningful realisation of the ACT Disability Strategy.
Investment supports improvements in the Wellbeing Domains for all the domains including Access and Equity
ASKS AT A GLANCE:
Adequate funding of National Preventative Measure bodies so they can carry out a preventative function against human rights abuses and meet our OPCAT obligations.
Funding to increase the disability loading for students and work to ensure universal design access to school premises and curricula
Funding to implement the Disability Justice Strategy and related priorities including: – Funding to implement AMC Healthy Prisons Review recommendations including implementing universal design in ACT correctional facilities and more timely access to functional assessments – Funding to implement recommendations from pillar 4 of the R25 by 25 Recidivism Strategy including transitional services to support correctional detainees with disability re-enter the community, the transitional centre and to implement the promised ACT Corrections Disability Framework.
Funding to implement the ACT Disability Strategy including adequate funding for DPO’s and the ACT Office for Disability to deliver and monitor the Strategy with: – multi year funding for the ACT Disability Health Strategy;
Funding for affordable accessible and visitable social and public housing;
Funding to ensure the new ACT Planning System supports adequate planning for people with disability in new built infrastructure; – continued funding to address gaps in supports under NDIS;
Funding for community transport, removal of caps on the ACT Taxi Subsidy Scheme and funding for ongoing access improvements to mass transit
Funding for a rolling program of stocktake, audits and accessibility improvements to spaces, places, community facilities and urban infrastructure in the ACT guided by lived experience
Ongoing funding, including disaster contingency, to support service continuity, public health measure implementation, social inclusion and information to people with disabilities impacted by COVID19