The ACT Disability Directed Advocacy Caucus, has made a joint submission outlining our shared investment priorities for the ACT. Government Budget for 2026/27. In our submission, we outline five shared investment priorities to address critical gaps, support the delivery of election commitments and ensure that disability reforms in the ACT, our effective, inclusive and sustainable.
Our priorities include:
Priority 1: education funding reform for an inclusive system, in which we seek a substantial increase to the loading for students, additional resources for LSAs, funding infrastructure, administered positions and to address labour market supply issues
Priority 2 health, responding to complex needs and systemic gaps in which we seek funding to improve the circumstances of long stay patients that the university of Canberra rehabilitation hospital, urgent rectification work at North Canberra Hospital, training in the social model of disability and disability liaison roles as well as funding to support the involvement of people with disability in health reform processes. We also seek funding to ensure there is at least one fully accessible non hospital multi modal screening option in the act.
Priority 3 is housing and planning reforms, in which we seek funding for a capital improvement fund to facilitate fast tracked housing mods, a dedicated housing advocate position to sit within AFI and a community led housing research project.
Priority 4 is infrastructure access and transport in which we seek funding to community councils and DPO’s to enable improved engagement with neighbourhood voice organisations, increased resourcing for new transport digital platforms and to improve the on demand transport experience
Priority 5 seeks funding to deliver the ACT Disability Strategy and election commitments and build sector capability to support reform. This also includes resourcing the policy advisory groups operated by WWDACT at a cost of $32,000 over 2 years ($16,000 per annum) and $150,000 to ACT Down Syndrome and Intellectual Disability to support their Advocacy Reference Group and their systemic advocacy capability. We also seek funding of $74,000 to resource the ACT Disability Caucus through a dedicated three-days-per-week position, based at AFI, to support ongoing coordination and provide an efficient, consistent point of engagement with government.