Ms ADDISON (Wendouree) (18:50): I too rise to speak in support of the Disability Amendment Bill 2022, which will improve services, safeguards and protections for people with disability and will further acquit this government’s commitment to reviewing and reforming the Disability Act 2006.

Like many others on the Labor side, I too would like to acknowledge the carers. Often carers work goes unrecognised. I want to acknowledge and thank them for the work that they do.

I also wish to thank all the workers and the Health and Community Services Union members in the disability sector across my electorate for the outstanding work they do, including allied health professionals, teachers and aides, bus drivers, cleaners, personal care assistants and human services providers. It can be challenging and incredibly rewarding work.

I know from firsthand experience the significance it makes to people with disability having people in their lives who care for them. It makes such a difference.

My mum, Trudie Dickinson, is a physiotherapist who worked for decades in disability in Ballarat at organisations including the Spastic Society of Victoria, now Scope, at Pennyweight Park and Pinarc. Mum was passionate about providing early intervention, treatment and support for children with disability across the region. She was also a board member of McCallum Disability Services and the Ballarat Base Hospital.

Growing up with a mum who was passionate about disability as a role model has had a profound impact on how I view disability and Victorians with a disability. It is important for me as a member of this place to be a strong advocate for and work to promote the needs of Victorians with disability, improving access and inclusivity to education, public services and facilities across our community.

I am so pleased that that Minister for Disability, Ageing and Carers is in the chamber while I deliver this speech. I wish to thank him, his ministerial office and the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing for the good work they have done to bring this bill to the house. I want to thank them for their extensive consultation that has occurred throughout the drafting of this bill.

Equally, my thanks go to all the stakeholders and community members who have taken part. I know that interest has been strong, reflecting the importance of disability services for many Victorians. The reforms in this bill have been informed by public consultation conducted via Engage Victoria as well as targeted consultation across the sector, including with key bodies and government agencies. The department has also been advised by the Disability Act review advisory group, a diverse and experienced collective chaired by former disability discrimination commissioner Graeme Innes AM.

Our government promised to protect and promote the rights of people living with disability in Victoria, and it is what this bill delivers by bolstering residential protections for Victorians in disability accommodation and reinforcing the quality and safety of disability services. These reforms are enacted primarily by amending the Disability Act 2006, with additional amendments to the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 and the Disability Service Safeguards Act 2018.

Changes to the Disability Act align and reduce duplication of restrictive practices, which means we will be improving the consistent application of requirements across both disability service providers and registered NDIS providers. The role of the Victorian senior practitioner is also updated to include promoting the reduction and elimination of restrictive practices. These changes will further align the act with the national framework, as regulating restrictive practices is a shared responsibility of both the state and the commonwealth.

Rights of a person subject to compulsory treatment are also reinforced. This bill addresses gaps in legislation by strengthening clinical oversight of the residential treatment facility admissions criteria as well as confirming its continued application beyond admission. Information, including treatment plans, is explicitly required to be provided in an understandable and accessible format. Further, processes around obtaining and explaining supervised treatment orders are also to be improved.

The bill also looks at community visitors. By empowering the minister to declare additional categories of disability accommodation beyond those captured by the act, the bill allows community visitors access to a wider number of residential services. Community visitors are volunteers appointed to inspect the quality of these services by observing conditions, making inquiries, communicating with residents and identifying concerns. They provide an important safeguard for the rights of people with disability. This bill will further clarify and support their role.

These sorts of clarifications can make a real and significant difference in service provision. By making improvements to the outdated information-sharing arrangements the provisions of collaborative support for complex clients will be enhanced. It streamlines oversight by dissolving the Disability Services Board, an entity whose role has been substantially reduced since the introduction of the NDIS, as well as better defining the role of the department secretary.

Further amendments to the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 ensure that Victorians living in specialist disability accommodation remain covered by the appropriate residential rights, while amendments to the Disability Service Safeguards Act 2018 remove the duplicate requirement for disability workers seeking voluntary registration to obtain a police check when they already hold an NDIS worker clearance. These reforms will safeguard the rights of residents while also removing barriers for aspiring disability workers, increasing services and amplifying benefits for the community. These amendments will address gaps in residential protections, strengthening quality and safeguards for people with a disability.

Our government is determined to make Victoria a more inclusive and accessible state, and I am proud to be a member of the Legislative Assembly Economy and Infrastructure Committee, which has held two significant inquiries that have made important findings and recommendations to support Victorians with a disability.

The first one, which the member for Sandringham was a part of the committee for, was an inquiry into sustainable employment for disadvantaged jobseekers. That was tabled in this place in August 2020. The second one was an inquiry into access to TAFE for learners with a disability, which we tabled in September 2021.

Victoria has also established a new Victorian Disability Advisory Council and launched a new Inclusive Victoria: State Disability Plan 2022–2026. This plan is about making things fairer for people with a disability. The plan outlines what government departments are doing to build a fairer community for everyone.

One example of this is the inclusive playground for all children at Victoria Park in the heart of my electorate. It is a place where children and adults of all abilities can play, socialise and connect.

In June this year I was delighted to announce a grant of $186 000 from our government to develop a new sensory-friendly play zone at Ballarat’s Victoria Park inclusive play space. It will be built in partnership with the City of Ballarat, which is contributing $124 000. I wish to acknowledge the strong advocacy of Rebecca Paton and the City of Ballarat’s Disability Advisory Committee, who worked so hard to establish the Victoria Park inclusive play space in 2016.

I am also proud that we are supporting students with a disability in my community and across the state. In the November 2020 budget we announced that the Ballarat Specialist School would receive $10 million to upgrade and modernise the school, including providing additional permanent buildings.

The Ballarat Specialist School provides exceptional education for students from kinder to year 12. Families from around the region have moved to Ballarat to be a part of this nurturing school community. I thank the amazing teachers and support staff for the extraordinary job they do, from supporting the littlest learners at the specialist school kinder to our school leavers at the farm campus in Invermay Park.

The $10 million funding announcement means that the school’s infrastructure will become fitting for the outstanding teaching and learning happening at our Ballarat Specialist School.

Further, in September 2021 the Andrews Labor government announced $1.3 million of Building Blocks grants capacity funding for the Ballarat specialist kinder, which is a part of the Ballarat Specialist School in my electorate. The Ballarat specialist kinder program specialises in students with additional needs. This funding will enable the Ballarat Specialist School kinder to increase the three-year-old program from 2½ hours to 15 hours per week, and it will provide an immense benefit to the local community.

This is an important bill. It is emblematic of what this government stands for: being inclusive, being fair and making Victoria an even better place to live. I am proud to support it, and I commend the bill to the house.

 

Watch and read more of my speeches to Parliament here, including responses from ministers on how we’re working for Wendouree.

You can also view videos from Parliament, browse Hansard transcripts, learn about bills and legislation, and much more at the Parliament of Victoria’s website.