The National Disability Strategy 2021-2031 was released last week to coincide with the International Day of People with Disability.
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While Tasmania has the highest rate of disability in Australia - one in four Tasmanians live with a disability - advocates have queried the strength of the state's commitment to implementing the strategy's recommendations.
Developed after extensive consultation with people with a disability and the sector, the National Disability Strategy 2021-2031 defined its vision as "an inclusive Australian society that ensures people with disability can fulfill their potential, as equal members of the community".
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The strategy was developed in line with Australia's commitments under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and identified seven different outcome areas that are integral to protecting, promoting, and realising the human rights of people with disability.
Seven areas were identified by people with disability as needing to improve to achieve the strategy's vision; employment and financial security, inclusive homes and communities, safety, rights and justice, personal and community support, education and learning, health and wellbeing and community attitudes.
Disability Voices Tasmania chairperson Michael Small welcomed the strategy and his state's overall commitment to it as a signatory.
"We are pleased that Tasmania has made this contribution, we are really pleased that throughout the strategy the key concept is one of inclusion and the rights of people with a disability to exercise their citizen rights fully," he said.
"It's a really important set of principles and expectations that reflect the community's desire to ensure that people with a disability are seen, welcomed and participators as equal citizens."
Mr Small's sentiments were echoed by Tasmanian disability advocate and consultant Jane Wardlaw who said she was pleased to see independence and self-determination as focuses of the strategy.
"I think it's a great step in the right direction, we've been waiting for this strategy for quite some time and I really like all of the outcome areas," Ms Wardlaw said.
In addition to the overall strategy, five targeted action plans were developed to ensure that extra commitments were made by state governments in areas that needed significant improvement.
Mr Small said the targeted action plans were the "guts" of the strategy and where he felt the most work could be done.
"The actions plans are where we find statements from both the Commonwealth and every state and territory about what they're going to do around that action area.
"I have to say, from our early assessment this is the crux of the issue, this is where the real potential for growth and development and opportunities for people with a disability comes out.
"And from my initial assessment of Tasmania's actions in the action areas, I have to say that from Disability Voices Tasmania's point of view, we think the material that is there is a beginning and does not yet get near the opportunities that we hope we can work with government on."
Mr Small said that while other states had developed clear targets and goals in line with the action plan objectives, Tasmania had largely committed to maintaining existing strategies.
Mr Small said as an example, in the action area of employment, NSW had committed to double the proportion of people with disability employed in the NSW public service by 2025, while Tasmania committed to finalising reviews on current policies.
"So we've got one state that is saying that its actions amount to reviewing existing legislation or existing activities, and we have other states that appear to be putting forward very practical and very measurable actions that could benefit people with a disability in a huge way," Mr Small said.
"At the moment, my reading of Tasmania's contributions is that [the state has been making] very valuable commitments to continuing stuff that they have been doing, but there's little that I can see there that is new.
"Disability Voices Tasmania would love to sit down with the government and work through some additional actions and strategies that can really get to grips with these targeted action areas."