Australian Human Rights Commission
Submission to the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities – 25 July 2019
58.
The Commission welcomes the Australian Government’s support of
training programs at the Commonwealth, State and Territory level
recognising the legal capacity of people with disability on an equal basis
with others.49 However, the training will only be effective alongside laws
and policies that recognise the legal capacity of people with disability on
an equal basis as others.
Recommendation 26: The Australian Government implement a nationally
consistent supported decision-making framework, as recommended in the
Australian Law Reform Commission’s 2014 report Equality, Capacity and
Disability in Commonwealth Laws.
4.8
Access to justice (CRPD art 13, CO 37–30)
(a)
Indefinite detention of persons with disability assessed as unfit for
trial (LOI 14)
59.
The Commission welcomes the work of the AIHW to gather data on the
number of people with disability in Australia’s prison system and to work
with states and territories to improve data collection. However, this work
is limited to prisons and does not extend to gathering data, disaggregated
by disability, throughout all stages of the criminal justice system, including
contact with law enforcement, courts and post-release.
Recommendation 27: The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare extend
its data collection to all stages of the criminal justice system and continue
to work with states and territories to improve data collection to allow for
disaggregation by disability, age, gender, location and ethnicity.
(b)
Other measures to ensure access to justice (LOI 15)
60.
People with disability, particularly Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
peoples with disability, are overrepresented in the criminal justice system
in Australia.50 This includes children with disability, who are similarly
overrepresented in the juvenile justice system, particularly children with
intellectual disabilities or psychosocial disabilities.51 Children with Fetal
Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) are particularly prevalent in the juvenile
justice system.52
61.
The Commission’s research has found that necessary procedural
accommodation for people with disability is frequently not provided in the
justice system.53 It also found that negative attitudes and a lack of
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