Australian Human Rights Commission Submission to the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities – 25 July 2019 active engagement of people with disability and their representative organisations in policy development, implementation and monitoring activities relating to the CRPD. Recommendation 5: The Australian Government ensure adequate, secure and long-term funding for independent and systemic representation and advocacy in all matters relevant to the CRPD, including through the National Disability Advocacy Program. 3.3 National Disability Strategy (LOI 3) 17. The Commission welcomes the commitment by the Australian Government to develop a new NDS for 2020 and beyond (new NDS) and notes the enhanced role of the NDA suggested by the Australian Productivity Commission. 18. The Commission continues to be concerned by the slow progress in implementing the current NDS and the lack of data concerning implementation. A lack of dedicated resources and programs has hampered the implementation and effective monitoring of the actions in the NDS. 19. The third and final implementation plan of the current NDS has not yet been released. This should be finalised and released as a matter of high priority, to inform the development of the next iteration of the NDS. 20. The Australian Productivity Commission undertook a review of the NDA, with the final Study Report released on 1 February 2019. The NDA is a high-level policy and funding agreement between the Commonwealth and State and Territory governments relating to the provision of disability services across Australia. The Productivity Commission recommended a new NDA to explicitly articulate how Governments intended to fulfil commitments under the CRPD.11 The Productivity Commission recommended that the NDS continue to articulate policy actions, with these actions linked to the new NDA’s outcomes. 21. The Productivity Commission also recommended that the NDA and NDS be subject of a single, person-centred, national performance reporting agreement, with performance indicators and targets.12 This would also be supplemented by a commitment to undertake policy and program evaluation.13 It further recommended that a ‘National Disability Report’ be tabled in Parliament every two years, which would analyse the progress made towards the NDA’s outcomes.14 7