Breaking the silence

Meg: As well as investigating complaints, the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) plays an important role in raising awareness in Australia of human rights. How do you intend to do that as a new Commissioner?

Ben: I hope to change societal attitudes toward people with disability in Australia over the long-term. An aspect of the societal values that needs to be changed is an appreciation of human rights. But, perhaps more importantly, there is a need to emphasise the benefits of diversity and inclusion.

As Disability Discrimination Commissioner, my role is to raise awareness of human rights by giving speeches and presentations; using social media platforms; attending conferences and meetings; participating in government and non-government taskforces; meeting with government representatives, disabled persons organisations and people with disability and representing the Australian Human Rights Commission in domestic and international forums.

An appreciation of human rights ensures all Australians are included in society and treated with dignity and respect both now and in the future. However, as Australia does not have a Human Rights Act, many of the underlying principles are found in other laws like anti-discrimination laws.

A critical aspect of my role as Disability Discrimination Commissioner is to listen to the concerns of people with disability who may have difficulty articulating why they are having challenges with certain issues.

As Commissioner, I intend to consult broadly and try and work collaboratively. On occasion, I will need to be forthright and outspoken but the most important outcome is we have good disability policy going forward. Raising community awareness through social media (especially among young people) is a critical aspect of the role.

Meg: Unfortunately, disability discrimination complaints make up the largest category of complaints before the AHRC. Why do you think that is the case?

Ben: People with disability can be especially vulnerable to discrimination and they often complain to the AHRC as a last resort. Many disputes arise because of a lack of awareness and poor communication. Hopefully, by normalising disability and improving community awareness, conversations about disability and an individual’s needs become more constructive and easier.

There is also a need for systemic change in areas such as premises, transport, education and employment to ensure there is not a reliance upon individual complaints and that repeated instances of discrimination are eradicated.

Meg: You were recently in Geneva presenting to the United Nations on Australia’s progress in meeting its obligations under the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Does Australia have a good report card? How do we compare with other developed countries around the world?

Ben: There were some commendable efforts and achievements by Australia but some policy implementation concerns definitely exist. I think, compared to other developed nations, we have a report card that is promising but we need to collect better data and have clear implementation strategies. In particular, we need to focus upon intersectionality issues – such as Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander people with disability or women with disability. We also need to be mindful on whether we have appropriate laws and policies relating to people with disability and supported decision-making, education, accommodation and the justice and health systems.

I think we compare positively to other developed nations because of the National Disability Insurance Scheme but other policies like the National Disability Strategy need to evolve to ensure all Australians with a disability benefit. We rank 21st out of 29 countries in the OECD for employment of people with disability and last for people with disability in poverty. The interface between disability policy and the housing, education, justice, transport and health systems needs to be assessed and revised.   

We also need to constantly remember we have a Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability because some critical disability related policies have not been working. Our report card in Geneva welcomed the Royal Commission being called but also had an appreciation of the issues that led to it being called.

Watch an update from Ben while he was in Geneva (courtesy Ben Gauntlett, LinkedIn).

Meg: What can large organisations like ANZ do to ensure people with disability are more fully included in Australian society?

Ben: ANZ can show leadership, particularly through its senior executives openly and vocally committing to policies of diversity and inclusion. Diversity and inclusion policies and programs need to view disability as the equivalent of other diversity characteristics. 4.5 million Australians have a disability and 80 per cent of disability is unseen.

When large respected businesses have clear inclusion strategies that normalise disability it can help shift community expectations. The culture of silence surrounding disability in Australia needs to end. Research indicates people with disability are loyal, productive and hard-working employees. In Australia, we need to emphasise the benefits of employing people with disability.