Legilative and Policy Context of the AEC's Disability Action Plan 2008 - 2011

There are three tiers of legislation and policy that govern the development and implementation of the AEC’s Disability Action Plan:

• The Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Discrimination Act) and the 1993 United Nations Standard Rules on the Equalisation of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities provide the legislative framework for the Australian Government’s approach to people with disability
• The Commonwealth Disability Strategy 1999 is a practical framework that obliges Commonwealth organisations to remove barriers that prevent people with disability from gaining access to policies, programs and services
• The Discrimination Act and the Commonwealth Disability Strategy both provide for the development of Disability Action Plans (Action Plans).  Action Plans are a means by which each organisation can develop and document detailed strategies for eliminating disability discrimination in their operations.

The Disability Discrimination Act 1992

The Discrimination Act, which came into effect on 1 March 1993, makes it unlawful to discriminate on the basis of disability.  The objects of the Discrimination Act are (section 3 of the Discrimination Act):

1. to eliminate, as far as possible, discrimination against persons on the ground of disability in the areas of:
   1. work, accommodation, education, access to premises, clubs and sport; and
   2. the provision of goods, facilities, services and land; and
   3. existing laws; and
   4. the administration of Commonwealth laws and programs; and
2. to ensure, as far as practicable, that persons with disability have the same rights to equality before the law as the rest of the community; and
3. to promote recognition and acceptance within the community of the principle that persons with disability have the same fundamental rights as the rest of the community.

The Discrimination Act recognises that people with disability have the same fundamental rights as other people and should have equal opportunities to participate in community life.

The Commonwealth Disability Strategy

The Commonwealth Disability Strategy provides a practical framework to meet the Commonwealth's obligations under the Discrimination Act and the Standard Rules and encourages organisations to:

• Provide information in accessible formats;
• Employ people with disability;
• Purchase accessible services;
• Recognise people with disability as consumers of services;
• Consult people with disability to find out what they need; and
• Use existing planning instruments to plan for and take into account the needs of people with disability.

The Disability Strategy is based on the following five broad principles:

Equity: People with disability have the right to participate in all aspects of the community including the opportunity to contribute to its social, political, economic, and cultural life;

Inclusion: all mainstream Australian Government programs, services and facilities should be available to people with disability. The requirements of people with disability should be taken into account at all stages in the development and delivery of these programs and services;

Participation: people with disability have the right to participate on an equal basis in all decision-making processes that affect their lives;

Access: people with disability should have access to information in appropriate formats about the programs and services they use; and

Accountability: all areas of Australian Government organisations should be clearly accountable for the provision of access to their programs, facilities and services for people with disability. This includes specifying the outcomes to be achieved, establishing performance indicators and linking reporting on outcomes of the Strategy to mainstream reporting mechanisms.

Disability Action Plans

Section 61 of the Discrimination Act states that the action plan of a service provider (such as the AEC) must include provisions relating to:

1. the devising of policies and programs to achieve the objects of this Act;
2. the communication of these policies and programs to persons within the service provider;
3. the review of practices within the service provider with a view to the identification of any discriminatory practices;
4. the setting of goals and targets where these may reasonably be determined against which the success of the plan in achieving the objects of the Act may be assessed;
5. the means, other than those referred to in paragraph (iv), of evaluating the policies and programs referred to in paragraph (i); and
6. the appointment of persons within the service provider to implement the provisions referred to in paragraphs (i) to (v) inclusive.

A service provider may include provisions in addition to those listed above provided they are not inconsistent with the objects of the Discrimination Act.