4.7 Addressing Disability

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National Disability Strategy

The Commonwealth Disability Strategy has been superceded by a new National Disability Strategy which sets out a ten year national policy framework for improving life for Australians with disability, their families and carers. A high level report to track progress for people with disability at a national level will be produced by the Standing Council on Community, Housing and Disability Services to the Council of Australian Governments and will be available at www.fahcsia.gov.au. The Social Inclusion Measurement and Reporting Strategy agreed by the Government in December 2009 will also include some reporting on disability matters in its regular How Australia is Faring report and, if appropriate, in strategic change indicators in agency annual reports. More detail on social inclusion matters can be found at www.socialinclusion.gov.au.

Departmental programs and initiatives assisting people with disabilities

• The department managed and provided advice on implementation, progress and achievements of the $2.1 billion funding for subacute services under the Council of Australian Governments National Partnership Agreements on Hospital and Health Reform and Improving Public Hospital Services. These subacute care services include rehabilitation, palliative care, geriatric evaluation and management, psychogeriatric care and subacute mental health. In the delivery of new subacute beds and services under the national health reforms, states and territories have agreed to take local needs and the needs of disadvantaged groups in the community into account, and aim to improve the mix of services and distribution of subacute care across the region.
• The department continued to support eligible Indigenous health organisations to meet accreditation requirements under relevant Australian health standards. This included funding the provision of disability equipment such as wheelchairs and building modifications to improve access at the health facility for disabled clients.
• The department also adheres to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines which were devised by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). For example, public announcements on the internet made by the Office for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health are published in hyper text mark-up language format, to enable the use of screen reader programs and to provide access to people with visual impairment. The Office of the Gene Technology Regulator website¹³⁹ contains public information about the gene technology regulatory scheme and meets the Government’s online minimum standards with regard to accessible formats for people with disabilities. Publicly available information on agreed purchasing and contract specifications are available in accessible formats for people with a disability and purchasing specifications and contract requirements for purchase of goods and services are consistent with the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act 1992.
• The department has in place complaints mechanisms, including access to external mechanisms to address concerns raised about providers’ performance. The Office of the Gene Technology Regulator service charter includes mechanisms for feedback and complaints on its performance and service delivered to stakeholders and the public.
• The Office of Hearing Services, which manages the Australian Government Hearing Services Program purchases hearing services from within the hearing industry to be delivered to program clients. The Office has a Client Service Charter¹⁴⁰ that sets out the standards of service clients can expect from the Office. The Charter also sets out the procedures on how clients can make a complaint and the timeframes the Office has to respond to a complaint.
• The department also requires all helpline services delivered by the National Health Call Centre Network provide appropriate access for people with sight, speech and/or hearing difficulty.

¹³⁸ These reports are available at www.apsc.gov.au
¹³⁹ Accessible at www.ogtr.gov.au
¹⁴⁰ Accessible at www.health.gov.au

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