On 29 September 2023 the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability (Disability Royal Commission) delivered its Final Report and included 222 recommendations. On 31 July 2024, the Joint Government Response to Disability Royal Commission Recommendations was published. All governments have also released their own responses. Read the individual government responses.
The 2025 Progress Report shares an update on the progress made by all Governments, including on what has been achieved to date and what work is in progress against each of the 222 recommendations made by the Royal Commission in the Final Report.
Foreword
On behalf of the Australian Government and all state and territory governments, we are pleased to present the first Report on the implementation of the 222 recommendations set out in the final report of the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability (Disability Royal Commission).
The Disability Royal Commission was Australia’s largest inquiry into the experiences of people with disability. It highlighted the harm, exclusion, and discrimination people with disability experience, and it set out a vision for a more inclusive Australia in which people with disability live free from harm.
Since governments responded to the Disability Royal Commission’s Final Report on 31 July 2024, there has been a strong and ongoing focus on engaging with people with disability, representative organisations and disability advisory groups to guide the implementation of responses to the Royal Commission’s recommendations.
Governments will continue with efforts to respond to the Disability Royal Commission recommendations, ensuring that all governments are working together to create lasting change for people with disability in Australia.
In summary, the DRC made 222 recommendations, of which:
- 50 recommendations are solely the responsibility of states and territories
- 172 recommendations either:
- are solely the responsibility of the Commonwealth (84),
- address joint Commonwealth, states and territory responsibilities (85), or
- are Commonwealth and non-government owned (3).
The 2025 Progress Report shows that, of the 172 recommendations for which the Commonwealth is solely or jointly responsible:
- 71 recommendations are in progress
- 51 recommendations require further work
- 36 recommendations are subject to further consideration
- 8 recommendations are completed, and
- 6 recommendations are noted.
Of the 50 recommendations which are solely the responsibility of states and territories*, the 2025 Progress Report shows that:
- 39 percent are in progress
- 25.3 percent are subject to further consideration
- Further work is required for 17.3 percent and
- 7.5 percent are completed.
*figures for state and territory recommendations provided as percentages as the eight jurisdictions provided 400 individual updates for their 50 recommendations.
**an additional 11 percent of recommendations are designated ‘not applicable’ where the states and territories have assigned categories to their recommendations specific to their jurisdictional responses which are unaligned to the definitions of the Australian Government response categories.
The Progress Report builds on the National Interim Update that was released on 23 December 2024. Additionally, there is wider disability reform that the Australian Government is working to progress, including getting the NDIS back on track, establishing foundational supports and improving outcomes under Australia’s Disability Strategy 2021-2031.
All governments are committed to sustaining momentum to ensure an inclusive Australia for people with disability. Ongoing joint government efforts will continue to focus on building better systems and implementing reforms to create an environment where people with a disability can live free from violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation.