2.1 This chapter examines the values underlying the DSA. These values are enshrined in the objects, principles and applications of principles contained in the Act. The Commission concludes that the objects, principles and applications of principles generally remain valid, but suggests minor changes to ensure that the DSA reflects the aspirations of people with a disability. The needs of people with increasing support needs are also considered. The Commission asks whether the “best interests” principle should be included as an object of the DSA and considers how to ensure that access to services is determined on a fair and equitable basis. It looks at strengthening support for diversity in the DSA and how the relationship that people with a disability have with their families and carers should be reflected in the legislation.

POLICY GOALS OF THE DSA

2.2 The DSA comprises a series of objects, principles and applications of principles which reflect the underlying philosophy of the Act. The objects set out the goals of the DSA. They are supported by the principles, which detail some of the rights held by people with a disability, and the applications of principles, which indicate how services should be provided to implement the principles. The objectives of the DSA are influenced by a number of international human rights instruments that recognise the rights of people with disabilities.¹

2.3 Many of the Act’s provisions rely on the objects, principles and applications of principles. For example, the Minister is under a duty to ensure that services provided or funded under the DSA conform to them.² Indeed, the Minister must not approve a grant of financial assistance under the DSA unless he or she is satisfied that such assistance would conform to the objects, principles and applications of principles.³

Objects

2.4 The main policy objective of the DSA is to ensure that people with disabilities have the same basic human rights as other members of the community.⁴ The primary object is to:

ensure the provision of services necessary to enable people with a disability to achieve their maximum potential as members of the community.⁵

• further the integration of people with a disability into the community and complement services available to such persons in the community;⁶
• enable persons with disabilities to achieve positive outcomes such as increased independence, employment opportunities and integration in the community;⁷ and
• are provided in ways that promote in the community a positive image of persons with disabilities and enhance their self-esteem.⁸

2.6 Other objects of the DSA apply to services generally, not just those funded or provided under the Act. These objects are:

• to encourage innovation in the provision of services for persons with disabilities;¹¹ and
• to achieve positive outcomes, such as increased independence, employment opportunities and integration in the community, for persons with disabilities.¹²

2.7 The principles of the DSA provide that:

Persons with disabilities have the same basic human rights as other members of Australian society. They also have the rights needed to ensure that their specific needs are met. Their rights, which apply irrespective of the nature, origin, type or degree of disability, include the following:

(a) persons with disabilities are individuals who have the inherent right to respect for their human worth and dignity,

(b) persons with disabilities have the right to live in and be part of the community,

(c) persons with disabilities have the right to realise their individual capacities for physical, social, emotional and intellectual development,

(d) persons with disabilities have the same rights as other members of Australian society to services which will support their attaining a reasonable quality of life,

(e) persons with disabilities have the right to choose their own lifestyle and to have access to information, provided in a manner appropriate to their disability and cultural background, necessary to allow informed choice,

(f) persons with disabilities have the same right as other members of Australian society to participate in the decisions which affect their lives,

(g) persons with disabilities receiving services have the same right as other members of Australian society to receive those services in a manner which results in the least restriction of their rights and opportunities,

(h) persons with disabilities have the right to pursue any grievance in relation to services without fear of the services being discontinued or recrimination from service providers,

(i) persons with disabilities have the right to protection from neglect, abuse and exploitation.¹³

2.8 The applications of principles state that services and programs of services must apply the principles. In particular, services and programs must be designed and administered so as to:

(a) have as their focus the achievement of positive outcomes for persons with disabilities, such as increased independence, employment opportunities and integration into the community,

(b) contribute to ensuring that the conditions of the everyday life of persons with disabilities are the same as, or as close as possible to, norms and patterns which are valued in the general community,

(c) form part of local co-ordinated service systems and other services generally available to members of the community, wherever possible,

(d) meet the individual needs and goals of the persons with disabilities receiving services,

(e) meet the needs of persons with disabilities who experience an additional disadvantage as a result of their gender, ethnic origin or Aboriginality,

(f) promote recognition of the competence of, and enhance the image of, persons with disabilities,

(g) promote the participation of persons with disabilities in the life of the local community through maximum physical and social integration in that community,

(h) ensure that no single organisation providing services exercises control over all or most aspects of the life of a person with disabilities,

(i) ensure that organisations providing services (whether specifically to persons with disabilities or generally to members of the community) are accountable to persons with disabilities who use them, the advocates of those persons, the State and the community generally for the provision of information from which the quality of those services can be judged,

(j) provide opportunities for persons with disabilities to reach goals and enjoy lifestyles which are valued by the community generally and are appropriate to their chronological age,

(k) ensure that persons with disabilities participate in the decisions that affect their lives,

(l) ensure that persons with disabilities have access to advocacy support where necessary to ensure adequate participation in decision-making about the services they receive,

(m) recognise the importance of preserving the family relationships and the cultural and linguistic environments of persons with disabilities,

(n) ensure that appropriate avenues exist for persons with disabilities to raise and have resolved any grievances about services, and to ensure that a person raising any such grievance does not suffer any reprisal,

(o) provide persons with disabilities with, and encourage them to make use of, avenues for participating in the planning and operation of services and programs which they receive and to provide opportunities for consultation in relation to the development of major policy and program changes,

(p) respect the rights of persons with disabilities to privacy and confidentiality.¹⁴

2.9 There was general agreement in submissions and during consultations that the objects of the DSA remain valid:¹⁵

The objectives are not only valid, they are an expression of the right of people with a disability to have the same opportunities and responsibilities as others in the community.¹⁶

“NORMALISATION”

2.10 Whilst the objects, principles and applications of principles have been generally well-received, they do, however, reflect a period of thinking about disability in which “normalisation”²⁴ was seen as the goal for service provision. Some of the objects in the DSA and the applications of principles refer to the goal of the “integration” of people with a disability in the community.²⁵ The applications of principles also refer to the need to ensure that the everyday life of people with disabilities is subject to conditions which are the same as, or as close as possible to, the “norms and patterns” valued in the general community.²⁶ The term “integration” is susceptible to close association with “assimilation” and an approach to social change which requires minority groups to conform with the lifestyles and values of the majority. The reference to “norms and patterns” valued in the general community reflects a similar philosophy. This section considers whether these terms are consistent with the current thinking and aspirations of people with a disability who seek to have the same human rights as other members of the community.²⁷ The recent literature on people with disabilities places emphasis on “rights” and “citizenship” (rather than, for example, “needs”):

What political organisations of people with disabilities are demanding is not to have their needs defined by others but rather the right to appropriate services to meet their own self-defined needs. Service delivery in this model derives not from need and philanthropy but from equal citizenship as a means of self-determination.²⁸

CHANGING VALUES

Values of able-bodied people imposed

2.11 Applying some of the principles and applications of principles require value judgements about what is “normal” or “desirable”. The values imposed are often those of the able-bodied majority. During consultations, the Commission heard that the emphasis on “integration” and “normality” has led to pressure on people with a disability to try to live in a way that conforms to the expectations of mainstream able-bodied people. For example, a trip to McDonalds may be regarded by the majority of able-bodied people as an acceptable form of integration, and would therefore be encouraged. Attending a gay and lesbian dance may not, however, be viewed by some as integration into the “normal” able-bodied community, and may therefore not be encouraged.²⁹

Importance of choice

2.12 The Commission was told during consultations that people with a disability do not want other people’s concepts of independence imposed on them. For many people with a disability, independence means having choices. A person with a disability may have his or her own priorities for achieving independence. He or she may, for example, choose to forgo some independence by having assistance with dressing and bathing in order to hold down a full-time job. For some people, being able to choose a life-style and having the right to make mistakes is the kind of independence they value.³⁰ Participants in focus groups clearly valued independence and choice. One woman wanted to increase her independence by learning to travel on buses so that she could do her shopping by herself.³¹ Another stated:

It’s about having the freedom. You can make your own mistakes. Before there were always people stopping you before you made the mistake. Everybody tries to protect you, to put you in cotton wool.³²

It’s better living on my own. No staff to boss me around. Asking me when I’m coming home. I’d had a gutful, so I just packed up and left. It’s better now. I can come and go as

I want. Do as I want. I haven’t got people standing over me and bossing me. Or yelling at me.³⁴

I like my street – it is quiet and there are nice trees and it is close to the shops.³⁵

I like living in my house because I have two dogs that I love. They keep me company and I walk them every day. My dogs would be lost without me.³⁶

[W]e use the word [independence] in a practical and common sense way to mean simply being able to achieve our goals. The point is that independent people have control over their lives, not that they perform every task themselves. Independence is not limited to the physical or intellectual capacity to care for oneself without assistance; independence is created by having assistance when and how one requires it, by being able to choose when and how care takes place.³⁸

2.15 A number of submissions were of the view that there should be more emphasis in the DSA on participation and acceptance of difference in the community, rather than conformity with “normal” society on the part of a person with a disability:³⁹

Integration into the community sounds awful. Like they’re going to make you fit the community. Surely it should be the community that changes its perspective.⁴⁰

its underlying policy (the opportunity for people with a disability to live in and be part of the community) remains the most important need and aspiration of people with a disability and their associates that is given legislative force by the Act. In our view, “integration” has never been interpreted to mean “normalcy”. It denotes the need and aspiration of people with a disability to be part of ordinary community life in all its diversity.

The Commission’s view

2.17 It is a policy objective of the DSA to ensure that people with a disability have the same rights as other members of the community. Australian society is a pluralistic one and Australians have the right to live the way they choose as long as they do not infringe the law. Australians have a wide range of lifestyles and respect for diversity underpins government policy. Terminology that could be interpreted to mean that people with a disability should become part of the community by striving to emulate some “ideal” or a “normal” majority lifestyle should be removed. The objects, principles and applications of principles should support choice and diversity within the broad range available within the Australian community.

2.18 Replacing the term “integration” with the term “inclusion” would remove the implicit assumption that people with a disability must adapt. “Inclusion” requires services to create conditions in which the community accepts difference and involves people with a disability in all their diversity in community life. Removing the words “norms and patterns” would also remove any suggestion of imposing, or requiring conformity with, majority values. The rights of people with a disability are best promoted where they have, as far as possible, the opportunity to set and realise their own individual goals for their own lives. Some extra support should be given to the importance of this by adding the word “goals” to Principle 1(c).

Recommendation 2

Section 3(b)(i) of the DSA should be amended to replace the words “integration of persons with disabilities in the community” with the words “inclusion of persons with disabilities in community life”.

Recommendation 3

Section 3(b)(ii) and section 3(e) of the DSA and the applications of principles in Schedule 1 clause 2(a) should be amended to replace the words “integration in the community” with “inclusion in community life”.

Recommendation 4

The principles in Schedule 1 clause 1(c) should be amended to include the words “and goals” after the word “capacities”.

Recommendation 5

The applications of principles in Schedule 1 clause 2(b) should be amended to read “to contribute to ensuring that the conditions of the every day life of persons with disabilities are the same as, or as close as possible to, conditions which are valued in the community as a whole”.

INCLUDING PEOPLE WITH INCREASING SUPPORT NEEDS

Developmental objects may not always be appropriate

2.19 Some people acquire a disability later in life. They may have lived independently in the community for many years. The developmental objects of the DSA, for example, achieving maximum potential,⁴² or increasing participation in the community, may be less relevant for this group of people, particularly where the person has a degenerative condition.

Views in submissions

2.20 Some submissions noted that the DSA does not sufficiently reflect the rights and needs of people with a degenerative condition such as Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s Disease, Motor Neurone Disease and HIV/AIDS. People with disabilities such as these have support needs that increase over time. The Multiple Sclerosis Society of NSW commented that the aim of service delivery and support in these cases is not achieving independence and participation (because in most cases people had this until the onset of symptoms); rather it is on maintaining skills and receiving support to continue their way of life.⁴³

The Commission’s view

2.21 The DSA should reflect the range of disabilities it seeks to support. There should be some change to the objectives to provide for people with increasing support needs.

Recommendation 6

Section 3(b) should be amended to include a new sub-paragraph (iv) to read “and that minimises the impact that increasing support needs may have on a person’s ability to control his or her own life”.

SHOULD BEST INTERESTS BE INCLUDED AS AN OBJECT?

Potential for conflict

2.22 The principles and applications of principles of the DSA provide the benchmarks for the provision of services to people with a disability. However, there is potential for conflict when they are applied to a particular case. For example, the principle that people with disabilities have the “right to choose their own lifestyle”⁴⁴ could potentially conflict with the application of principles which requires that “no single organisation providing services exercise control over all or most aspects of those people’s lives”.⁴⁵ Some people with disabilities may want to have all or most of their services provided by one organisation. The NSW Government in its submission asked whether the principle of the “best interests” of each person with a disability should be included as an object and used to resolve any conflicts between the objects, principles, and applications of principles.⁴⁶

The Commission’s view

2.23 The Commission does not favour adding a “best interests” principle to the objects in the DSA. This principle is most commonly applied to conflicts or decisions involving children, or people needing the assistance of guardians to make decisions for them. It has implications of paternalism denoting outdated attitudes to people with a disability. Furthermore, the Commission doubts that a “best interests” approach would be of any assistance in resolving conflicts. This is best done on a case-by-case basis following consideration of all relevant facts and circumstances. The Commission considers that the objects, principles and applications of principles remain the best benchmarks for decision-making and service provision.

ACCESS TO SERVICES

DSA does not provide for access

2.24 There is no provision in the DSA stating the basis on which a person with a disability may or may not be entitled to a service. ADD, however, has addressed the issue in its Disability Services Standards. Standard 1.0 of the Standards in Action requires that “each service user seeking a service has access to that service on the basis of relative need and available resources”.⁴⁷

The Commission’s view

2.25 Whether or not a person with a disability receives a service should not be at the whim of a service provider. A person applying for a service should know the basis on which he or she may be accepted. If rejected, he or she should be told why. A service should not be able to reject a person merely because he or she is likely to be more expensive than someone else. Within the parameters of the kind of service provided, services should use the funding they receive to provide services for people with the greatest need. Service providers should not be able to withdraw a service arbitrarily. To include a provision in the DSA about access would be a substantial change. Such a provision would improve the ability of ADD to plan and administer the Disability Services Program. If there is a group of people who have an unmet need, and ADD funds a service to meet this need, it must be able to ensure that the service does so. It must also be able to ensure that, as far as possible, services are provided to those with the greatest relative need. The Commission acknowledges that this may be difficult given the current level of unmet need.⁴⁸ However, a properly administered program should include provisions about access to services. As far as possible the process of admission to, and exit from, services should be fair and transparent.

Recommendation 7

Section 3 should be amended to include a new object “to ensure that access to services is determined on a fair and equitable basis”.

STRENGTHENING SUPPORT FOR DIVERSITY

2.26 While cultural and linguistic diversity are not addressed in the objects of the DSA, they are addressed in the principles and applications of principles. Principle 1(e) refers to the right of people with a disability to have information provided in a manner appropriate to their cultural background. Application 2(e) refers to the need for services and programs to assist people with disabilities who “experience an additional disadvantage as a result of their gender, ethnic origin or Aboriginality”. Application 2(m) refers to the need to recognise the importance of preserving “the cultural and linguistic environments of persons with disabilities”.

Comments in submissions

People of non-English speaking backgrounds

2.27 Consultations with people of non-English speaking backgrounds raised several issues. Loss of identity associated with being in a minority, language barriers and lack of family and other support may add further difficulties for people with disabilities:

Where we come from, we were the majority. Here [in Australia] we’re a minority. You lose your identity. You’re not what you used to be.⁴⁹

We need culturally specific self-help groups.⁵¹

the only service that speaks to them in their own language, it is an understatement to say that it is an essential service.⁵²

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with a disability

2.30 Consultations with Aboriginal people with a disability raised a number of issues. Aboriginal people with a disability may be cared for by a range of people in the community, not just close relatives. These carers may find this care a strain but may have only limited access to respite care.⁵³ Some Aboriginal people stated that they had encountered discrimination when dealing with services. They preferred access to services with Aboriginal staff, or services which were at least known to be sensitive to Aboriginal culture, and which are already used by other Aboriginal people.⁵⁴

Sexual orientation

2.31 During consultations, the Commission was told that gay and lesbian people with a disability were sometimes denied the right to express their sexuality.⁵⁵

The Commission’s view

2.32 Submissions and consultations showed support for including a reference to people of non-English speaking backgrounds and Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders in the objectives of the DSA to help meet the unique cultural and social needs of people from these backgrounds.⁵⁶ There was also support for providing recognition and support in the DSA for sexual orientation.⁵⁷ The Commission agrees that people with a disability should have the same access to services and support as other Australians, irrespective of their background or sexual orientation. Providing for cultural and linguistic diversity, and gender and sexual orientation, should be an objective of the DSA.

Recommendation 8

Section 3(b) of the DSA should be amended to include a new sub-paragraph to ensure the provision of services that take account of cultural and linguistic diversity, and gender and sexual orientation.

Recommendation 9

The applications of principles in Schedule 1 clause 2(e) should be amended to read “to meet the needs of persons with disabilities whose experience reflects their gender, cultural or linguistic background, sexual orientation or Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander identity”.

RECOGNISING FAMILIES AND CARERS

Provisions in the DSA

2.33 Families, carers and significant others play a very important role in supporting and advocating for people with a disability. Application 2(m) refers to the need for services and programs for services to “recognise the importance of preserving the family relationships” of people with disabilities. This provision does not recognise that people with disabilities may have other important relationships that should be recognised. Nor does the wording reflect the changing, dynamic nature of family relationships.

Families and carers play an important role

2.34 Submissions emphasised the important role that families and carers play in supporting and advocating for people with a disability:

The rights of the family to receive services to support the person with a disability, where that person is a child or chooses to remain with the family, are critical to meeting the needs of people with disabilities.⁵⁸

the Act does not provide a good enough framework for protection and support for those people with disabilities who need a lot of support some or all of the time to make or communicate their decisions and who are therefore more vulnerable. This is especially so with people who have severe or profound disabilities ...⁵⁹

2.35 Carers NSW outlined the specific goals that carers of people with a disability have, in addition to the goals that they share with the people they care for. Those goals are:

• sufficient and appropriately planned support services to enable carers to continue providing care;
• recognition and understanding of the role of family/carers, their knowledge and understanding of the person with the disability (whether or not the person lives with them); and
• the right of family and carers to an independent and fulfilling life for themselves.⁶¹

The Carer of a high need patient is giving up their daily life and in a time of increasingly “user pays” are often prevented from preparing for their own self sufficiency as they age ... the Carer has to be on duty at least six days a week or they do not qualify for their Pension ... any support worker assisting the care of the Disabled, receives full and proper reward for their endeavours including sick leave, holiday pay, superannuation and Workers Compensation. The Carer receives none of these. Their lives are on hold and in some cases they are “being disabled” themselves as a direct result of their caring role.⁶²

Focus should be on the rights and interests of people with disabilities

2.37 Nearly all submissions considered that the focus of the DSA and service provision should be on the rights and interests of the person with the disability.⁶⁴ Although many submissions recognised the fundamental role of the family in the lives of many people with a disability, there was some concern that giving increased emphasis to the role of families and carers might detract from this focus.

The Commission’s view

Family support is important

2.38 The role of the family in the life of people with disabilities appears to be most critical where the level of disability is very high and involves intellectual or communication impairment. It is also very important for the care and support of children. Families of people with a disability must have support to enable them to continue to care for the person with a disability adequately and to be able to have a reasonable life for themselves. In most cases (but not necessarily all) the principles and applications of principles will be best served in relation to the person with a disability if the family receives support and recognition, enabling them to have an ongoing role in the life that person. However, the lack of support for the families and carers of people with a disability is not a result of a defect in the DSA, but appears to stem from a lack of resources for disability services generally, and perhaps an inadequate quality assurance process.

Applications of principles should be strengthened

2.39 The Commission does not support shifting the balance or focus of the DSA away from the primary importance of people with a disability. There is concern that any major change may undermine the rights of people with a disability. The DSA gives recognition to the importance of family relationships in service provision.⁶⁵ In the Commission’s view, this is the appropriate part of the DSA in which to give recognition to the family. However, it should be strengthened by requiring services to support family and other relationships, rather than simply recognise their importance. The word “preserve” does not recognise the dynamic nature of relationships and should be removed. The range of relationships that may be important to a person with a disability should be recognised.

Recommendation 10

The applications of principles in Schedule 1 clause 2(m) should be amended to read “to support the relationships that persons with disabilities have with their families, carers and significant others”.

SCOPE OF THE DSA

Boarding houses are not covered

2.40 Approximately 2,000 people live in 126 boarding houses in NSW licensed under the Youth and Community Services Act 1973 (NSW).⁶⁶ Most residents of licensed boarding houses have a disability with wide-ranging support needs.⁶⁷ Boarding houses are private-for-profit organisations and are not funded under the DSA. Therefore, they need not comply with the objects, principles and applications of principles. In fact, a number of reports in recent years have drawn attention to the poor physical condition of many boarding houses and residents’ lack of enforceable rights, in particular, their lack of tenancy rights.⁶⁸

2.41 In its 1997/98 Annual Report, ADD reported that the boarding house sector had been in crisis during the period under review.⁶⁹ It could be argued that the high percentage of boarding house residents with disabilities is indicative of the lack of suitable accommodation for people with disabilities in NSW. As a result, a two-tier system of accommodation has developed: accommodation services funded under the DSA to which the objects, principles and applications of principles apply; and licensed boarding houses.

Views in submissions

2.42 In submissions, opinion was divided as to whether licensed boarding houses and other services not funded under the DSA should be regulated by that Act. A number of submissions noted that licensed boarding houses should be regulated under the DSA.⁷⁰ Others were of the view that all services providing support for people with a disability should come under the DSA.⁷¹ The Disability Safeguards Coalition suggested alternative ways of protecting people using non-DSA services, such as:

• improved licensing;
• accreditation;
• links with the CSC or the ADT;
• access to advocates; and
• access to Home and Community Care (“HACC”) services.⁷²

2.44 A number of submissions considered the funding and other implications of expecting boarding houses to comply with the objects, principles and applications of principles under the DSA. One submission noted that it is unrealistic to expect boarding houses to comply with the DSA unless the Government is prepared to fund them.⁷⁶ Another argued against extending the DSA to private-for-profit services because it would make the Government responsible for subsidising them.⁷⁷ The NSW Government considered that it would be premature to extend the DSA to other services until all services that are currently funded under the Act conform to the fullest extent.⁷⁸ The Local Government and Shires Association of NSW argued that bringing boarding houses under the DSA would not improve standards. It was of the view that the poor standard of boarding houses was due to residents’ high needs and a lack of resources to support them, rather than non-compliance with the DSA. It also noted that requiring compliance with the DSA may result in non-conforming boarding houses closing down.⁷⁹

The Commission’s view

2.45 There is no immediate solution to the problems associated with licensed boarding houses. While there is a shortage of suitable housing support for people with a disability many will live in unsuitable accommodation. The Commission acknowledges that ADD is enforcing boarding house licensing provisions more vigorously than in the past, and that this has resulted in some closures.⁸⁰ It is also aware that the Government has announced that new funds will be allocated to the sector.⁸¹ In its review of CAMA, the Commission has recommended that licensed boarding houses be included in the jurisdiction of the CSC.⁸² This will provide some protection for boarding house residents. The Commission does not recommend any changes to the DSA in relation to boarding houses.

1. See, for example, United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Mentally Retarded Persons (1971); United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Disabled Persons (1975); and Standard Rules on the Equalisation of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities (1993).

2. DSA s 6.

3. DSA s 10. The terms and conditions on which financial assistance is provided must deal with the extent to which the service being funded must conform to the principles and applications of principles in providing the service or carrying out research and development: DSA s 12-13.

4. NSW, Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) Legislative Assembly, 11 March 1993, the Hon J Longley, MP, Minister for Community Services, Second Reading Speech at 769.

5. DSA s 3(a).

6. DSA s 3(b)(i).

7. DSA s 3(b)(ii).

8. DSA s 3(b)(iii).

9. DSA s 3(c).

10. DSA s 3(f).

11. DSA s 3(d).

12. DSA s 3(e).

13. DSA Sch 1 cl 1.

14. DSA Sch 1 cl 2.

15. Australian Quadriplegic Association Ltd (NSW), Submission; S McKenzie, Submission; Centacare Sydney, Submission; Ethnic Childcare, Family and Community Services Co-operative Ltd Ltd, Submission; D Newey, Submission; R McCredie, Submission; NCOSS, Submission; Community Visitors, Submission; Autism Association of NSW, Submission; NSW Council for Intellectual Disability, Submission; Deaf Society of NSW, Submission; Institute for Family Advocacy and Leadership Development Association Inc Association Inc, Submission; The Spastic Centre of NSW, Submission; Confidential Submission 1; and Disability Safeguards Coalition, Submission.

16. NSW Council for Intellectual Disability, Submission at 3.

17. Confidential Submission 1.

18. Australian Quadriplegic Association Ltd (NSW), Submission; Centre for Developmental Disability Studies, Submission; Disability Safeguards Coalition, Submission; Ethnic Childcare, Family and Community Services Co-operative Ltd, Submission; The Northcott Society, Submission; Nepean Independent Living Committee Inc, Submission; Western Sydney Intellectual Disability Support Group Inc, Submission; Multicultural Disability Advocacy Association of NSW Inc, Submission; Physical Disability Council of NSW Inc, Submission; Institute for Family Advocacy and Leadership Development Association Inc, Submission; Confidential Submission 1; People with Disabilities (NSW) Inc, Submission; and Disability Council of NSW, Submission.

19. Disability Safeguards Coalition, Submission; and Intellectual Disability Rights Service Inc, Submission.

20. Ethnic Childcare, Family and Community Services Co-operative Ltd, Submission.

21. Citizen Advocacy NSW, Submission; Manly Warringah Community Access Service, Submission; and The Spastic Centre of NSW, Submission.

22. Australian Quadriplegic Association Ltd (NSW), Submission.

23. Western Sydney Intellectual Disability Support Group Inc, Submission.

24. S C Hayes and R Hayes, Mental Retardation: Law, Policy and Administration (Law Book Co, Sydney, 1982) at 5.

25. DSA s 3(b)(i), s 3(b)(ii), s 3(e) and Sch 1 cl 2(a).

26. DSA Sch 1 cl 2(b).

27. New South Wales Law Reform Commission, People with an Intellectual Disability and the Criminal Justice System (Report 80, 1996) at 10-14.

28. L Davis, “Rights Replacing Needs: A New Resolution of the Distributive Dilemma for People with Disabilities in Australia?” in M Hauritz, C Sampford and S Blencowe (ed), Justice for People with Disabilities: Legal and Institutional Issues (Federation Press, Sydney, 1998) at 20 (emphasis in original). See also G T Bellamy, “The Braid of Progress: People with Disabilities and Modern Societies” in M Hauritz, C Sampford and S Blencowe (ed), Justice for People with Disabilities: Legal and Institutional Issues (Federation Press, Sydney, 1998) at 8-12.

29. Consultation (Consumers, Sydney).

30. Consultation (Consumers, Sydney).

31. RR 9 at para 2.57.

32. RR 9 at para 1.96.

33. RR 9 at para 1.99.

34. RR 9 at para 1.100.

35. RR 9 at para 2.55.

36. RR 9 at para 2.56.

37. RR 9 at para 1.113-1.115.

38. J Morris, Pride Against Prejudice: Transforming Attitudes to Disability (The Women’s Press, London 1991) at 8.

39. Association NSW, Submission; and Citizen Advocacy NSW, Submission.

40. RR 9 at para 1.116.

41. People with Disabilities (NSW) Inc, Submission.

42. DSA s 3(a).

43. Multiple Sclerosis Society of NSW, Submission.

44. DSA Sch 1 cl 1(e).

45. DSA Sch 1 cl 2(h).

46. NSW Government, Submission at 3.

47. NSW, ADD, Standards in Action (1998).

48. The level of unmet need for disability services in Australia is discussed in Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Demand for Disability Support Services in Australia: Size, Cost and Growth (1997).

49. RR 9 at para 1.71.

50. RR 9 at para 1.69.

51. RR 9 at para 1.72.

52. RR 9 at para 2.84.

53. RR 9 at para 1.63.

54. RR 9 at para 1.63.

55. Consultation (Consumers, Sydney).

56. See, for example, Disability Council of NSW, Submission at 2; Association NSW, Submission; Ethnic Childcare, Family and Community Services Co-operative Ltd, Submission; and NCOSS, Submission.

57. See, for example, Kingsgrove Community Access Service, Submission; The Spastic Centre of NSW, Submission; and Multicultural Disability Advocacy Association of NSW Inc, Submission.

58. NCOSS, Submission at 2.

59. Carers NSW Inc, Submission at 3.

60. Carers NSW Inc, Submission at 4.

61. Carers NSW Inc, Submission at 3-4.

62. Australian Federation of Carers, Submission at 1.

63. Australian Federation of Carers, Submission; and Carers NSW Inc, Submission.

64. Australian Quadriplegic Association Ltd (NSW),Submission; Disability Safeguards Coalition, Submission; Ethnic Childcare, Family and Community Services Co-operative Ltd, Submission; Disability Council of NSW, Submission; D Newey, Submission; NCOSS, Submission; Multicultural Disability Advocacy Association of NSW Inc, Submission; Nepean Independent Living Committee Inc, Submission; Western Sydney Intellectual Disability Support Group Inc, Submission; and NSW Council for Intellectual Disability, Submission.

65. DSA Sch 1 cl 2(m).

66. NSW, Minister for Community Services, Boarding Houses-Fact Sheet (1998). Boarding houses in which two or more people with a disability live must be licensed: Youth and Community Services Act 1973 (NSW) s 11.

67. NSW, Minister for Community Services, Boarding Houses-Fact Sheet (1998) at 2; and NSW, Task Force on Private “For Profit” Hostels, Report of the Task Force on Private “For Profit” Hostels (1993) Vol 1 at i.

68. See, for example, Australia, Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, Human Rights and Mental Illness: Report of the National Inquiry into the Human Rights of People with a Mental Illness (1993) Ch 11; and Coalition for Approved Supported Accommodation for People with Disabilities, Room to Move: A Position Paper on Licensed Boarding Houses (Sydney, 1998).

69. NSW, ADD, Annual Report 1996/97 at 47.

70. See, for example, Disability Council of NSW, Submission; D Newey, Submission; NCOSS, Submission; Dunrossil Challenge Foundation Ltd, Submission; Multicultural Disability Advocacy Association of NSW Inc, Submission; and Physical Disability Council of NSW Inc, Submission.

71. The Northcott Society, Submission; and ACROD Ltd NSW Division, Submission.

72. Disability Safeguards Coalition, Submission at 5.

73. NCOSS, Submission. See Ch 4 for a discussion of section 9 plans.

74. Local Government and Shires Associations of NSW, Submission.

75. Local Government and Shires Associations of NSW, Submission; Coalition for Approved Supported Accommodation, Submission; and Confidential Submission 1.

76. New Horizons Enterprises Ltd, Submission.

77. NSW Council for Intellectual Disability, Submission.

78. NSW Government, Submission.

79. Local Government and Shires Associations of NSW, Submission.

80. C Ferguson, Submission at 15-17.

81. In October 1998, the Government announced a three-year $66 million strategy to improve services for people with disabilities living in licensed residential centres or “licensed boarding houses”: NSW, Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) Legislative Assembly, 15 October 1998, the Hon F Lo Po, MP, Minister for Community Services at 8445. However, it was reported that little of this money had actually been provided, and that licensed boarding houses were continuing to close down: A Horin, “Homes for the Disabled Shut up Shop” Sydney Morning Herald (6 May 1999) at 10.