The Disability Discrimination Act is the law that protects people with disability from discrimination.
But more than 30 years since it was created, the Act is failing to meet the needs of children and young people with disability.
Each year, the Australian Human Rights Commission receives more complaints and inquiries about disability discrimination than any other form of discrimination.
In this submission, CYDA calls on the Attorney-General’s Department to strengthen and modernise the Disability Discrimination Act by:
- Embedding human rights and anti-ableist framing
- Redefining disability using strengths-based language
- Introducing a positive duty for child and youth-facing sectors
- Modernising its provision and widening its scope to reflect today's reality
These changes will make sure the Disability Discrimination Act better protects children and young people with disability from discrimination in their daily lives, now and into the future.
You can download the PDF and Word versions of our full submission using the buttons above.