Disability advocates call for urgent action after SA Royal Commission findings

Disability advocates warn that without urgent reform, South Australia risks leaving women and children with disabilities trapped in unsafe, inaccessible systems, writes Melissa Marsden.

DISABILITY ADVOCACY organisation JFA Purple Orange has called on the Government to do more to support people with disabilities.

Following recommendations made by South Australia's Royal Commission into Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence report, disability advocates have called for urgent action to address the additional complexities that women and children with disability face in navigating and accessing services.

Strategy Leader at JFA Purple Orange, Tracey Wallace, points out:

It’s the starting point, not the finish line.

But what matters most now is a whole of government commitment to action — with funding, urgency and people with disability included at the centre of reform.

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The Commission found that people who rely on daily support are more vulnerable to coercion and abuse from intimate partners, family, carers or support workers.

Services were often found to be physically, communicatively and attitudinally inaccessible, while crisis accommodation is frequently unsuitable, inaccessible or unsafe.

Survivors also detailed how reporting violence often led to loss of disability supports.

However, despite some progress being made on reform, JFA Purple Orange remains concerned that not enough is being done.

Ms Wallace expressed criticism:

“The disability community have expressed continual disappointment with the State and Commonwealth on the lacklustre response to the Royal Commission... We cannot let more people with disability be harmed because of government inaction.”

JFA Purple Orange has said that while the South Australian Government has taken positive steps towards improving the lives of people with disability, not enough is being done from a legal perspective to address social inequality.

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Ms Wallace points out:

“Prosecution rates are extremely low. Women with disabilities are not having their cases properly investigated.”

Domestic violence has been cited as a key area where the living standards of women with disabilities have frequently been let down.

Ms Wallace criticises:

South Australia’s domestic violence system is underfunded and hard to navigate. We need immediate state-funded supports to help people with disabilities navigate domestic violence supports.

Often, seeking support and help involves more barriers. Crisis accommodation is frequently inaccessible and unsafe.

Without this support, people with disability are often left to navigate complex and unsafe systems alone and end up falling through the cracks.

Reporting domestic violence can lead to loss of support.

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Ms Wallace has called for “better mechanisms for people to be able to report violence and abuse towards people with disability”, adding:

“Many people are unable to change support workers quickly, putting them at further risk of violence.”

Despite Federal changes to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), JFA Purple Orange has affirmed that the South Australian Government has worked to address the needs of people with disability.

Ms Wallace affirms:

“Our state Minister has been a really strong advocate for disability in our state. Minister Cook has been a strong advocate for change.”

Ms Wallace reflects that the South Australian Government’s requirement for councils to implement disability inclusion plans has had a positive impact on people with disabilities:

“The first and second state disability inclusion plans could be stronger, but they are moving in the right direction. We’re really happy to see the South Australian Government’s swift response in accepting seven recommendations.”

Ms Wallace says Purple Orange are hoping the South Australian Government will meet its requirements to support people with disabilities amid concerns about changes to the NDIS:

The announcements have hit hard.

Whether those announcements pressure the State Government to act on recommendations made by the Royal Commission, who knows?

Melissa Marsden is a freelance journalist and PhD candidate at Curtin University. You can follow Melissa on Twitter @MelMarsden96, on Bluesky @melissamarsdenphd or via Melissa's website, Framing the Narrative.