Disability Royal Commission

The Disability Royal Commission was established in April 2019 in response to community concern about widespread reports of violence against, and the neglect, abuse and exploitation of, people with disability.

The Disability Royal Commission investigated:

• preventing and better protecting people with disability from experiencing violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation
• achieving best practice in reporting, investigating and responding to violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation of people with disability
• promoting a more inclusive society that supports people with disability to be independent and live free from violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation.

The Final Report was tabled by government in the Australian Parliament on 29 September 2023. Subsequently, minor corrections were made and an updated report was published on 2 November 2023. The corrections are listed in the Corrigendum.

The Royal Commission made 222 recommendations on how to improve laws, policies, structures and practices to ensure a more inclusive and just society that supports the independence of people with disability and their right to live free from violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation.

The Final Report consists of 12 Volumes plus an additional introductory volume, which includes the Chair’s foreword, our vision for an inclusive Australia, an executive summary and the full list of recommendations. All volumes of the Final Report are available in various accessible formats. Printed copies of the Final Report can be ordered from the Order resources page. View the Final Report online here.

The Royal Commission has also published A brief Guide to the Final Report. This guide explains how information is organised in the Final report.

Additionally, the Royal Commission has published a brochure called Listening to First Nations people with disability.

The Australian Autism Alliance provided a response to the Royal Commission recommendations.

The Australian Government responded to the Disability Royal Commission in July 2024. To locate the response please visit this link.

Find below the Australian Autism Alliance’s other input into influencing and shaping the Disability Royal Commission.

The submissions below presents an outline of the Alliance’s views on how Autistic people fare in the education system and in employment. This submission was based on its earlier work through the Senate Select Committee on Autism and included a selection of autism community voices on people’s experiences in these settings.

We are grateful for our community’s contributions and are proud that their voices have been recorded and heard by the Royal Commission.

View the submission document here.

This submission contains a selected summary of key themes and comments from autistic people and their families on their experience within the education and employment systems.