The findings of the Disability Royal Commission: the relevance for people with intellectual disabilities in rural areas

Figures & data

Table 1. Overall mentions* of “regional”, “rural” and “remote” in the final report.

Volume	Regional	Rural	Remote
Executive Summary: Our vision for an Inclusive Australia and Recommendations	10	3	58
1: Voices of People with Disability (Books 1 to 3)	127 (46 + 47 + 34)	35 (12 + 8 + 15)	39 (11 + 22 + 6)
2: About the Royal Commission	10	4	50
3: Nature and extent of violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation	16	4	17
4: Realising the human rights of people with disability	11	5	8
5: Governing for inclusion	2	0	6
6: Enabling autonomy and access	14	16	41
7: Inclusive education, employment and housing (Summary + Parts A, B & C)	26 (1 + 19 + 5 + 1)	5 (0 + 1 + 3 + 1)	9 (0 + 5 + 3 + 1)
8: Criminal justice and people with disability	11	3	12
9: First Nations people with disability	12	5	182
10: Disability services	23	11	87
11: Independent oversight and complaint mechanisms	1	0	0
12: Beyond the Royal Commission	1	1	4
Totals	264	92	513

*There is some overlap in the reporting of these numbers, particularly in relation to issues mentioned in both the Executive Summary and then in a distinct volume, and also when the combined phase “regional and remote” was used.

Table 2. Mentions* of “regional”, “rural”, “remote” and “geographic disadvantage” in the Disability Royal Commission’s recommendations.

Term/phrase	Recommendation	Specific reference
Rural	Recommendation 6.29 Improve specialist training and continuing professional development in cognitive disability health care (pg. 229)	Generic reference noting “… the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine” as part of a wider list of medical practitioners
Regional	Recommendation 7.8 Workforce capabilities, expertise and development (pg. 224)	Generic reference noting “…regional catchment” in relation to schools
	Recommendation 8.21 Diversion of people with cognitive disability from criminal proceedings (pgs. 277–278)	“The New South Wales, South Australian, Victorian and Western Australian governments should review and fund their existing court-based diversion programs for people with cognitive disability charged with offences that can be heard in local or magistrates’ courts to ensure the programs … are accessible and culturally appropriate, particularly in regional and remote areas” AND “The Australian Capital Territory, Northern Territory, Queensland and Tasmanian governments should develop and fund court-based diversion programs for people with disability charged with summary offences in local or magistrates’ courts which … are accessible and culturally appropriate, particularly in regional and remote areas”
	Recommendation 10.24 Improved access to behaviour support practitioners (pg. 297)	The NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission should, by December 2024, improve access to behaviour support practitioners by: providing incentives for practitioners and National Disability Insurance Scheme providers to provide behaviour support services, including in regional and remote areas in which “thin markets” operate forming a partnership with First Nations leaders from the disability and employment services sectors to develop a recruitment strategy targeting First Nations people and others with experience in working with First Nations communities to address behaviour support shortages in regional and remote areas
	Recommendation 10.29 Establishing a First Nations Unit (pg. 299)	The NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission should establish a dedicated First Nations Unit to develop its engagement with and understanding of the issues facing First Nations participants in the National Disability Insurance Scheme, particularly in regional and remote communities.
Remote	Recommendation 6.2 Increase the number of Auslan interpreters (pg. 214)	The Australian Government and state and territory governments, through the Disability Reform Ministerial Council, should commission the development of a workforce strategy to increase the number and quality of Auslan interpreters. The strategy should be based on a robust demand-supply analysis to quantify the current gaps and shortages in interpreting services. This includes analysis of qualifications, specialisations, geographic coverage, and the availability and use of face-to-face interpreting and Video Remote Interpreting
	Recommendation 9.4 Expand community connector programs (pg. 281)	The National Disability Insurance Agency should increase the number and coverage of the community connector programs for First Nations people with disability in remote areas.
	Recommendation 9.9 Criteria for funding family supports (pg. 282)	The National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA), the First Nations Advisory Council and First Nations Community Controlled Organisations should co-design policy guidelines on funding for First Nations family members to provide supports to participants in remote communities. Any policy guidelines should consider: the risk of financial exploitation, the need for a regulatory framework and oversight, and whether a similar approach would apply to non-First Nations carers in remote communities in similar situations
	Recommendation 9.13 Remote workforce development (pg. 284)	The First Nations Disability Forum and parties to the Disability Sector Strengthening Plan (DSSP) should collaborate to develop a strategy to develop First Nations local workforces in remote communities.
	Recommendation 10.4 Quality of support coordination (pgs. 286–287)	The NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission should examine the quality and consistency of support coordination, with a particular focus on National Disability Insurance Scheme participants who live in remote and very remote locations
	Recommendation 10.10 Provider of last resort (pg. 290)	The Australian Government should urgently engage with state and territory governments about funding and arrangements for a provider of last resort scheme. It should also consult with people with disability, disabled people’s organisations, disability representative organisations including member-led First Nations Community Controlled Organisations, and peak bodies about how such a scheme could operate. The scheme should be designed to address failed or thin markets, particularly for First Nations people with disability in remote or very remote areas
	Recommendation 10.21 Registration and audit process (pg. 296)	Generic reference noting “remote auditing”.
Geographic Disadvantage	Recommendation 4.7 The right to live free from exploitation, violence and abuse (pg. 195)	The Disability Rights Act should recognise people with disability have the right to live free from all forms of exploitation, violence and abuse … people with disability who are victims of any form of exploitation, violence or abuse have the right to … access protection services that are sensitive and responsive to the different needs and experiences of people with disability, due to one or more attributes such as sex; gender identity; sexual orientation; ethnicity; language; race; religion, faith or spirituality; socio-economic status; age; neurodiversity; culture; residency status; geographic disadvantage; and experiences of trauma
	Recommendation 4.9 The right to equitable access to health services (pg. 196)	The Disability Rights Act should recognise the right of people with disability to equitable access to health services. This right should include … the right to access health services that are safe, sensitive and responsive to the intersectional needs and experiences of the person with disability, noting that intersectional needs and experiences may be due to a variety of attributes, including sex; gender identity; sexual orientation; ethnicity; language; race; religion, faith or spirituality; socio-economic status; age; neurodiversity; culture; residency status; geographic disadvantage; and experiences of trauma

*When there are combinations of these words, such as “regional and remote”, the reference is only included in the first instance.