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COTA Victoria and Seniors Rights Victoria hear regularly from older Victorians with a disability who have experienced discrimination in workplaces, services and other areas of public life. We see how gaps in legal provisions and processes can leave people without redress. We also see the need for greater proactive effort and accountability to prevent this discrimination.
As such, we welcome the Australian Government’s review of the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (DDA). We support reforms that implement the Disability Royal Commission (DRC) and align with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and progress towards a UN convention on the rights of older persons.
Our submission focuses on the relevance and accessibility of key DDA provisions for older people – noting that those over 65 represent 40% of all those with a disability while an estimated 51% of Victorians over 65 have a disability. Some 40% of older people report experiencing age-related discrimination – a significant proportion of which is likely to have a disability component.
The context for our response is what we believe to be significant under-recognition of ageing factors in DDA complaints, as well as in Disability Standards and Disability Action Plans. As COTA Victoria has noted elsewhere, inequity in access to disability supports for older people can itself be seen as a form of discrimination.