September Policy and Advocacy Update

Amaze makes submission to  Parliamentary Inquiry into Victoria’s Criminal Justice System

The Victorian Parliament has been running a public inquiry into the criminal justice system. In our submission, we call for a major overhaul of the justice system to ensure that autistic people who come into contact with it are afforded the best opportunity for fair treatment.

Our submission is comprehensive and is based on an ‘autism and justice strategy’, which would guide reforms to the Victorian justice system. It covers issues relating to autistic victims, witnesses and alleged offenders; diversions from involvement in the criminal justice system; and accessibility, supports and service systems across the entire justice system, including police, courts and the prison system.

You can read our submission here.

Changes to be made to the NDIS Act

The Commonwealth Government has released its long-awaited draft amendment Bill, which sets out its planned changes to the NDIS Act.

The main focus of the Bill is on the Tune Review, and implementing changes related to the ‘Participant Service Guarantee’. This is generally positive.

There are a number of potentially concerning changes, including those related to changing participant plans and plan reassessments.

Our friends at the Public Interest Advocacy Centre have released a fantastic blog explaining the Bill and each of the main areas of change. If you are interested to learn more about the law change and what it might mean for NDIS participants, we strongly recommend reading it.

You can read it here.

All documents relating to the law change are available on the Government’s website here, including options for telling the Government what you think about the changes.

New approach for NDIS participants who need support for their decision making

The NDIA has closed consultation on its new Support for Decision Making Policy. While Amaze did not make an individual submission, we contributed to and endorsed the comprehensive work of our colleagues at Inclusion Australia.

Approximately 60% of adult NDIS participants have a disability that affects the way they think, including those with intellectual disability and some autistic participants. This submission gives the NDIA many recommendations about how these participants can maximise the opportunities to make their own decisions.

You can read the submission here.