Linda Burney (Barton, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Preventing Family Violence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to support the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Worker Screening Database) Bill 2019. I move:

That all words after "That" be omitted with a view to substituting the following words:

"whilst not declining to give the bill a second reading, the House:

(1) notes:

(a) the longstanding calls from people with disability and their advocates, and the recommendation of the Senate Community Affairs Committee in November 2015, that a Royal Commission be established to inquire into the violence against and abuse of people with disability;

(b) this conservative Government rejected, in March 2017, the recommendation of the Senate Community Affairs Committee that a Royal Commission be established, and voted twice in the Senate against calls for a Royal Commission to be established;

(c) that children with disability are three times more likely to experience abuse than children who do not have disability, and that 90 per cent of women with intellectual disability have been sexually abused; and

(d) there is now commitment across the Parliament for a Royal Commission into violence and abuse perpetrated against people with disability; and

(2) calls on the Government to ensure a majority of Royal Commissioners have lived experience of disability and that there is an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Royal Commissioner".

We know how important it is that people with disability receive high-quality care from the people they trust. This is one of the key reasons why, when Labor were last in government, we introduced the National Disability Insurance Scheme. It is why Labor committed to a royal commission into violence against and abuse and neglect of people with disability back in May 2017.

People with disability are significantly more vulnerable to abuse and neglect, and often they are simply unable to access the justice that they deserve. This bill establishes the legislative framework for the commencement of a national worker screening database for the National Disability Insurance Scheme, known as the NDIS. The Council of Australian Governments Disability Reform Council agreed to establish a nationally consistent approach to worker screening in which states and territories will collect and analyse worker screening applications for the NDIS and the Commonwealth will establish and maintain a national database.

Currently, individual states and territories are responsible for collecting and maintaining their own worker screening processes. This bill maintains individual state and territory arrangements for the collection of worker screening information, but it creates, importantly, a central national database to store and disclose that information as required. The database will disclose information to those who are employing staff to work with NDIS participants to confirm to employers whether a particular person does or does not pose a risk to people with disability.

Labor welcomes this legislation because we know that people with disability are at greater risk of abuse than others in our community. Too often this abuse comes at the hands of people whom people with disability should be able to trust the most. There are many horrific cases of people with disability being abused and assaulted in institutions, and residential and educational settings. According to Disabled People's Organisations Australia, 92 per cent of women with intellectual disability have been sexually assaulted. Sixty per cent of these assaults occur before these women turn 18. Further, children with disability are at least three times more likely to experience abuse than other children.

While the national worker screening database will be an important tool to prevent some abuse occurring in the future, it can never investigate the crimes of the past, nor will it address systemic failings in other sectors, including health, education, mental health and justice. The voices of people who have been abused must be heard. We cannot continue to allow these sickening incidents of abuse to be swept under the carpet. This is why Labor committed to a royal commission into violence and abuse of people with a disability, which the Leader of the Opposition, along with the member for Jagajaga, announced in May 2017. Only a royal commission will have the power, weight and authority to uncover the stories of injustice and deliver lasting changes for people with disability. It is good to see the Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison government finally take the royal commission seriously. People with disability and Labor have been calling for this for many years.

Labor has called on the government to ensure that the final terms of reference are broad and cover a range of contexts, including education, health, mental health and residential settings. Labor believes it is crucial that it also covers historic abuse and abuses. Above all, it is imperative that the government consult with people with disability and their advocates, not only in setting the terms of reference but also in the conduct of the royal commission itself. Labor has also called for the majority of the members of the royal commission to have lived experience of disability and for at least one royal commissioner to be of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent. Labor has also asked the government to consider assistant commissioners to make sure the voices of people with different experiences of disability, culturally and linguistically diverse communities, and LGBTIQ people are considered at every stage of the process in the formulation of the recommendations.

I also want to take the opportunity to briefly discuss the Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison's government neglect of the National Disability Insurance Scheme over the past five years. I have been absolutely gobsmacked and extraordinarily disturbed by the many people I have met with, both people with a disability and their families and advocates, to hear some of these stories. The government's last-minute announcement on prices for providers is an admission that it has completely botched the rollout of the scheme. The NDIS is recording a massive underspend. The scheme is running behind schedule, with the equivalent of 77,000 eligible participants missing out. Participants are continuing to experience lengthy delays and plans are being underutilised. This means that people with disability are simply not receiving the support that they need. The government should get the NDIS right, not use it to prop up its budget, and that is what we are seeing. Let there be no misguidance on that.

In 2014, the Liberals placed a staffing cap on the National Disability Insurance Agency which has stifled the agency's capacity to properly roll out the scheme and has placed unnecessary pressure on staff. Labor's plan, if we are afforded government, is clear. We will start by abolishing the Liberals' arbitrary staffing cap. This will give capacity for the NDIA to do its job properly. We have to make sure the NDIS fulfils its promise and improves the lives of Australians with disability and this means putting people with disability and their families back at the heart of the NDIS.

Luke Howarth (Petrie, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the amendment seconded?

Emma McBride (Dobell, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the amendment. I rise to support the amendment moved by the member for Barton and shadow minister for families and social services. This bill amends the NDIS Act to provide a legislative framework for requiring that the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission maintains a national worker screening database for the NDIS. Whilst we welcome the measure, it is critical that this bill notes the importance of the royal commission into violence against and abuse of those living with disability. Tonight I acknowledge my friend and colleague Liesl Tesch from the New South Wales parliament, who is also a wheelchair user. Liesl is a powerful advocate for people with disability in our community and across Australia. These are her words: 'The NDIS was designed to improve the quality of life for people with disabilities, not to create further gaps and further fears and greater inconsistency in the nondelivery of services that allow people with disabilities access and inclusion within Australian communities.' Liesl and I regularly share conversations in our professional world about individual cases of neglect and gaps in delivery that impact on people with disability across the Central Coast.

Last week we met with VOICCD, a local disability advocacy group speaking up for and supporting people with disability in our community. The clear message we have heard is of the need to improve every aspect of the NDIS—to fund, not to cut budgets, to improve the lives of people living with disability, is paramount. As Liesl says, 'People with disability need to know that our support workers and carers are absolutely trustworthy.' In my office on the New South Wales Central Coast we have been contacted by and have worked closely with 300 people who have had problems with the transition to the NDIS and with their plans. We try to work with the agency to resolve these issues. We, as Australians living with and without disabilities, need to know that a diverse cross-section of people with disability have a very clear voice in the NDIS and in the royal commission into violence against and abuse and neglect of people with disability. We want them to be active, included and full participants in Australian society. It is so critical to people in our community living with disability.

I am so pleased to support the amendment moved by the member for Barton and I'm very pleased to acknowledge the powerful advocacy of Liesl Tesch. Liesl is a role model for all of us on the Central Coast and across Australia. Liesl is a former teacher, a Paralympic gold medallist and a New South Wales state parliament member for the Labor Party. We need more people like Liesl representing our diverse community, our inclusive community, so that we can be a community where everybody can fully participate, an inclusive community that is strong and diverse and reflects the whole of our community. Liesl, you are an inspiration to all of us. It is such a privilege to consider you a friend and a colleague. I am so pleased that you could be here today in the federal parliament to hear this important debate.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to speak to the House today about this critical issue in our community. I want to acknowledge and recognise the work of our shadow minister, the member for Barton, who has the heart, the empathy, the compassion and the know-how to change this. It must be better. It matters, and we must make a difference. Thank you.

Rebekha Sharkie (Mayo, Centre Alliance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Last time we were in this parliament, the Minister for Families and Social Services stated that the NDIS was now serving over 250,000 people across Australia and the Prime Minister touted that the scheme was one that provided choice and control for disabled Australians.

At the time of that statement, the government had extended question time in what was widely believed to be a deliberate attempt to delay a vote on the establishment of a royal commission into the abuse of disabled Australians. What neither the Prime Minister nor the minister responsible discussed during the many opportunities provided during that sitting fortnight were the 184 incidents of abuse and neglect reported to the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission, the 62 reports of expected or unexpected deaths, the 91 reports of injuries, the 34 complaints against staff and providers, and the 75 cases of unauthorised restraint. All of these were in just the three-month window between July 2018 and the end of September 2018.

We, as legislators, have a duty to protect the most vulnerable people in our society. If we won't show the leadership that our communities expect, then we condone the poor behaviour of others through our wilful blindness: the behaviour you walk past is the behaviour you accept. However, the government eventually relented its opposition to the royal commission, and I note the recent announcement that the government will commit the resources needed to ensure a thorough investigation of the issue.

The exploitation of vulnerable people was set out in excruciating detail at the royal commission into institutional child sex abuse and the royal commission into banking and financial services. No doubt, we will uncover further abuses in the royal commission into aged care. The abuses may have been prevented if only we had shone a light on these issues earlier and if we had listened to those who had spoken out and given a voice to those who were too afraid to do so.

I welcome the Prime Minister's commitment to investigate the abuse and neglect of people with a disability, and I am pleased to see the government taking action through the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Worker Screening Database) Bill 2019 to prevent others from suffering the same fate. The bill will enable the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission to establish and maintain a nationally consistent database for worker screening of people who provide NDIS supports and services through a registered NDIS provider or for those who self manage. Current worker screening arrangements are state based and vary in quality, with some states not recognising clearances given by other states.

The NDIS commission will be responsible for maintaining the database, which will record all cleared and excluded applicants from all states and territories. It will also enable national ongoing monitoring of cleared applicants' criminal history records to ensure that worker screening units can assess and respond in a timely manner to the risk posed to participants. This is an important step forward in ensuring that NDIS participants are treated with dignity and respect, and in protecting their welfare as vulnerable members of our community. However, there is a long way to go.

Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to recognise the work of individuals, such as the former member of the South Australian Legislative Council, the Hon. Kelly Vincent and Senator Jordon Steele-John, who have long campaigned for the rights of disabled Australians.

David Coleman (Banks, Liberal Party, Minister for Immigration) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Worker Screening Database) Bill 2019 establishes the National Disability Insurance Scheme Worker Screening Database. The database will keep an up-to-date national record of information about NDIS worker screening checks. A clearance recorded in the database means that the NDIS worker has undergone a background check and has been found not to pose an unacceptable risk of harm to NDIS participants.

The Morrison government is committed to the right of people with a disability to live lives free from abuse, violence, neglect and exploitation. The central database to be established under this bill will support nationally consistent NDIS worker screening in pursuit of this objective. It is an important measure to ensure that people with disability have access to quality and safe supports and services under the NDIS, and are not at risk of harm from people who work closely with them.

Luke Howarth (Petrie, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The original question was that this bill be now read a second time. To this the honourable member for Barton has moved, as an amendment that all words after "That" be omitted with a view to substituting other words. The immediate question is that the amendment be agreed to.

Question negatived.

Original question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.