When it comes to disability, I have interacted with public servants as a user of services, but here I want to write on some policy-implementation challenges I have noticed as a disability human rights expert.
As a former Paralympian, 2022 Blind Australian of the Year, a Professor of Law at the University of Queensland, an affiliate of the Harvard Law School Project on Disability, contractor to the disability royal commission (DRC), member of the Universities Accord Ministerial Reference Group, and recipient of an OAM in 2024 “for services for people with disabilities”, I have had the privilege of engaging with a large number of federal and state public servants on disability policies.
The challenge is that a concerning number of public servants have not fully grasped the significant policy implications of the pivot to the new disability human rights paradigm found in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and the jurisprudence produced by its governing body, the CRPD Committee.
The benefit of dealing with the public service is that public servants know how to pivot when policy changes. After all, the public service is responsible for translating government policy decisions into practical actions.
Not only must they be able to do this effectively and efficiently, but they also must be able to pivot when there is a major policy shift; an outcome that almost always follows a general election or the appointment of a new prime minister, premier, chief minister, or minister. Accordingly, most public servants I encounter are interested in understanding the policy implications for them of this change, however becoming fully informed on this change requires time and resources — two commodities that are in short supply.
Time and resources can be found where a policy pivot requires this; I suggest the CRPD requires additional resourcing just to understand what is required from this new paradigm and how it is developing.
When considering devoting time and resources, it is worth noting the sustained nature of this policy pivot:
- The CRPD was signed by the Australian government, by then-prime minister John Howard in 2007 and commenced operation for Australia in 2008 while Kevin Rudd was prime minister.
- The DRC was established in 2019, while Scott Morrison was prime minister and the government response is being prepared by the current prime minister, Anthony Albanese.
- The Australian Public Service Disability Employment Strategy 2020–25 is an important part of the Australian government’s ongoing commitment to the CRPD.
Importantly, if you work in the public service, then the CRPD includes specific obligations on how you fulfil your duties.
Overall, the CRPD represents a monumental shift, emphasizing empowerment, active participation, and the expectation of ability equality and representation by persons with disabilities at all levels and in all aspects of society.
When the CRPD talks of equality, it shifts public policies from focusing on the medical circumstances of disability to requiring that society measure and remove barriers that are disabling. This policy pivot draws a distinction between the outdated approach of just counting the numbers of persons with disabilities who might use a bus, building, department’s services, or who are in school university, or work, to also assessing whether persons with disabilities are actually being included, through measures such as universal design.
Understanding what the policy pivot to the CRPD requires from the public service is informed by observing how the DRC has advanced parts of the CRPD.
Importantly, the disability royal commission and the CRPD both reflect the notion that persons with disabilities must not only be fully included in all public policy interventions but also must have a leadership role in the design, implementation, and monitoring of such measures.
In its executive summary, the DRC Final Report explains that “the contribution and leadership” of persons with disabilities must be incorporated in “the systems and settings that shape their lives.”
At a minimum, this must be realized through a co-design process. The DRC explains that a “true co-design process involves partnering with people with disability and a commitment to sharing systems of power.
Embedding this approach requires a shift in the mindset of decision-makers and governments.”
It requires the inclusion of persons with disabilities, as part of consultations, as renumerated consultants that provide advice or research reports, and as public servants, including in the executive bands.
The public service is used to major policy shifts. The CRPD represents a profound policy shift that requires work by the public service to realise.
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