The Disability Royal Commission will continue its examination of the experiences of people with cognitive disability in the criminal justice system at a hearing on August 12-13, 2021.
This hearing will examine what happens when services and supports are sought by or for people with cognitive disability in the criminal justice system from the NDIS.
This fifteenth hearing follows on from public hearing 11 when senior counsel assisting Dr Kerri Mellifont stated in her opening remarks that “some of the evidence in this hearing speaks of people’s experiences in trying to access services from states or through the NDIS, and the sense by some of responsibility being shuffled between the two. We note that there will be a second part of this hearing at a later time, which will enable the states and the NDIA to be heard on these issues.”
In hearing 15 the question will be asked of the Commonwealth, State and Territory governments and the NDIS about who is responsible for providing the necessary supports and services to assist people with cognitive disability to transition from custodial environments?
Chair, Ronald Sackville QC will preside over this hearing which will be closed to the public because of Covid-19 but will be live-streamed on the Royal Commission website and include live captioning and Auslan-English interpreters.