To say it’s been a busy year for disability policy is, frankly, an understatement. Much of what took place this year was expected, but there were a few surprises too. Here’s our recap of some of the biggest moments of 2024.
Policy and Paralympics
In disability policy, the Federal government released its response to the Disability Royal Commission. For many in the sector, the response was disappointing, with the government accepting in full just 13 of the 172 recommendations it had full or shared responsibility for.
Mean while, changes in the NDIS arena continued. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal was abolished and replaced with the Administrative Review Tribunal in May. In October, new legislation came into effect governing who could access the NDIS, as well as a new definition of NDIS supports. The government opened consulting on so-called Foundational Supports, which would assist people with disability outside of the NDIS. That consultation closed earlier this month, setting us up for an interesting 2025. Just last week, the Minister announced that its reforms mean the NDIS is on track to meet its growth target of eight per cent, down from 23 per cent under the former government.
Elsewhere, we finally got news that there has been a shift in the participation and unemployment rates for people with disability. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the participation rate is now at 60.5 per cent, up from 53.4 per cent. The unemployment rate has dropped from 10.3 per cent to 7.3 per cent.
And the Paralympics were the must-watch event of the year.. The Australian team did us proud, bringing home 63 medals: 18 gold, 17 silver and 28 bronze. We finished ninth on the tally, just one gold medal behind host nation France.
Farewells
There have been a number of major goodbyes this year. Undoubtedly the biggest, and perhaps most surprising, was that of NDIS Minister Bill Shorten.
The Minister announced his retirement in September, with a departure date set for February, after which he’ll take up a post as vice chancellor at the University of Canberra.
“What really matters in this country is the people – and I have a chance to help people at a university fulfil that potential and thereby fulfil the potential of Australia,” Shorten reportedly said at his retirement press conference.
This year also saw the departure of Nicole Lee as president of People With Disability Australia, and Corene Strauss as CEO of Australian Disability Network.
Future
So what can we look forward to in 2025? The obvious one is the announcement of Bill Shorten’s replacement. Advocate Hannah Diviney has called for his successor to have lived experience of disability; if that isn’t feasible, she has suggested that potential NDIS Ministers undergo empathy training to understand what it’s like to live with disability.
The controversial changes to the NDIS will continue without Shorten at the helm in 2025. Now that the consultation process around foundational supports has come to a close, we may soon know exactly what these supports are.
Employment and education are likely to remain on the agenda too following the government’s response to the Disability Royal Commission this year.
No matter what happens, throughout all the twists and turns of the new year, we’ll be here to bring you all the important news and key developments in the disability sector. We hope you’ll join us.
From all of us here at Freedom 2 Live, we wish you a very Merry Christmas, and all the best for the New Year.