Evaluation of the Commonwealth Disability Strategy 

Introduction

The Commonwealth Disability Strategy (CDS) was introduced in 1994 as a planning framework to assist Australian Government organisations to meet their obligations under the Commonwealth Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (DDA). Following the mid-term evaluation in 1999, a revised CDS was launched in October 2000 and remains in place today. The main objective of the current CDS is to ensure equity of access to all mainstream Australian Government policies, programs and services for people with disabilities. The CDS provides a framework to assist Australian Government organisations to improve access for people with disabilities to their programs, services and facilities. The CDS provides practical guidance to assist organisations to remove the barriers that face people with disabilities. The CDS encourages organisations to:

• provide information in accessible formats;
• employ people with disabilities;
• purchase accessible services;
• recognise people with disabilities as consumers of services; and
• consult with people with disabilities to find out what they need.

This evaluation focused on the progress made in the removal of barriers for people with disabilities and the effectiveness of the CDS over the past five years by:

• mapping the CDS' performance against its objectives;
• highlighting any barriers or drivers to success; and
• identifying possible future directions for the CDS.

Methodology

This evaluation has taken the form of a strategic review of a range of evidence in relation to the implementation of the CDS. Data was collected from a variety of sources, including the following:

1. Review of quantitative data, including the ABS report, Disability, Ageing and Carers: Summary of Findings (2003) and analysis of a survey of Australian Public Service (APS) employees with disabilities.
2. Analysis of departmental annual reports.
3. Literature review of changes in government roles.
4. Stakeholder consultations, including interviews with members of organisations representing people with disabilities, interviews with individual APS employees with disabilities, a workshop for APS executives, a workshop for APS employees with disabilities, a survey of a sample of government departments, a survey of APS employees, a national call for public submissions, and a telephone hotline service.
5. Review of national and international disability policies and practice.

Overview of findings

The evidence available to this evaluation suggests that there has been a range of positive outcomes from the CDS over the past five years. There has been greater recognition by Australian Government departments of the need to give consideration to the impact of their policies and practices on people with disabilities. There has also been a range of benefits for people with disabilities, as APS employees, as customers of government and as citizens. Examples of such benefits include increased accessibility of government information, increased physical access to government buildings, and more widespread availability of adaptive technology in workplaces. It is also clear that people with disabilities have not universally or uniformly enjoyed these benefits in all areas or from all areas of government. Apart from some variances between states and territories, there is some consistency from all sources of data that indicates:

• APS employment of people with disabilities is falling, while the proportion of people with disabilities in the Australian population is rising.
• Levels of satisfaction with their employment circumstances are lower for APS employees with disabilities than for other APS employees.
• People with disabilities who live in regional areas, who are from non-English speaking backgrounds and/or are Indigenous Australians still face particular disadvantages.

Feedback was received about the inconsistency of approaches, both within and across departments, to people with disabilities. This is considered to be a product of limited understanding of the needs and challenges faced by people with disabilities, and limited appreciation of the implications for people with disabilities of decisions made by government officials. Many respondents sought improvement in the attitudes of many who work within government to people with disabilities. These attitudes are not necessarily malicious or overtly discriminatory in intent, but demonstrate a need for a greater comprehension of what is required to assist people with disabilities negotiate government services and functions on a day to day basis.

Proposed future directions

The following five areas may add value to the future delivery of the CDS:

1. Revising the current CDS Performance Reporting Framework (including indicators of performance) for reporting departmental progress in relation to the achievements of the CDS' objectives to place greater emphasis on the achievement of outcomes.
2. Consider introducing a monitoring and feedback role within government to assist departments develop action plans (where desired) and meet their obligations in terms of reporting progress. This could also include the annual compilation of performance data into a whole of government report that established benchmarks and usefully demonstrates best-case practices.
3. Extending the scope of the CDS to all Australian Government departments, authorities, instrumentalities and trading enterprises, with the obligation of individuals and organisations providing goods and services to the Australian Government to be responsive to the principles of the CDS. Work could also be taken to strengthen the focus of the CDS in government tender documents.
4. Implementing a planned, educative process that informs APS employees, managers and contractors of their responsibilities and obligations in relation to the achievement of the CDS objectives; and promotes and illustrates the practical benefits of greater inclusion of people with disabilities.
5. Encouraging all Australian Government departments to ensure that their disability action planning, recruitment action and workplace modifications identify and take account of the specific needs of people with disabilities, in particular, those from a non-English speaking background, those with multiple/complex disabilities and those with episodic and psychiatric disabilities.