Commonwealth Disability Strategy
Introduction
A strategic framework for inclusion and participation by people with disability in Commonwealth Government policies, programs and services.
Current Status
The Commonwealth Disability Strategy (CDS) is currently being reviewed. At this time the reporting requirements for 2009 - 2010 will remain unchanged.
A current reporting template - DOC [102kB] | PDF Version [33kb] and an example guide of the CDS Performance Reporting Framework - PDF [82kB] are available to assist with reporting for 2009–10.
Background
The CDS was introduced in 1994 as a ten-year planning framework to assist Australian Government agencies meet their obligations under the (Commonwealth) Disability Discrimination Act (1992). Under the Strategy, Commonwealth Government agencies are obliged to remove barriers which prevent people with disability from having access to policies, programs and services.
The CDS includes a reporting framework built around a number of key roles performed by Commonwealth Government agencies (policy advisor, regulator, purchaser, provider and employer). This framework requires all Commonwealth Government organisations, with the exception of Government Business Enterprises, to provide data on their performance against the framework in their respective annual reports.
Ten Year Evaluation
An independent evaluation of the CDS was conducted over the period 2004-06. The final evaluation report prepared by Erebus International, was released in November 2006.
The evaluation report recommended the continuation of the CDS, however, it also identified a number of options to improve the performance of the Strategy.
National Disability Strategy
The Australian Government is in the process of developing a National Disability Strategy (NDS). The Strategy will provide a national framework to drive future reforms in the disability service system and, importantly, mainstream systems for people with disability, their families and carers.
The NDS will cover already existing approaches by the Commonwealth, states and territories, acknowledging and supporting the priorities of existing strategies that address disability issues. The CDS is being reviewed as part of the development of the NDS.
Revisions to the CDS
The Department of Housing, Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA) is revising the current CDS in response to the evaluation report, and to align it with the objectives of the NDS.
One significant change that has already taken place is the transfer of responsibility for the reporting requirements under the 'employer role' from the CDS to the Australian Public Service Commission (APSC). This change compliments recommendations in the Management Advisory Committee (MAC) Report 6, Employment of People with Disability in the APS (released by the APSC in August 2006) and the Department of Finance and Administration's internal paper, Report on Red Tape in Internal Australian Government Administration (Report on Red Tape).
An area of duplication in Government reporting has been removed. Agencies now only report on their 'employer role' activities through the APSC's State of the Service agency survey and not agencies annual reports.
The APSC monitors the employment of people with disability in the Australian Public Service (APS) through the annual State of the Service report. This report tracks employment rates, separation rates and survey data (e.g. job satisfaction) on staff with disability for the APS as a whole. In response to the MAC Report 6, the APSC is also undertaking work to improve the rate of employment of people with disability in the APS including those with complex needs.