That, in line with the recommendations from the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and the UPR, Australia develops nationally consistent and uniform legislation that explicitly prohibits non therapeutic sterilisation of all children except in circumstances where there is a serious threat to health or life; and that prohibits non-therapeutic sterilisation of adults without their full and informed consent except in circumstances where there is a serious threat to health or life.
That Australia conducts an urgent national inquiry into the legal, policy and social support environment that gives rise to the removal and / or threat of removal of babies and children from parents with disability.
That Australia collects appropriate statistical and research data on the number of parents with disability in contact with the child protection system and the number of children removed from parents with disability, disaggregated by gender, ethnicity, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander status and other relevant variables, in order to guide policy, funding, and support development.
That Australia establishes comprehensive and intensive gender specific parenting and family support measures for parents with disability, to assist with maintaining children with their parents and within their own family homes.
That Australia audits laws, policy and practice governing adoption, reproductive autonomy and procreative choice against the CRPD and establish measures to remove inconsistencies.
That Australia establishes measures to raise awareness in the general community, specifically people with disability, their families, the judiciary and agencies involved in child protection about the right to parent, particularly for people with intellectual and psychosocial disability and promote positive images of parents with disability in the community.
That Australia resources sexuality, relationship and human rights training and information for people with disability, including providing support for agencies that provide access to sexual services, including in residential facilities.
That Australia ensures that at the next review of the National Child Protection Framework, specific issues and comprehensive strategies for both children and young people with disability and parents with disability are identified and included for implementation.
That Australia provides significant investment in supports and measures to ensure that families are able to provide appropriate support to their children with disability without needing to resort to relinquishment. Such measures should include methods for the collection of consistent, cross-jurisdictional data about the relinquishment of children with disability by families.
