That Australia reviews and strengthens safeguards for the protection of privacy of people with disability including information sharing and management between government agencies.
That people with disability are provided with accessible information and education programs about their privacy rights.
Article 23 — Respect for Home and the Family
STATUS IN AUSTRALIA
Legal and Policy Framework
The National Disability Strategy (NDS) contains limited recognition and no comprehensive actions to address the rights of people with disability to marry, form intimate partner relationships, have a family and be parents.416 The NDS recognises the need for early intervention and supports for children with disability and their families, but there are few actions to address this comprehensively as a means to prevent family breakdown.
The National Disability Services Standards that govern the provision of disability services in Australia do not contain a specific standard that addresses the right to home and family. No State and Territory disability services standards address this issue, except for New South Wales, which has a standard concerning family relationships.417 In addition disability services standards at the national and State and Territory levels are gender neutral and adult focussed. (See also Articles 7 and 16)
The National Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children 2009–2020 does not contain any recognition or actions to address the support required by children or parents with disability to protect their rights to family life. (See also Article 16)
State and Territory Governments are responsible for the administration and operation of child protection services. However these focus on care and protection of children who have been removed from families due to abuse and neglect. They do contain the same legislative protections to address issues where children with disability are in voluntary out of home care, such as in respite care and residential hospitals, because families have not received appropriate supports to care for their children at home.
State and Territory guardianship legislation and some other child protection acts418 regulate and provide a degree of protection from non-therapeutic sterilisation for all children and young people and adults with disability. However there is no law in Australia that explicitly prohibits non-therapeutic sterilisation of children except in circumstances where there is a serious threat to health or life; or 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.
The Marriage Act 1961 (Cth) contains provisions that disallows marriage where a person is “mentally incapable of understanding the nature and effect of the marriage ceremony”. This provision has the effect of excluding some people with disability, particularly those with cognitive impairments from entering into marriage. There is no national legislative or policy approach to determine a person’s capacity to understand marriage or consent to marriage, nor is there a comprehensive supported-decision making system in Australia (see also Article 12) that would assist people with disability to understand and make decisions about marriage.
Under some State and Territory guardianship laws, a guardian of a person with disability cannot consent or refuse to consent to a marriage, but may give an opinion as to whether they think the marriage should proceed. This gives a guardian undue influence over the extent to which a person with disability can realise their right to freely marry. (See also Article 12)
