Disability Employment Australia
2024 Conference

Presentations

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The Disability Royal Commission: what did we learn?

In September 2023, the Final Report of the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability (DRC) was released. It outlined 222 recommendations across a wide range of areas, including education, employment and housing. Employment was a significant topic for the DRC, with the Final Report outlining a comprehensive list of recommendations to make mainstream employment open and inclusive.

Alastair, one of the Commissioners on the DRC, will provide reflections on what disabled people, their families, advocates, academics and others told the DRC about employment. Many people outlined their experiences of the failure of mainstream employment to include them. There were many accounts of the structural and attitudinal barriers they faced in seeking and maintaining employment, with low or no expectations of disabled people being a significant recurring theme. Alastair will talk about the systemic changes needed to achieve a vision of Australia having an open and inclusive employment system where disabled people are employed alongside their non-disabled colleagues and peers.

Presenters

Australian Human Rights Commission

Alastair McEwin AM

Disability Consultant

Alastair McEwin AM is a strategic and solutions-focused leader, with extensive experience in disability and human rights, and a strong record of service to Australia through senior executive and Commonwealth statutory office holder roles.  Profoundly deaf, Alastair has held numerous management and governance roles in the private, government and non‑government sectors.  He has served as Australia’s Disability Discrimination Commissioner at the Australian Human Rights Commission, and as a Royal Commissioner with the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability.

Alastair is currently working as a consultant in disability and human rights, including as a Senior Fellow with the Grattan Institute.  He is an Adjunct Professor with the Australian Graduate School of Management (AGSM), UNSW Business School at the University of New South Wales (UNSW).