Improving outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with disability

The Hon Jane Prentice MP, Assistant Minister for Social Services and Disability Services, met with disability sector stakeholders and representatives from the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community at the Redfern Statement Indigenous Disability Workshop in Sydney today.

The workshop was hosted by the First Peoples Disability Network Australia and the National Congress of Australia’s First People to progress the discussion of key Indigenous disability issues as highlighted in the 2016 Redfern Statement.

“The Australian Government is committed to improved outcomes for people with disability and improved outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people” said Mrs Prentice.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are nearly twice as likely as non-Indigenous Australians to be living with disability. This has significant implications for both mainstream and specialist disability service systems.

“It is important to ensure that the specific needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who also live with disability are addressed.”

Mrs Prentice said “The Australian Government recognises that collaborating with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities is the key to improving the outcomes for their people with disability. I was pleased to receive the top ten solutions from the group and I look forward to sharing these with my colleagues.

“My Department and the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet has been working in partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with disability, their representative organisations, community organisations, academics and other Australian Government agencies to develop a Plan to Improve Outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People with Disability,” said Mrs Prentice.

The workshop aligns with the Australian Government’s commitment, under the National Disability Strategy 2010-2020 Second Implementation Plan: Driving Action 2015-2018, to hold an annual solutions-focused workshop on improving outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with disability.

More information about the National Disability Strategy, including the Second Implementation Plan, can be found here.