Our submission to the Royal Commission on policies affecting temporary residents
September 1, 2021
“It breaks my heart to think what we could achieve with that kind of care … But it is just beyond our reach as we are not citizens or permanent residents.“
This week Down Syndrome Australia provided the Disability Royal Commission with a submission on laws, policies and practice affecting temporary residents.
Temporary residents (including families from New Zealand) are largely ineligible to access many Government programs and supports including NDIS. This has a significant impact on families with a person or a child with disability who are often unable to access early intervention or any other disability supports. Denying children access to early intervention and the supports they need is unfair to the individual, their families, and to the society in which those children grow up, whether that be Australia or any other country.
In collaboration with our partners in the Welcoming Disability Campaign, we have written to the Disability Royal Commission to share the stories and experiences of families who are not permanent residents and who are unable to access the disability supports they need.
Read our submission to the Royal Commission in PDF here.
Read our submission to the Royal Commission in Word here.