Introduction
The purpose of the Consultation Material is to provide an outline of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and its Optional Protocol, to encourage discussion in relation to the rights, needs, potential and abilities of persons with disabilities to work towards promoting full implementation of the rights enshrined in the CRPD and to identify the key issues surrounding the full recognition and protection of these rights. In identifying the issues, Section 2 of the Consultation Material provides the information as to the obligations and indicators associated with specific rights enshrined in the CRPD to inform an assessment of the current status of the rights of persons with disabilities in Australia.
An understanding of the current status of the issues surrounding the incorporation of the rights enshrined in the CRPD in Australia will enable an assessment of the extent to which the Australian Government's commitment to the CRPD has resulted in the translation of each article of the CRPD into action on the ground. Such actions by the Government may take the following forms:
• the implementation of new policies
• legislation translating political will into a legal framework
• program development translating both policies and legislation into practical change
• financial resources allocation
• the training of Personnel
• the incorporation of persons with all types of disabilities from all socio-economic, religious and cultural backgrounds in all policy and legislative development concerning them
• taking the gender aspect into consideration in the delivery of services and programs.
Broadly, the information required to inform an assessment of the current status of the rights of persons with disabilities in Australia involves:
• the extent to which Australia currently complies with its CRPD obligations
• the foreseeable economic, environmental, social and cultural effects of implementation of the CRPD within Australia including the likely costs of implementation
• the ways in which the Australian Government should implement the CRPD
• whether Australia's ratification of the CRPD and its Optional Protocol should be accompanied by policy instruments to clarify or modify their effect in Australia.
Background
By becoming parties to international human rights treaties (variously called conventions or covenants), State parties voluntarily agree to be legally bound by the obligations and standards contained in those treaties. Typically, ratification of an international human rights treaty requires a State party to implement in its domestic law, policy and practice those rights and standards and to ensure that domestic remedies are available for any alleged breaches. In ratifying the CRPD, Australia has indicated to the international community its intention to ensure that our domestic laws are consistent with the rights and obligations contained in the treaty that apply to persons with disability.
The implementation by State parties of each of the international human rights treaties is monitored by “treaty bodies” that are established under each treaty. The treaty body responsible for monitoring the implementation of the CRPD is the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (Committee).