Shiver me timbers! Advocacy and inclusion

Keynote 1: Disability Inclusion in Victoria

Sam Drummond,  Senior Policy and Research Officer, Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission

There have been many advances in major policy and system reform in Victoria in recent years that aim to progress equality. How is this translating into greater inclusion for people with disability in mainstream service systems? Sam Drummond, Senior Policy and Research Officer at  Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission, explores impact of these reforms on disability inclusion, as well as the important role that disability advocacy play in leveraging these opportunities to drive greater outcomes for people with disability.

In Conversation: Disability Inclusion and the state of the advocacy sector - Panel session

Disability advocates are a critical enabler of disability inclusion in our society. There are many initiatives underway to promote disability inclusion on a state and federal level that demonstrate a genuine desire to see disability inclusion in mainstream services become reality and disability advocacy services become stronger across the country alongside this.

We have heard that there are many major policy and system reforms that have the potential to advance disability inclusion, however the data tells us that its still not translating on the ground into real and meaningful change.

What do we need to do to increase accountability on mainstream services to become more disability inclusive? What are the big picture human rights issues at play here? What is the Victorian Governments vision for a strong and vibrant disability advocacy sector and its role in the realisation of a more inclusive Victoria?