Members of the Royal Commission are in Western Australia this month to attend a series of collaborative in-person engagements with disability community groups, service providers and advocacy organisations.
Community engagement staff are conducting private events across the state from Thursday 18 August until Friday 2 September 2022. Regions the Royal Commission is travelling to include Port Hedland, Geraldton, Albany, Katanning, Busselton and various parts of Perth.
The events include:
- A mural-painting session with a group of young people with disability to learn about what they would like to see happen for a more inclusive future.
- A group session with members of the Deaf community, facilitated in Auslan, to learn more about barriers for inclusion including in education and employment settings.
The sessions come ahead of Public hearing 27 which will be held in-person in Perth at the Pan Pacific from 19 - 23 September. The hearing focuses on the conditions in detention in the criminal justice system and members of the public are welcome to attend.
Alex Jones from the Royal Commission's Respect and Inclusion team says, at this stage of the pandemic with borders open, the engagement team have continued to travel across the country to meet with people with disability and conduct face-to-face engagements.
'These in-person engagements are as equally important as online events, but some people with disability are not be able to connect online and this offers the community the unique opportunity to come in person.'
'For example, the Deaf community uses the visual language of Auslan and some attendees are deafblind which makes an engagement event easier where everyone can be with each other.'
The information provided during community engagement sessions will be used to inform the creation of a series of recommendations to be included in the Final Report. The report will be handed to the Australian Government by 29 September 2023.
Anyone can participate in sharing their views for creating a more inclusive society - one way is by making a submission to the Royal Commission.
Submissions are accepted in any language and can be translated if required. If you need information in your own language about making a submission, call the Translating and Interpreting service (external site) on 131 450 and ask to be connected to 07 3734 1900.
