The information below is about The Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability (the Royal Commission). Reading this information may be distressing to you. If at any time you would like to talk to a professional with experience in trauma counselling, please contact the free and confidential counselling services we have listed in our Counselling Services pages.
The Royal Commission is investigating violence against and abuse of people with disabilities
The Royal Commission is investigating violence against and the abuse, neglect and exploitation of people with disability in all contexts and settings. For example, if you experienced abuse in your home (that might be your family home, or living in a group home, or in out-of-home care), at school or work, in prison or in a hospital, the Commissioners want to hear your stories and experiences.
The Royal Commission wants to understand why people with disability continue to experience high levels of abuse. And why the numerous recommendations made by the many inquiries and reports over the years have not improved the lives of people with disability.
The Royal Commission will last four years until September 2023. In its final report it will make recommendations on how best to:
- prevent and protect people with disability from experiencing violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation
- report, investigate and respond to violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation of people with disability
- promote a more inclusive society that supports people with disability to be independent and live free of violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation.
The Royal Commission has gathered information through doing its own research, holding public hearings, meeting people with disability in private sessions, and taking submissions from people with disability and their carers. A submission is your story, told by you.
Disability Royal Commission websiteAuslan guide to the Disability Royal Commission website
Telling your story to the Royal Commission
The Royal Commission is no longer accepting individual submissions and meeting with people in private sessions, but you can still apply to speak at a public hearing.
The Royal Commission's public hearings
The Royal Commission started holding public hearings in November 2019 to gather evidence about violence, neglect, abuse, and exploitation of people with disability. You can read the transcripts or watch a webcast of past hearings on the Royal Commission’s website.
Royal Commission hearing transcripts and webcasts
Future hearings will be streamed live on the Royal Commission website and be recorded for later viewing. These hearings will have live captioning and Auslan-English interpreters. You can learn more about the schedule of future hearings on their website.