Timeline Disability Services in Australia

1
Timeline Disability Services in Australia

• Sources
• www.dsa.org.au/life_site/text/timeline/index.html
• www.pdcnsw.org.au/education/_timeline.html
• www.nswcid.org.au/publications/fs/milestones.html
• Western Australia Disability Commission

2
Community Attitudes 1800s Medical Perspective
Institutionalisation

• Australian milestones
• 1811 First institution, Castle Hill Asylum,
  established in NSW
• 1852 Adelaide Lunatic Asylum established
• 1866 Royal Victorian Institute for the Blind
  established

3
1900s

• Australian milestones
• 1901 Federation of Australia
• 1910 Invalid Pension introduced
• 1933 First folding tubular steel wheelchair
  invented.
• 1945 Sickness Benefit introduced.
• 1950s First sheltered workshops for children
  with disabilities established.

• International influences
• 1945 United Nations formally established.
• 1948 United Nations Universal Declaration of
  Human Rights proclaimed as a common standard of
  desired achievement for all people and all
  nations, signed by Australia.

4
1970sSocial Perspective De-institutionalisation

• Australian milestones
• 1970s Electric wheelchairs become available in
  Australia.
• 1974 Commonwealth Government passes the
  Handicapped Person's Assistance Act which
  recognises people with intellectual disabilities
  and provides a basis for funding.
• 1978 World's first cochlear implant operation
  performed at the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear
  Hospital.

• International influences
• 1971 United Nations Declaration on the Rights of
  Mentally Retarded Persons ratified by Australia.
• 1972 American, Wolf Wolfensberger, developed the
  Principle of Normalisation as a foundation for
  planning and operating human services and judging
  their quality used as the basis for legislation,
  principles and standards governing services for
  people with disabilities in Australia.
• 1975 United Nations Declaration on the Rights of
  Disabled Persons, signed by Australia

5
1980s

• Australian milestones
• 1981 Survey of Handicapped Persons conducted by
  Australian Bureau of Statistics.
• 1983 Commonwealth Review of Handicapped
  Programs.
• Disability Advisory Council Of Australia (DACA)
  established.
• 1985 Home and Community Care Program (HACC) sees
  the first community based respite services
  established.
• National Occupational Health and Safety
  Commission Act.

• International influences
• 1981 International Year of Disabled Persons
  increases awareness of disability in Australia.
• 1982 1993 United Nations Decade of Disabled
  Persons

6
Community Attitudes 1990sMove away from
government-run services.Services privatised or
contracted out.

• Australian milestones
• 1986 Commonwealth Disability Services Act (DSA)
  enacted with the support of all political
  parties, changing the focus from service
  provision to outcomes for people with
  disabilities.
• Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Discrimination
  Act.
• 1991 Commonwealth State Disability Agreement
  (CSDA) transfers the direct administration of
  disability services, except employment and some
  advocacy programs, from the Commonwealth to the
  States and Territories.
• 1992 Commonwealth Disability Discrimination Act
  (DDA) enacted, making it illegal to discriminate
  against people with a disability in employment,
  education, access to public premises and
  accommodation.

7
Community Attitudes 1990s (Cont.)

• Australian milestones
• 1993 Commonwealth Disability Service Standards
  developed for disability employment services
  funded by the Commonwealth Government.
• 1993 Northern Territory Disability Services Act.
• 1999 Northern Territory Disability Service
  Standards.

• International influences
• 1993 United Nations Standard Rules on the
  Equalisation of Opportunities for People with
  Disabilities.

8
2000

• Whole of Life approach in government policy.