Parenting is a fundamental and ordinary part of daily life for millions of Australians. Evidence consistently shows that ongoing, family-centred, and accessible support for the challenging and essential work of parenting leads to better outcomes for parents and children. All parents need and benefit from formal and informal support at different times and parents with an intellectual disability have the same rights as others to access support for their parenting. However, these fundamental rights are not being upheld in Australia.
Despite being a very small percentage of the parental population in Australia at about 0.4%, or around 17,000 in number, parents with an intellectual disability experience alarming rates of child removal and are overrepresented within the child protection system. They also experience poor early engagement by services and a lack of cross-agency collaboration. Given the gaps in service provision experienced by parents with an intellectual disability and the subsequent poorer outcomes this group experiences, we believe that General Foundational Supports are key to Australia’s efforts to meet international human rights obligations under the UNCRPD.
The NAC strongly supports the NDIS Review’s Recommendation 1 to ‘Invest in Foundational Supports to bring fairness, balance and sustainability to the ecosystem supporting people with disability’. The Review acknowledged that General Foundational Supports would include peer-support networks, self-advocacy groups, support for decision making and tailored training. General Foundational Supports are also vital for empowering First Nations parents with an intellectual disability to fully engage in their families and communities. These supports are crucial for overcoming systemic barriers, such as isolation and limited access to culturally appropriate services, that prevent them from accessing essential resources and participating in family life.
