Equality, Capacity and Disability in Commonwealth Laws

This Inquiry examined laws and legal frameworks within the Commonwealth jurisdiction that deny or diminish the equal recognition of people with disability as persons before the law and their ability to exercise legal capacity, and considered what changes could be made to Commonwealth laws and legal frameworks to address these matters. 

On 23 July 2013, Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus QC formally referred the inquiry into Legal Barriers for People with Disabilities to the Australian Law Reform Commission and appointed the Disability Discrimination Commissioner Mr Graeme Innes AM to the ALRC to support the inquiry.

The ALRC released an Issues Paper in November 2013 and a Discussion Paper in May 2014. 

The Final Report was tabled on 24 November 2014.