Australian Employers Network on Disability

On 22 November Sam French represented the Employers' Network at the DCA National Conference, delivering a presentation on 'The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: Meeting International Standards in Australian Workplaces'.

Sam was one of the Australian NGO delegates to the United Nations and was directly involved in the development of the Convention, which was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 13 December 2006 following five years of negotiations. 

In her presentation, Sam noted this Convention was groundbreaking in a number of respects, including that it was the first international convention to be developed in the 21st Century and was one of the fastest UN Treaties to have been negotiated in history.  It was also a revolutionary process because of the degree to which the Internet was used for progressing and providing access to negotiations and, most importantly, because it involved the highest level of participation by representatives of those for whom the Convention was being developed to protect, that is, people with disability. Above all, this demonstrated to the international community that people with disability can be highly productive and have valuable contributions to make!

Sam provided an overview of the rights contained in Article 27 ‘Work and Employment’ and some of the practical implications the Convention may have for Australian workplaces and how the Employers Network assists organisations to develop strategies for meeting international standards in their workplaces. 

Whilst the Convention has now been completed, it will only be legally binding on those countries that formally ‘ratify’ it and until the Australian Government ratifies the Convention, it will not form part of Australia's international obligations to reinforce the rights contained in the Convention in our national laws. Over the coming months, the Federal Government will be making a very important decision on whether it will ratify the Convention and is about to commence national consultations with key stakeholders, such as the Employers Network. This period of time provides a critical window of opportunity to influence key decision makers within both the Federal and State and Territory Governments, including opportunity for members of the Employers' Network to have input to this consultation process and a unified voice in the overall support for ratification of the Convention by the Australian Government. 

Sam finished her presentation by saying that, regardless of whether the Australian Government ratifies the Convention or not, employers can still continue to make real changes in our workplaces that will continue to improve employment opportunities and employment outcomes for people with disability and ensure that our workplaces meet international standards. 

Copies of all the presentations from the DCA conference can be found at www.dca.org.au and further information about the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, including how to have input to the consultations on ratification of the Convention, can be directed to Sam at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or my calling Ph: 02 9261 3922.