October 2025

AFP submission to the review of the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth)

Introduction

1. The Australian Federal Police (AFP) acknowledges the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability (Disability Royal Commission), and the need to review the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth) (Disability Discrimination Act) to ensure it remains fit-for-purpose.

AFP diversity, equity and inclusion

2. The AFP has implemented strategies and procedures internally to focus on proactively ensuring people with disability are not subject to discrimination. The AFP supports inclusion of a positive duty on the AFP to provide adjustments for people with disability and eliminate disability discrimination.
3. In February 2023, the AFP launched its new Diversity and Inclusion Strategy 2023-26 (the Strategy). The Strategy highlights that diversity and inclusion are critical to delivering operational success and readiness. It provides a framework to build a diverse workforce and an inclusive culture. In October 2024, the AFP also implemented a Disability Action Plan 2024-26 (DAP), which provides the foundation for inclusive cultural and workplace practices for people with disability, neurodivergence, mental health conditions and/or disability-related caring responsibilities. The DAP was developed in consultation with the AFP’s Australian Human Rights Commission Partnership, and the Australian Disability Network.
4. The AFP also strongly supports mechanisms that ensure that members of the community with a disability who we interact with have equal access to justice and are protected against discrimination.
5. AFP training programs focus on increasing awareness of a range of disabilities, how to identify them and how to use de-escalation techniques where needed. The AFP has a range of governance and training programs to support police officers, including programs on disability inclusion, human rights, implicit biases, and hidden disabilities.
6. The AFP has a Disability Justice Liaison Officer (DJLO) embedded within the community policing arm of the agency, ACT Policing. ACT Policing implemented the DJLO role as part of the ACT Disability Justice Strategy 2019-2029. In line with the Strategy, ACT Policing is reviewing existing training material and guidance, with a goal that people with a disability receive information, services and reasonable adjustments when they need them.
7. The DJLO provides support to people with disability interacting with police and progresses organisational changes to improve accessibility for, and responses to, people with a disability. The DJLO complements investigations and provides a follow-up role, which aims to build and maintain strong relationships between vulnerable members of the community and policing.

Recommendation 8.19 – ‘services’ as it applies to police officers

8. The AFP notes the recommendation from the Royal Commission to amend the definition of ‘services’ in the Disability Discrimination Act to explicitly include services provided by police officers in the course of performing policing duties and powers.
9. The role of policing is unique in that ‘services’ aren’t necessarily provided in the same way as other types of agencies. While the AFP provides services to the broader community in our prevention and investigation of criminal offences role, we do not usually provide ‘services’ to

individuals outside of a few specific processes, which are paid for on a fee-for-service basis, such as police checks. 10. The AFP notes the Attorney-General’s Department’s (AGD) advice that Courts have interpreted the meaning of ‘services’ in a policing context to only include interactions with witnesses, victims of crime, and members of the public, and that some judgments have found that police do not provide ‘services’ for the purpose of discrimination law when interacting with a person suspected of committing an offence. 11. The AFP generally supports clarity in the law. However, care must be taken to ensure that clarifying these provisions does not have unintended consequences in other areas of law. If a decision is made to clarify the scope of ‘services’ included in the Disability Discrimination Act, the AFP suggests that a standalone provision may be the preferred approach to appropriately capture the unique role of policing as it differs from other services. It will be important to ensure the legislative framework supports police to enforce the law, maintain community safety and protecting the broader community and national interest, while also acknowledging the importance of ensuring people with a disability have their rights protected.

Scope of exemptions – AFP peacekeeping

12. The AFP is supportive of retaining the exemptions prescribed under section 54 of the Disability Discrimination Act, when an AFP officer is selected to perform peacekeeping duties. The exemption is narrow in scope and applied within a framework that balances operational requirements with broader anti-discrimination principles and international standards.
13. The AFP notes this exemption is also consistent with the Australian Defence Force peacekeeping exemptions prescribed under the Act.

Existing hate crimes and vilification

14. The targeting of a person or group of people because of their disability if of significant concern to the AFP.
15. The AFP was closely consulted on the Criminal Code Amendment (Hate Crimes) Act 2025 (Cth) during its development. The Act strengthened the legislative framework to combat hate crime.
16. The AFP notes that as well as the strengthened hate crimes offences, there are also offences for using a carriage service to menace, harass or cause offence (section 474.17 Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth)) as well as a range of state and territory offences that may apply depending on the specific facts and evidence available.

Conclusion

17. The AFP looks forward to working closely with AGD as this review progresses and will seek early and close engagement on any future law reform, to ensure it is operationally fit for purpose.