Project 115 – Access to Western Australia’s justice system by persons with a disability

Terms of Reference

The Law Reform Commission of Western Australia is to review and report on legislative reforms to improve access to Western Australia’s courts and tribunal system for persons with disability in Western Australia.

In carrying out its review, the Commission should: 

a. utilise a broad definition of "disability", encompassing long-term physical, psychiatric, intellectual, sensory, neurological, and/or learning impairments that, in interaction with barriers, hinder full participation in the community;

b. specifically consider the experiences of persons with disability within the Western Australian court and tribunal system as:

• accused persons;
• convicted persons;
• victims or family of victims of crime;
• witnesses;
• jurors;
• applicants in civil matters;
• defendants in civil matters; and
• other persons appearing in civil matters, including before tribunals.

c. consider the need for reform, and the best approach to implementing that reform in the Western Australian context, following on from or in the context of the:

1. Australian Human Rights Commission Report - Equal Before the Law: Towards Disability Justice Strategies (2014);
2. Australian Law Reform Commission Report 124 - Equality, Capacity and Disability in Commonwealth Laws (2014);
3. Law Council of Australia - The Justice Project Final Report (2018);
4. Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability, particularly Final Report: Volume 8 - Criminal Justice and People with Disability (2023);
5. the Western Australian State Disability Strategy 2020-2030;
6. The Western Australian Department of Justice's Disability Access and Inclusion Plan 2024-2029; and
7. Western Australian Law Reform Commission Report on Project 114 - Guardianship and Administration (2024).

d. consider the need to legislate supports for persons with disability across the statute book, including the provision of communication partners, interpreters, technology, and other necessary supports to enable effective participation in court and tribunal processes;

e. have regard to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, to which Australia is a party and which sets out:

• rights for people with disability to recognition before the law, to legal capacity and to access to justice on an equal basis with others; and
• a general principle of respect for inherent dignity, individual autonomy, including freedom to make one's own choices, and independence of persons.

f. consider relevant state and federal reforms, policies and frameworks that impact the participation of persons with disability in the Western Australian court and tribunal system;

g. have regard to the Criminal Law (Mental Impairment) Act 2023, which commenced operation on 1 September 2024, but not undertake specific review of this legislation as it will be subject to a statutory review five years post-commencement; and

h. have regard to any other matter the Commission considers relevant.