Thursday, 14 August 2025

 Lizzie BLANDTHORN (Western Metropolitan – Minister for Children, Minister for Disability) (12:27): I rise to update the house on the new Victorian Disability Advisory Council. Under the Disability Act the Victorian Disability Advisory Council provides independent advice to me in my capacity as Minister for Disability, advises on policy and strategy and helps to increase the inclusion and participation of Victorians with disability. The council is made up of people with lived experience of disability and expertise in inclusion, advocacy, policy and program delivery, and it aims to reflect the diversity of people with disability in our community. There are 14 members in the new council; this includes eight new members and six returning members. The new council’s term began on 31 July and will run until 30 July 2028. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the council’s chair Chris Varney and deputy chair Mija Gwyn for their continued leadership and congratulate them on their reappointments. During the last term the government was grateful to the council for their contributions to the response to the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability and to the NDIS review and contributions to Victoria’s inquiry into women’s pain, the social services regulation reforms and the development of the whole-of-government accessible communications policy. Council members also participated in key forums such as the Victorian – (Time expired)