About the Office for Disability
What's New
The Office for Disability has produced a plain english guide to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with a Disability. This provides some background to the Convention, explaining how it came about and setting it in an Australian context. It also includes all of the articles of the Convention and explains what they mean:
- A United Step Forward - A Plain English Guide to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (PDF 406kb)
- A United Step Forward - A Plain English Guide to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (Word 67kb)
More information on the UN Convention can be found in the Policies and legislation section.
The Office for Disability (the Office) was established in the Department for Victorian Communities in 2006 (now the Department for Planning and Community Development) with a mandate to put disability on the agenda across the Victorian Government. The Office is the first of its kind for Victoria.
The Office's role is:
- to provide expert policy advice and support to the Minister for Community Services to implement a coordinated whole-of-government response to disability;
- to support the Victorian Disability Advisory Council according to sections 11-13 of the Disability Act 2006
- to support the development and implementation of disability action plans according to section 38 of the Disability Act 2006; and
- to manage programs and activities that will support the aims of the Office e.g Community Awareness projects.
The Office’s aim is:
- to encourage and influence Victorian Government policy and activities to improve outcomes for people with a disability and to deal with barriers to participation in our communities;
- to progress the vision and goals of the Victorian State Disability Plan 2002 - 2012 and the mandate of the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006; and
- to promote the eight guiding principles of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities:
a. Respect for inherent dignity, individual autonomy including the freedom to make one's own choices, and independence of persons
b. Non-discrimination
c. Full and effective participation and inclusion in society
d. Respect for difference and acceptance of persons with disabilities as part of human diversity and humanity
e. Equality of opportunity
f. Accessibility
g. Equality between men and women
h. Respect for the evolving capacities of children with disabilities and respect for the right of children with disabilities to preserve their identities
Service delivery for those requiring direct support remains within 
Department of Human Services.
About disability
One-in-five Australians have a disability. The ageing of the Australian population and longevity are leading to increasing numbers of people with a disability with a severe or profound limitation (National Disability Strategy 2008).
Disability is an evolving concept and disability results from the interaction between persons with impairments and attitudinal and environmental barriers that hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others (UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities).
The term ‘disability’ also indicates an impairment which may limit a person’s ability to carry out day-to-day tasks. A disability can be caused by an accident, illness, trauma, genetic condition, ageing or can occur from birth. A disability can affect a person’s mobility, one or more of the five senses, moods and perceptions, or the way the brain functions.
Some people may have more than one type of disability. For example, a person who has a vision impairment may also have an intellectual disability. People with a disability are representative of the diversity of the Victorian population and may belong to a number of communities. For example, they could come from an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander or culturally and linguistically diverse background.
A full legal definition of disability can be found in Section 4 of the Disability Discrimination Act 1992.
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