A4 identified employment, education, health and disability services as areas of government that need to substantial reform to deliver equitable outcomes and basic human rights for autistic Australians.

Ideally, all these areas of government would work cooperatively and with the autistic and wider autism-related sectors of our community to achieve improved outcomes. We need a National Autism Strategy encompassing all these areas.

Recently, the Senate Select Committee on Autism published its report (view online here). The report contains 86 recommendations (81 in the main report and 5 in the Green's dissenting report). Recommendation 1 of the reports says:

5.62 The committee recommends that the Australian Government develop a National Autism Strategy and accompanying implementation within
12 months to drive nationally-coordinated action to improve services and supports for autistic Australians. The National Autism Strategy should:

• be both person- and family-centred;
• address whole-of-life needs for people across the breadth of the spectrum;
• align with other national strategies, including the National Disability Strategy; and
• be informed by the recommendations of this inquiry and the Disability Royal Commission.

Many of the other recommendations add detail to the contents of a Nation al Autism Strategy.

In the 2022 election campaign, the two major parties announced plans for a National Autism Strategy. Following are links to their announcements:

• Liberals: see https://twitter.com/hollieahughes/status/1522787607738224641
• Labor: see https://www.amaze.org.au/2022/04/amaze-welcomes-labors-disability-plan-and-commitment-to-a-national-autism-strategy/

The ABC article on these announcements is available at https://a4.org.au/node/2439

Employment is a key issue for autistic people. The series of reports from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reports on Disability, Ageing and Carers (SDAC) show a massive and ongoing problem with employment outcomes for autistic Australians.

The ABS reported from its 2018 data that:

While reports suggest labour force participation rates improving, this is due largely to harsher and increasingly unreasonable DSP eligibility measures. A decade ago, the same reports indicated:

Tragically, governments ignore these data; they refuse to recognise and do nothing to address the challenge of employment for autistic Australians. The previous National Disability Strategy 2010-20 essentially ignored autism and the well-documented employment problems autistic people endure. The government’s disability employment effort targets people with disability generally, a strategy that ensures autistic people are left behind.

The new Australian Disability Strategy 2021-31 is a plan for another decade of doing nothing to improve employment outcomes for increasing numbers of autistic Australians. We anticipate that the National Disability Employment Strategy that is now in development[1] will also ignore the particular needs of unemployed autistic Australians. Autistic representation and advice on employment is unheeded.

Keep points are:

• Most autistic people want to work. They prefer and usually depend on the routine of regular employment.
• Most autistic people are capable workers – in the right jobs, they perform exceptionally well. This is starting to be recognised for some autistic people in parts of the IT sector. There are many other roles where autistic people can perform far better than others if they are given an opportunity and a bit of support.
• The Australian Disability Strategy 2021-31 and the National Disability Employment Strategy (under development) do not recognise especially poor employment outcomes for autistic Australians – Australia needs a National Autism Strategy to improve outcomes for autistic people in Australia
• Education does not prepare autistic people for employment – in many cases it does not prepare them for life after they leave school
• Employers are currently complaining about staff shortages – has disability employment improved? Reports suggest we should soon see Australia’s unemployment with a 3 at the front. What will it be for autistic Australians?

Policy goals

1. Educate and incentivise employers to employ autistic people
2. Improve education to help autistic students prepare for autistic students for adult life
3. Action that improves autistic employment

[1] by DSS, rather than DEEWR.

Education is the foundation for employment. The abysmal employment outcomes for autistic Australians result from ineffective education.

The ABS reports:

and

Key points are that autistic Australians experience:

• abysmal outcomes in education, both academically and socially
• life-long unemployment of autistic people is the result of their failed education
• autistic students experience high and unacceptable levels of bullying and trauma. Their experience impacts on their mental health long-term, especially stress, anxiety, depression, psychosis, self-esteem and poor health generally

While “public education” is state/territory responsibility, the Commonwealth funds the private education sector (which has low participation and poor outcomes from autistic students). The Commonwealth also has obligations to ensure autistic student can access appropriate and effective education.

Many autistic students are simply excluded from NAPLAN so we don’t measure how bad education is for autistic students. Excluding autistic students means their educational progress and outcomes are not measured and reported. Without measurement and reporting, there is no “reason” to try to improve education outcomes for autistic students.

The biggest change seen in recent time are school systems changing their terminology. We see “special education” service and supports being rebranded as “inclusive”, but nothing else changes. If anything, COVID has enabled increasing segregation and decreased attention to the individual needs of diverse students.

Policy goals

• Improved and more effective education of autistic students (according to measured outcomes) - observable improvement in education measures for autistic people, such as NAPLAN, graduation rates, tertiary education outcomes.
• Increase tertiary education
• Improved employment for autistic school leavers

A4 is currently developing an information package on improving health outcomes for Autistic Australians. In the meantime, see:

• Brief: Autism and Mental Health
• Brief & meeting with Health officials - autism is a distinct disability

In a recent report, the Disability Royal Commission found severe problems with how Australia's health system responds to people with cognitive disability (which includes autistic people). See https://disability.royalcommission.gov.au/news-and-media/media-releases/greater-training-needed-health-professionals-caring-people-cognitive-disability

Particular problems with mental health generally are discussed here.

A4 has ongoing discussions with Health officials scheduled for after the coming election. We also expect to engage with the incoming Health Minister.

The Australian Government's War on Autism

A4 is developing a brief position paper on improving disability services and supports, including the NDIS, to recognise and address the needs of autistic Australians.

In A4's view, the Commonwealth government, and especially its NDIA, is conducting a war on autistic people. See

• Coalition government’s ongoing war on autistic Australians
• unanswered question about the Government's war on autistic Australians
• Dear PM - the Government's war on autistic Australians
• https://a4.org.au/node/2441

The NDIA especially targets the nations most vulnerable autistic citizens - see https://a4.org.au/node/2567 

This war on autism needs to stop.