The Ageing and Disability Commissioner Act 2019 (the Act) commenced on 1 July 2019, establishing an independent agency of the NSW Government to promote the rights of adults with disability and older people, and protect them from abuse, neglect and exploitation.

The NSW Government has asked Mr Alan Cameron AO to independently review the Act.

This discussion paper is the first part of the review process. It provides information about what the Act does and some key issues raised by stakeholders about how the Act is working. This discussion paper is specifically asking about the operation of the Act, namely:

• whether the purposes of the Act are still valid, or should be changed,
• how the Act has been working to achieve these purposes,
• how the Ageing and Disability Commissioner can best protect and promote the rights of older adults and people with disability in NSW,
• whether any of the provisions of the Act need to be changed to help the Ageing and Disability Commissioner do their job; and
• how the Official Community Visitors (OCV) scheme is working.

This review seeks input from the community including:

• people with lived experience of ageing and/or disability and their families and carers,
• agencies representing the ageing and/or disability population i.e. peak and advocacy groups, 
• agencies representing vulnerable and/or  disadvantaged ageing and disability population groups (Aboriginal, CALD, regional/rural/remote, LGBQTI),
• ageing and/or disability community based service providers,
• government agencies who work with or provide support to adults with a disability and/or older people, and
• the broader general public.

Have your say by 16 December 2022.