Technology is central to our daily activities and increasingly the main gateway for people to access their rights, such as, accessing the right to education through online learning. For many people, technology can provide a gateway to inclusion or result in an enormous barrier.

Research has shown that Australians with disability experience lower digital inclusion rates compared with those who do not have a disability. With 19% of people in Australia experiencing some form of disability there is an imperative to ensure technology keeps pace with their needs.

Dr Ben Gauntlett is Australia’s Disability Discrimination Commissioner. Since taking up this role in May 2019, Ben has worked to advocate to remove barriers to people with disability participating in society and to ensure the human rights of people with disability are respected.  Ben sits on a number of advisory committees as expert adviser including the NDIS Independent Advisory Council, COVID-19 Response for People with Disability, past Chair, National Disability Data Asset Disability Advisory Council and current inaugural Chair, Australia’s Disability Strategy Advisory Council to name a few. 

Join us for a Q&A session around technology, design, digital inclusion and human rights.
 

Speakers

Dr Ben Gauntlett
Disability Discrimination Commissioner
Australian Human Rights Commission

Ben led the Commission’s engagement with the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability. As Disability Discrimination Commissioner, he has also reported to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on Australia’s progress under the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. He holds a Master of Laws from New York University and a D.Phil. in Law from the University of Oxford, where he studied as a Rhodes Scholar. He has practiced and taught law.
 

Professor Jane Farmer
Director
Social Innovation Research Institute
Swinburne University of Technology

Jane has a distinguished track record of research in social innovation, particularly working with communities to codesign new workforce, service and technology practices.
 

Mr Mark Hanson
Community Engagement Coordinator
AQA Victoria

Mark holds a Bachelor of Occupational Therapy, and draws on his experience in hospitality, banking, and public health. He lives with a spinal cord injury and is inspired by the possibilities that can be released through adapting. Mark is a Peer Mentor with AQA.
 

Mr Matt Warren
Chief Experience Officer
Yooralla

Bringing a lived experience with disability, Matt has been dedicated to the improvement of the customer experience. As Chief Experience Officer, Matt provides leadership on customer engagement, consultation and co-design activities with customers, their families and their broader support networks, to improve the experiences of the those supported at Yooralla.
 

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