1. sozialministerium.at Zero Project Conference Vienna, 26/27 February 2015 Independent Living: the Austrian National Action Plan on Disability 2012 – 2020 and the CRPD Max Rubisch Federal Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Consumer Protection

2. sozialministerium.at Austrian National Action Plan on Disability 2012 - 2020 Strategy of the Austrian Federal Government for the implementation of the CRPD Adopted on 24 July 2012 Eight main areas: Disability policy, Protection against Discrimination, Accessibility, Education, Employment, Independent living, Health and Rehabilitation, Awareness-raising and Information 250 measures to be implemented until 2020 The objectives are more important than the measures! Max Rubisch Federal Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Consumer Protection

3. sozialministerium.at National Action Plan on Disability Independent Living – Objectives (1) Objective: living as independently as possible and participate in all areas of society This includes the possibility of entering into a partnership, marrying or having a family Different support services and benefits must be available for the varying needs and different stages of life Housing: a de-institutionalisation programme is necessary in all nine Länder Self-advocacy has to be supported Peer counselling has to be supported Max Rubisch Federal Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Consumer Protection

4. sozialministerium.at National Action Plan on Disability Independent Living – Objectives (2) Personal assistance should be extended and offered for all types of disabilities The rules on personal assistance at regional level should be standardised throughout the country Political adult education has to be accessible to people with sensory or learning disabilities Official documents must be understandable for people with learning disabilities All sectors of the population have to be included in the information society Max Rubisch Federal Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Consumer Protection

5. sozialministerium.at Work programme of the Austrian Federal Government 2013 - 2018 Objective: inclusion of persons with disabilities in all areas of life CRPD and National Action Plan have to be implemented To enable independent living, large institutions have to be broken down and alternative support services have to be developed Personal assistance at work is on the same level throughout Austria - Personal assistance in other areas of life should be harmonised by the Länder Accessibility is a condition for equal opportunities Guardianship will be reduced, supported decision-making will be supported Max Rubisch Federal Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Consumer Protection

6. sozialministerium.at UN – Disability Rights Committee Concluding observations (1) Austrian State examination: dialogue of the Austrian delegation (federal and regional governments) with the Disability Rights Committee of the UN on 2/3 September 2013 in Geneva Concluding observations from 30 September 2013 Congratulation: Adoption of the National Action Plan on Disability Concern: Austria has a federal system of government and this has led to a fragmentation of disability policy, especially in social services, accessibility standards and protection against discrimination Recommendation: federal and regional governments should adopt an overarching legislative framework and policy on disability Max Rubisch Federal Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Consumer Protection

7. sozialministerium.at UN – Disability Rights Committee Concluding observations (2) Concern: over the last 20 years the population of Austrians with disabilities living in institutions has increased (13.000 persons in 2010) – this is contrary to Article 19 CRPD and leaves these persons vulnerable to violence and abuse Recommendation: Federal government and governments of Länder should step up efforts towards de-institutionalization and allowing persons with disabilities to choose where they live Concern: 55.000 Austrians are under guardianship (2012), half of them in respect of all aspects of life – this is old-fashioned and contrary to Article 12 CRPD Recommendation: replace guardianship with supported decision- making and ensure that persons with disabilities have access to it Max Rubisch Federal Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Consumer Protection

8. sozialministerium.at UN – Disability Rights Committee Concluding observations (3) Committee commends Austria for its various personal assistance programmes Concern: personal assistance programmes are not available to persons with psychosocial disabilities and not all cover persons with intellectual disabilities Recommendation: Austria should ensure that the different personal assistance programmes -provide sufficient financial assistance to ensure that a person can live independently in the community -are harmonized throughout the country -are made available to all persons with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities Max Rubisch Federal Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Consumer Protection

9. sozialministerium.at UN – Disability Rights Committee Concluding observations (4) Concern: there is no progress towards invlusive education in Austria, the number of children in special schools is increasing Recommendation: greater efforts should be made to support students with disabilities in all areas of inclusive education from kindergarten to secondary school to universities Concern: in Austria all persons, including persons with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities, have the right to vote, but the elections are not always accessible Recommendation: voting information should be provided in all accessible formats, the voting procedure should be fully accessible to all persons with disabilities Max Rubisch Federal Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Consumer Protection

10. sozialministerium.at Concluding observations Implementation in Austria (1) Coordination of disability policy: since September 2014 talks between the Federal Ministry for Social Affairs and the governments of the Länder are on-going with a view on reaching an agreement „Inclusive Disability Policy“ – this includes also the topics of accessibility de-institutionalization personal assistance protection against violence National Prevention Mechanism: Since 2012 the Austrian Ombudsman Board and its Committees are controlling institutions for persons with disabilities in order to prevent violence and abuse Max Rubisch Federal Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Consumer Protection

11. sozialministerium.at Concluding observations Implementation in Austria (2) Inclusive Education: the Federal Ministry of Education and the Länder are preparing „inclusive pilot regions“ for inclusive education (the nationwide extension is planned until 2020) Project „Support of independent living“: since March 2014 a working group in the Federal Ministry of Justice together with the Länder works on creating alternatives to guardianship Participation in political and public life: more and more official and political documents are available in an „easy to read“ – version, since 2013 there are improvements in the voting procedure for persons with visual disabilities Max Rubisch Federal Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Consumer Protection