Accountability, Resistance and Disruption! - 2025 Research Conference of the Disability, Law and Society Network of Australia & Aotearoa New Zealand
Event description
Join Us for the Disability, Law and Society Conference
Whether you're a student, researcher, activist, advocate, or someone passionate about disability justice, this conference is for you. We warmly welcome people with disability and encourage active participation from across the community.
This dynamic, inclusive and hybrid event brings together voices from across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand to explore critical issues at the intersection of disability, law, and society. Expect thought-provoking discussions, collaborative learning, and opportunities to connect with others driving change in disability law.
Organised by: Linda Steele (UTS), Piers Gooding & Chris Maylea (La Trobe University), and Anna Arstein-Kerslake (University of Melbourne).
This conference is supported by funding from UTS Law, UTS Disability Research Network, Centre for Social Justice and Inclusion, La Trobe Law, La Trobe CERI and Melbourne Law School.
If you are interested in attending the keynote opening panel on Wednesday 10 December, you can book tickets here.
If you would like to discuss your accessibility requirements, please email law.staffevents@uts.edu.au
Day 1 - Thursday 11 December 2025
Time | Room 1 | Room 2 |
|---|---|---|
9:00am - 9:15am | Participants arrive and register | Participants arrive and register |
9:15am - 10:45am | Health, Consent & Reproductive RightsLegal narratives on abortion care for women with cognitive disabilities – Resisting stories of choice and control against a background of reproductive injustice Julia Duffy Informed consent: Myth or Reality? Annmaree Watharow Anti-Ableist Reproductive Rights Anna Arstein-Kerslake, Eilionoir Flynn and Theresia Degener | Abolition, Ethics and AccountabilityResisting police reform: Building insurgent research in the aftermath of the Disability Royal Commission (DRC) Simone Rowe, Leanne Dowse, Michael Baker A Dialogue on Modern Slavery Tabitha Lean and Shaun Bickley Maddening ethics: resisting and disrupting unethical ethics practices in the academy Indigo Daya |
10:45am -11:00am | Morning Tea | Morning Tea |
11:00am - 1:00pm | Professional Practice and PedagogyThe role of trauma-informed lawyering in protecting legal services clients’ human rights: Preliminary Enquiries Puneet Sansanwal Reframing Access and Competence in Clinical Legal Education: Toward an Anti-Ableist Pedagogy Tess Sheldon and Roxanne Mykitiuk Inaccessible Justice: Improving civil and administrative legal systems for people with disability Kate Davies and Sarah Ratcliffe | Global Disability Rights ReformThe Persistent Dark Side: Shackling, Mental Disability, and Human Rights Violations in Indonesia Vicko Taniady Towards Deinstitutionalisation: Incorporation of Community-Based Support System Into Mental Health Intervention Plan in Jakarta Hisyam Ikhtiar Mulia Te Kete Rongomau: Respecting our rights, will and preferences Sarah Gordon Realizing Article 33 of the UNCRPD: Models of Inclusive Implementation Mechanisms Between Australia and South Africa Silomo Khumalo |
1:00pm - 1:45pm | Lunch | Lunch |
1:45pm - 3:30pm | Accountability and AbleismAccessibility Under the CRPD: Evaluating Human Rights Complaints Services for Victorians with CCN Julia P Manning Presumed human: Reframing disabled rights and common law requirements Hannah Solomons The Disclosure Dilemma: Jobseeker Strategies in Discriminatory Recruitment Contexts Frederike Scholz | Disability DataDisrupting Disability Data |
3:30pm - 5:00pm Afternoon Tea during 3:30pm session | Implementing and Monitoring Disability Rights ReformsRealising Article 12 of the UNCRPD: Cross-Pollination of Emancipatory Research with Law Reform Processes Lydie Schmidt Rethinking Adult Support and Protection in Japan: A Culturally Grounded and Rights-Based Approach Yukio Sakurai Setting Expectations for Disability Human Rights Monitoring under OPCAT: Lessons from lutruwita/Tasmania Yvette Maker | International Perspectives & AdvocacyA collaborative session chaired by Dina Afrianty with a feature presentation by Prof Amita Dhanda with responses from colleagues Bridging academia and advocacy in the Asia-Pacific region Amita Dhanda (Re)Building the foundation: disability rights activism and fragmented legal/policy development in China Shining a Light on Unheard Voices: Addressing Barriers and Fostering Disability Inclusion In UK and Indonesian Higher Education Institutions |
Day 2 - Friday 12 December
Time | Room 1 | Room 2 |
|---|---|---|
9:00am - 11:00am | Movements and ResistanceUnderstanding the International Mad Movement(s) from the perspectives of Mad peoples resistance stories Disabled Belonging as Agentic Resistance: Counterstories at the Intersection of Displacement, Refugee Designations and Disability Law in Australia and Latin America Co-production in Prefigurative Disability Law Research Methods Cripping Transformative Justice: Crip Methodologies from the Field | Disability Support, Rights & Policy ReformBeyond the Buzzword: ‘Intersectionality’, Gender Inequality and the 2023 NDIS Review Can the NDIS be saved? Human Rights and Dementia: People with dementia don’t know what they don’t know Supporting or Subordinating: The Place of Supported Decision-Making in Australian Democracy |
11:00am - 11:15am | Morning Tea | Morning Tea |
11:15am - 12:45pm | Children, Education & InstitutionsResistance and Accountability: Ending Solitary for Children with Disability Disrupting Segregation: A National Roadmap to Achieve Inclusive Education From Little Things, Big Things Grow | Health, Rights & EthicsLife and/or Liberty: Do We Have to Choose? The CRPD and Mental Health Detention for Suicide Prevention Katie Price Looking for Suicide in All the Wrong Places Embedding Human Rights in Mental Health Practice: Development of the Recovery Knowledge and Attitudes Scale (R-KAS) |
12:45pm - 1:45pm | Lunch | Lunch |
1:45pm - 3:15pm | Disability Institutions and MemorialisationRemembering Disability Institutions: Moving Forward by Looking Back | Discrimination, Rights and LawDoes Guidance for States on Ethical and Rights-Compliant Neurotechnology Address Disability Human Rights Concerns? The Use of Artificial Intelligence in Hiring: A New Frontier for Disability Discrimination? The Treacherous Twins – Ableism in the Interpretation of the Concepts of “Reasonable Adjustment” and “Unjustifiable Hardship” in the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth) – An Exploration Applying Standpoint Theory to the Case of King v Jetstar Heike Fabig |
3:15pm - 3:45pm Afternoon tea served during 2:45pm session | Voice and Rights in Reforming SystemsKnowledge Translation and Implementation Science: The Missing Ingredient in Our Response to the Disability Royal Commission Towards Voice and Visibility: Adopting an Interrogative, Social Model Approach to Australian Social Security Law Disability and Refugee Rights in New Zealand: Bridging the Gap Abolition Pragmatism: Comparative Lessons from Nova Scotia’s Rapid Covid-19 Decarceration and Disability Rights Coalition Settlement | |
4:45pm | Conference Close |
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