Disability Arts History Australia

Items

• “Handicapped Persons Assistance Act 1974”
  Compared to earlier decades, the mid-1970s saw an increase in political activity pertaining to individuals with disabilities. The Handicapped Persons Assistance Act (HPAA) of 1974 is one such example, which replaced several policies and funded non-government organisations that provided care and housing. In 1983, the Hawke Labour Government instigated an evaluation of the initiatives created under the HPAA. The HPAA was replaced in 1986 by the Commonwealth Disability Services Act of 1986.
• "Declaration on the Rights of Disabled Persons adopted in 1975"
  The 1960s and 1970s saw major changes in people’s attitudes towards disability. Stemming from the growth of the human rights movement and the introduction of normalisation theory internationally, Australia signed key human rights declarations of people with disabilities, the Declaration on the Rights of Disabled Persons (adopted in 1975). The Declaration argued that disabled people deserve to live lives “as normal and full as possible”.
• “WHO International Classification of Impairment, Disabilities and Handicaps (1976)”
  International classification of impairments, disabilities, and handicaps: a manual of classification relating to the consequences of disease, published in accordance with resolution WHA29.35 of the Twenty-ninth World Health Assembly, May 1976
• "Royal Commission on Human Relationships"
  In 1977, the Royal Commission on Human Relationships noted the legal and human rights of handicapped children and adults.