Queensland Disability Advisory Council

The Queensland Disability Advisory Council is a key channel for independent advice to the Minister on a range of disability and related matters that affect the broader community.

The Council is representative of the community and includes people with disability, family members, carers, as well as members from community organisations and disability service providers.

Council term

The new Council term is from 1 November 2019 to 30 June 2020.

Membership

12 members are appointed to the Council, including a representative for each Queensland region, and members with specific areas of expertise.

Sharon Boyce	Chair and South West Region representative
Anita Veivers	Deputy Chair and Far North Queensland representative
Gillian Costabeber	North Queensland representative
Ken Parker	Central Queensland representative
Barry Skinner	North Coast representative
Simon Wright	Brisbane Region representative
Harry McConnell	South East Region representative
Peter Gurr	member
Pam Spelling	member
Laury Bray	member
Semah Mokak-Wischki	member
Paige Armstrong	member

Role

The Council will continue to operate as a key channel for independent advice to the Minister for Disability Services and for the Department of Seniors, Disability Services and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships on regional, state and national disability matters.

The terms of reference note that the Council will:

provide frank, independent and useful advice to the Minister and department on major policy, program and practice initiatives and systemic issues impacting people with disability, their families and carers, with an emphasis on the experiences of people with disability and the sector participating in the NDIS
promote a socially inclusive Queensland, particularly in line with the priorities identified in the All Abilities Queensland State Disability Plan 2017-2020
act as a consultative forum as part of consultation processes during development of specific policy and program initiatives
support communication and understanding among the community about opportunities presented through implementation of the All Abilities Queensland State Disability Plan, and about the NDIS.