Persons with Disability Act, 2006 ACT 715 (Revised Edition)

A person with disability has the right to live with their family and take part in social, political, economic, creative, or recreational activities.

A person must not subject a person with disability to differential treatment in relation to residence, except where otherwise required by the condition or the need for improvement of the person with disability.

If a person with disability must be placed in a specialised establishment, its environment and living conditions should be as close as possible to those of a person without disability of the same age, unless the person’s condition requires otherwise.

A person must not discriminate against, exploit, or subject a person with disability to abusive or degrading treatment. Employers must not discriminate against prospective employees or employees on grounds of disability, except where the disability is relevant to the job.

If a person with disability is a party in judicial proceedings, the adjudicating body must consider that person’s condition and provide appropriate facilities for effective participation.

The owner or occupier of a place open to the public must provide appropriate facilities so the place is accessible to and usable by a person with disability.

Providers of public services must put in place the facilities needed to make the service available and accessible to persons with disability.

A person who contravenes sections 1, 2, 4, 6, or 7 commits an offence and may be fined, imprisoned for up to three months, or both.

The Ministry must use public employment centres to help secure jobs for persons with disability.

The Government must give tax rebates and special incentives linked to employing persons with disability and to persons with disability in business.

An employer of a person with disability must provide the working tools and facilities needed for that person to do the job efficiently.

An employer must not post or transfer a person with disability to an unsuitable part of the establishment, and must counsel, retrain, and redeploy a worker who becomes disabled because of the employment.

If a person with disability stays on the job search list for more than two years, the Ministry must remove the name and, where applicable, provide training, tools and materials, and help access loan capital. Selling or buying the supplied tools or materials is an offence.

The Ministry must progressively establish rehabilitation centres in regions and districts for persons with disability. Each rehabilitation centre must provide guidance, counselling, and appropriate training for persons with disability who are unable to enter mainstream social life.

The Ministry must, as far as practicable, ensure persons with disability are rehabilitated in their communities.

A parent, guardian, or custodian of a school-going child with disability must enroll the child in a school.

The Minister of Education must designate schools or institutions in each region by Legislative Instrument, and those schools or institutions must provide the facilities and equipment needed for persons with disability to benefit fully.

The Government must provide free education for persons with disability and establish special schools for those who cannot be enrolled in formal schools because of their disability.

If a person with disability has finished basic education but cannot continue formal education, the Ministry must provide appropriate training.

Admission for a person with disability must not be refused because of the disability, unless the person has been assessed as needing a special school.

The Minister of Education must designate certain public technical, vocational and teacher training institutions in each region, and those institutions must include special education in their curricula.

Public libraries must, as far as practicable, be fitted with facilities that let a person with disability use the library.

The transport ministries must take the needs of persons with disability into account when designing, constructing, and operating the transportation network.

Some people may import vehicles adapted for persons with disability, but others need the Minister’s express approval; qualifying vehicles can also be exempt from import duty and related taxes, and they must not be re-exported.

Motorists must stop for a person with disability who indicates they want to cross the road at a pedestrian crossing or designated crossing point.

District Assemblies, parking lot operators, and public parking places must provide clearly marked parking space reserved for persons with disability.

A person with a hearing disability may own a driving licence if they pass a driving test and meet conditions set by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority.

Port authorities must provide accessibility facilities for persons with disability, and airlines must set up a special check-in desk before flights.

A person responsible for booking passengers on a commercial bus must reserve at least two seats for persons with disability.

A person who breaches sections 25 or 29 commits an offence and may be fined up to fifty penalty units, jailed for up to three months, or both.

The Ministry of Health must provide for free medical care and assistive devices for persons with total disability when formulating health policies.

The Ministry of Health must include disability-related study in health professional training curricula.

The Ministry of Health must include education on disability and disability issues in health care programmes.

The Ministry of Health, working with the ministries responsible for Education and Social Welfare, must provide for periodic screening of children.

The Ministry of Health, working with District Assemblies and the Ministry responsible for Social Welfare, must set up and run health assessment and resource centres in each district and provide early diagnostic medical attention to mothers and infants.

Manufacturers in the country of technical aids or appliances for persons with disability are to be given a tax exemption, to be set by the Minister in regulations.

A person must not call a person with disability derogatory names because of the disability.

The Ministry responsible for Education and Sports, District Assemblies, and the National Commission for Culture should, as far as practicable, help persons with disability access sports and cultural events.

Anyone organising a national, regional, or district activity must, as far as practicable, make facilities available so persons with disability can participate.

Law enforcement agencies must consider a person's disability when the person is arrested, detained, tried, or confined, and training institutions for law enforcement personnel must include disability and disability-related issues in their curricula.

This section establishes the National Council on Persons with Disability and gives it corporate powers.

The Council must carry out a set of disability-related functions to support policy, coordination, research, public education, registration, and advocacy.

The Council has a Board made up of specified members, and the President appoints the chairperson and other members.

Board members serve for three years, may be reappointed, and cannot serve more than two consecutive terms.

Rules for Board meetings, quorum, voting, and the chairperson’s role.

A Board member with an interest in a matter must disclose it in writing to the Board and must not take part in the Board’s deliberations on that matter.

The Board may appoint committees to help perform the Council’s functions; if a committee is made up entirely of non-members, it may only advise.

Board members and committee members are to be paid allowances, and the Minister may determine the amount in consultation with the Minister for Finance.

The Board may create regional and district offices, the President appoints their public officers, and those offices carry out the Council’s functions locally.

The Board must keep a register of persons with disability and of institutions, organisations, and associations that provide rehabilitation, services, or support for them.

The President must appoint an Executive Secretary for the Council, and the Executive Secretary must hold office on the terms in the appointment letter.

The Executive Secretary must run the Council’s day-to-day administration, keep the section 50 register, and do any other functions set by the Board. The Executive Secretary may delegate functions to a Council officer but remains ultimately responsible.

The Council must have enough staff, the President must appoint the Council’s other staff, public officers may be transferred or seconded to assist the Council, and the Council may hire advisers on the Board’s recommendation.

The President may delegate the power to appoint public officers under this Act, if this is done in line with article 195(2) of the Constitution.

The Council’s funds consist of money from Parliament, donations, grants, gifts, and other money approved by the Minister responsible for Finance with Parliament’s approval.

The Board must keep proper accounting records and submit the Council’s accounts for audit; the Auditor-General must audit them and send the report to the Minister.

The Board must send an annual report to the Minister within one month after receiving the audit report, and the Minister must send that report to Parliament within one month after receiving it.

The Minister may make Regulations, after advice from the Board and by legislative instrument, setting minimum facilities standards for public bodies or institutions and supporting implementation of the Act.

This section defines key terms used in the Act.

The owner or occupier of an existing public building must make it accessible to and usable by a person with disability within ten years of the Act’s commencement.