NSW ageing commissioner commences
Long-time disability advocate Jeff Smith has begun his appointment as the Ageing and Disability Commissioner for New South Wales.
Former chief executive officer of Disability Advocacy Network Australia Jeff Smith has this month started in the role of New South Wales Ageing and Disability Commissioner.
Mr Smith – who officially started on 21 April following the February announcement of his appointment – brings extensive experience in executive and governance positions, social justice, community legal services and environmental law advocacy to the role.
He said he is looking forward to building on the work of the Ageing and Disability Commission and helping older people and adults with disability to live safer and better lives.
“The ADC is a much beloved institution with an unerring focus on impact, problem-solving and practical solutions. This approach is close to my heart and I feel we have an obligation to do well, not just mean well,” Mr Smith told Australian Ageing Agenda.
In the five years since the ADC’s establishment, Mr Smith said calls have increased by 66 per cent, and statutory reports have doubled.
“Without budgetary relief, this growing demand places clear constraints on our ability to do our work properly and acquit our statutory functions. Resolving this issue is an absolute priority,” he told AAA.
As the new Ageing and Disability Commissioner Mr Smith said his priorities included listening and learning, exploring issues impacting older people and adults with disability – such as domestic and family violence, loneliness, and rural, regional and remote disadvantage – and maintaining the ADC’s reputation as the model for adult safeguarding in Australia and addressing the rising demand for service.
“I want to hear from the stakeholders working alongside us. Having worked in the disability sector, I am keen to hear firsthand about the issues in the ageing sector, particularly as 77 per cent of reports made to the ADC are about older people, including older people with disability. Although I have been working at a national level over the past few years I was born and bred in Newcastle so focusing on issues in NSW resonates strongly with me, including those in regional and remote NSW,” he said.
Mr Smith succeeds Robert Fitzgerald, the inaugural NSW Ageing and Disability Commissioner appointed in 2019 and now Age Discrimination Commissioner, and acting Commissioner Kathryn McKenzie.
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