Robert Fitzgerald (pictured) sat on the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse from 2013 to 2017, served on the Productivity Commission and was also previously the NSW Community and Disability Services Commissioner and Deputy Ombudsman.
As we reported here, NSW Premier, Gladys Berejiklian, announced the Ageing and Disability Commissioner position (a first for NSW) in December last year. It grants “broad-ranging powers” including conducting investigations into allegations of abuse and neglect, compelling information from individuals and organisations, and executing search warrants.
Mr Fitzgerald has been given 70 staff and $3.5 million in annual funding as a starting point to complete his first major task – providing a report on disability advocacy funding by 31 December (less than six months away).
