South Australia Has Just Appointed the Country’s First Autism Minister

A big win for the autism community.

Emily Bourke will be Australia’s first Minister for Autism, a position which aims at better representing neurodiverse Australians.

South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas said the appointment addresses a call from South Australians to make autism a priority.

"We have made major commitments with the aim of implementing a whole-of-government autism inclusion strategy, starting with our schools," he said.

In her newly appointed role, Minister Emily Bourke will establish an Autism Education Advisory Group to improve outcomes for autistic South Australians in schools.

Although Emily doesn’t have autism herself, as a mother she says she can understand the experience and aims to improve the quality of life for Australians with autism.

“I am a mother of three, so I know that every parent and caregiver wants their child to reach their individual potential.”

In addition to the new appointment, the South Australian government has also announced an investment of $28.8 million for an autism-qualified staff member in every public primary school.

They also plan to invest an extra $50 million for new speech pathologists, occupational therapists, psychologists, and counsellors.

The South Australian Government has said they are looking to get rid of unnecessary stigma and misunderstandings around Autism.

"We are moving beyond talking about creating awareness. We are building knowledge, so we can create lasting cultural change across the community."

There are around 200,000 Australians with autism, and it’s the largest primary disability group served by the NDIS.

What’s more, autistic Australians are only half as likely to complete year 10 as the general population and are three times more likely to be unemployed than other Australians with disabilities.

The new appointment will hopefully mean some answers to these issues, and a positive result for all Australians with autism.