 In April 2019, disability advocates and representative organisations across Australia joined together to demand that the two public servants appointed to the Royal Commission, John Ryan and Barbara Bennett, stood down from their duties.In an open letter signed by almost 60 groups and 1500 individuals, they argued that Ryan and Bennett had both have held senior roles in the main federal and NSW government agencies that could come under scrutiny during the inquiry.The letter cited Ryan's involvement in 'oversight of residential care programs for people with disability in NSW' as a disqualifying factor and said that people with disability 'need to have complete confidence that (their) Royal Commission is a place where (they) can give evidence safely.'