The politician mother of a daughter with Down syndrome has helped shine a light on the forced sterilisation of disabled people.
For 10 months, Sue Boyce and eight of her fellow senators have been investigating reports that some people with disabilities are being sterilised without informed consent.
They also have considered questions of human rights, ethics and the challenges faced by carers.
Senator Boyce, whose youngest daughter Joanna, 29, has Down syndrome, instigated the parliamentary inquiry.
It has made 28 recommendations including a ban on forced sterilisation in cases where a person has the capacity to give consent.
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In cases where there is no capacity for consent, or prospect it will develop, involuntary sterilisation will be allowed, but the circumstances must be "narrowly circumscribed".
"I think there will be some people within the women-with-disability community who will be disappointed that we have not recommended an outright ban on sterilisation ... in all circumstances except life-threatening ones," Senator Boyce told reporters in Canberra on Wednesday as the inquiry's report was made public.
People should have the right to choose, she said.
Senator Boyce warned against a "semi eugenics" approach to stop people with disabilities from breeding.
The committee recommended parents who take their disabled children overseas to be sterilised face criminal charges.
There is anecdotal evidence that some families are travelling to Thailand, New Zealand or India to have the sterilisation procedures done.
Senator Boyce said the legal costs of taking sterilisation cases to the Family Court - as high as $10,000 - were a factor in families going overseas.
The committee recommended legal aid be provided to parents and guardians as well as legal representation for disabled children.
"If we're providing the appropriate support ... nobody should be put in the position where they want to take their child overseas to do this," Australian Greens senator Rachel Siewert said.
It is unclear how widespread sterilisation is because official figures are unreliable and in some cases may slip under the radar.
Labor senator Claire Moore said the inquiry heard heartbreaking evidence from many women who had been sterilised without consent.
"They wanted young women ... to have choices they didn't have," she said.
There was a "shocking" lack of resources to help choices about sexual and reproductive health and menstrual management, the report said.
"The committee abhors the suggestion that sterilisation ever be used as a means of managing the pregnancy risks associated with sexual abuse and strongly recommends that this must never be a factor in approving sterilisation."
Doctors in Australia can be charged with medical assault if found guilty of performing sterilisations without court approval.
The inquiry heard emotional evidence from scores of parents supporting sterilisation on a case-by-case basis.
Many expressed fear about their daughters being raped and falling pregnant or talked about the difficulties of coping with menstruation.
