Disability Inclusion

Disability can be related to genetic disorders, illnesses, accidents, ageing, injuries or a combination of these factors. Importantly, how people experience disability is affected by environmental factors – including community attitudes and the opportunities, services and assistance they can access – as well as by personal factors.

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities calls on member States to ensure and promote the full realisation of all human rights and fundamental freedoms for all persons with disabilities without discrimination of any kind on the basis of disability.

In Australia, to uphold the rights of people with disabilities, the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 requires that people with disabilities be given equal opportunity to participate in and contribute to the full range of economic, social, cultural and political activities. The Act protects people with a disability by setting standards for education, employment, accommodation, services (such as banking, the internet and public transport), and access to public places.

A critical element of inclusion is the opportunity and entitlement of people with disability to live, learn, work, play, create and engage alongside people without disability - a future where people with disability live free from violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation; human rights are protected; and individuals live with dignity, equality and respect, can take risks, and develop and fulfil their potential.

As Ashleigh, an artist with a brain injury, testified to the 2023 Disability Royal Commission, Australians need to recognise disability as ‘just another part of being human. I would love to be recognised as an artist and member of the community first, and a person with disability second. I would also like the meaningful, significant contributions that all people with disability make to society to be better recognised’.

A person is considered to have a disability if they have any limitation, restriction, or impairment that restricts everyday activities and has lasted, or is likely to last, for six months or more. In Australia, nearly one in six aged 0-64 years have disability, compared to over half of people aged 65 years and over.

Of the 7.4 per cent, or 329,000, of Australian children aged 0–14 who have some level of disability, over half, 177,000, have a severe or profound level of disability with boys being twice as likely to be affected as girls. 

Sensory disability includes loss of sight, loss of hearing and speech difficulties. One in 4, or 169,000, children and young people aged under 25 with disability have speech difficulties.

One in eight children and young people aged under 25 with disability has a physical disability, which includes breathing difficulties, blackouts, seizures or loss of consciousness, chronic or recurring pain or discomfort, incomplete use of arms or fingers, difficulty gripping or holding things, incomplete use of feet or legs, restriction in physical activities or work, and disfigurement or deformity.  Of this age group, 7.4 per cent or 48,000 have blackouts, seizures or loss of consciousness.

Psychosocial disability includes nervous or emotional conditions, mental illness, memory problems or periods of confusion, and social or behavioural difficulties. One in four children and young people aged under 25 with disability, or 165,000, have social or behavioural difficulties , and one in five, or 135,000, have a mental illness.

In summary, just over half of children and young people aged under 25 with disability have difficulty in understanding or learning, just over a quarter have speech difficulties, a quarter have social or behavioural difficulties, and a fifth have mental illness.

The prevalence of intellectual disability in this age group is due principally to autism.  Every 7 hours, an Australian child is diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder, with an estimated 83,700 children and young people living with autism, a persistent developmental disorder characterised by symptoms evident from early childhood. These symptoms include difficulty in social interaction, restricted or repetitive patterns of behaviour and impaired communication skills. 

Every 15 hours in Australia, a child is born with cerebral palsy, with 34,000 Australians living with the disability. ‘Cerebral’ meaning ‘of the brain’ and ‘palsy’ referring to ‘a lack of muscle control’ affects body movement, muscle control, muscle coordination, muscle tone, reflex, posture and balance. People who have cerebral palsy may also have visual, learning, hearing, speech, epilepsy and intellectual impairments. 

And about 1 in 200 children, or 25,000, have epilepsy, a neurological condition where children have a predisposition to recurrent, unprovoked seizures. 

In addition, up to 120 babies and 400 children have a stroke in Australia each year, including in utero.  Stroke is more common in newborns and young babies than older children, affecting one in 2,300 to 5,000 newborns.  

An acquired brain injury (ABI) refers to any type of brain damage that happens after birth from trauma or injury to the head, brain tumour, stroke, degenerative brain conditions, drugs, alcohol or poisons, or not getting enough oxygen to the brain for an extended time (for example, a near-drowning). About 20,000 children aged under 15 years have an ABI.  

Sadly, the challenge of their disability is compounded by poverty and disadvantage, homelessness, family and domestic violence, child abuse, youth justice and social cohesion.

Almost one in two people with a disability in Australia live in or near poverty, with nearly a third of children with disability (or 475,000) living in a household with a low level of household weekly income. This is more than double the rate of poverty experienced in the general population and more than double the OECD average.

Disabled Australians are more likely than those without disability to have experienced violence, abuse or sexual harassment at some point in their lives.  Nearly two-thirds of disabled adults have experienced violence after the age of 15, compared to 45 per cent without disability; over half of adults with disability have experienced physical violence after the age of 15, compared to a third without disability; and over one in five adults with disability have experienced at least one incident of sexual violence after the age of 15, compared to one in ten without disability.

People with disability, particularly those with cognitive disabilities, are significantly overrepresented at all stages of the criminal justice system, from police contact and arrest, through to court processes and correctional settings.  People with disability have also come into contact with the justice system at high rates as victims of crime.

In response to the widespread community concerns about violence, neglect, abuse and exploitation faced by people with disability over many years, the Australian Government launched the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability, commonly known as the Disability Royal Commission.  Their report in 2023 made 222 recommendations on how to improve laws, policies, structures and practices to ensure a more inclusive and just society that supports the independence of people with disability and their right to live free from violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation.

The Disability Discrimination Bill 1992 was described in parliament as ‘the vision [for] a fairer Australia where people with disabilities are regarded as equals, with the same rights as all other citizens, with recourse to systems that redress any infringements of their rights’. The Commission noted that ‘these expectations have not been realised and recommended amendments to make the Disability Discrimination Act more effective in promoting equality and enhancing the right of people with disability to live free from discrimination’.

The Commission also found that Australia is party to the seven ‘core’ international human rights treaties, including the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), but existing measures do not give sufficient effect to Australia’s obligations under the CRPD and people with disability are not adequately protected against violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation. They recommended that, to translate the international human rights of people with disability into Australian domestic law, the Australian Government should commit to the enactment of an Australian Disability Rights Act.

In terms of services for people with disability, the Commission’s report concluded that ‘mainstream systems must be significantly reformed to remove barriers to people with disability accessing education, employment and housing, to improve outcomes and to enable meaningful inclusion’.

Despite businesses that employ people with disability benefiting from the diverse range of skills, talents and qualifications that people with disability have to offer, as well as higher rates of retention, better attendance and fewer occupational health and safety incidents than those without a disability, the employment rate for people with disability has remained historically much lower than those without disability.  

In 2022, the labour force participation rate for people aged 15-64 years with disability (living in households) was 60 per cent, up from 53 per cent in 2018, compared to the participation rate for people without disability at 85 per cent. The unemployment rate for people with disability is more than twice the rate for people without disability at 7.5 per cent, down from 10.8 per cent in 2018.  

Even when they have gained employment, increasing discrimination means that many workers with disability across Australia are still working in environments that undermine their safety, wellbeing, and ability to contribute fully.  A 2025/26 survey reported that nearly half of workers with disability reported discrimination and/or harassment at work in the last 12 months, compared with a quarter of workers without disability, meaning workers with disability were almost twice as likely to face these behaviours.

Disability discrimination is when a person with a disability is treated less favourably than a person without the disability in the same or similar circumstances. It is also disability discrimination when there is a rule or policy that is the same for everyone but has an unfair effect on people with a particular disability. 

Discrimination directly affects a person’s participation and inclusion in everyday activities. It can also lead to people avoiding everyday activities, such as going to school or work, attending events or seeking medical help. This, in turn, increases the risk that people with disability will experience social isolation, which can affect their overall health and wellbeing.  More than 4 in 5 (or 216,000) people aged 15–64 who have experienced disability discrimination in the previous year also avoided situations because of their disability in that time, such as using public transport, school or work, going to the shops and social occasions. 

People with disability may also experience discrimination in terms of environmental or structural elements that limit their access to, and ability to participate in, the community.

About 663,000 people with disability aged 15–64 had challenges with mobility or communication when they left their homes. Of these, 3 in 10 (or 198,000) found it difficult to access buildings or facilities, including around 2 in 3 (or 126,000 people) faced difficulty getting around the building (including with stairs, internal doors, corridor widths or obstructed walkways), 4 in 9 (or 90,000) had difficulty with car parking facilities, and 4 in 10 (82,000 people) faced difficulty with approach areas, including ramps, handrails and lighting.

About 1 in 6, or 326,000, disabled people have difficulty using some or all forms of public transport, including using steps, facing fear or anxiety, getting to stops or stations and finding a seat or standing. A further 1 in 9, or 221,000, people are unable to use public transport at all.

Inaccessible services can limit a person’s ability to receive the support they need. An estimated 1 in 7 (or 105,000) people aged 15–64 with disability avoided medical facilities in the previous year.

The unpaid carers of people with disability are Australia’s unsung heroes, providing practical and emotional support to help them live their best lives. In 2022, of the 3 million carers, one in twenty of all Australians, or 1.2 million people, were primary carers (providing the most assistance with the core activities of mobility, self-care, and communication), a 39 per cent increase from 2018.  In addition, there were 383,600 secondary carers and almost 1.5 million other carers.  

Nearly one in seven of all carers (391,300 people) were under the age of 25, a two-thirds increase from 2018, and almost two in five had a disability themselves.

As a cause and effect of the Gender Equality Theme, seven in ten primary carers are women.  Becoming a carer increases their financial vulnerability as they sacrifice income, future income potential and superannuation to look after someone they love.