Millions Face Financial Exclusion and Bureaucratic Nightmares as Mobility Barriers Turn Everyday Essentials into Impossible Hurdles
In a nation that prides itself on inclusivity, a hidden crisis is unfolding: Australians with physical disabilities who cannot drive or fly are being systematically excluded from opening bank accounts, accessing government services, and even verifying their identity. With a driver’s license or passport often unattainable due to mobility limitations, these individuals are trapped in a cycle of frustration and inequality, according to a new report from Physical Disability Australia due for public release on June 1st.
The report, titled Barriers Beyond Mobility: The ID Crisis for People with Disabilities, reveals that over 5.5 million Australians live with disabilities, many of whom cannot obtain standard photo IDs due to chronic pain, limited transport options, or geographic isolation.
This “ID gap” creates insurmountable obstacles in a digital-first world, where anti-money laundering laws demand rigorous verification for banking, and government portals like MyGov require in-person or travel-dependent setups.
“Imagine needing a bank account to receive your disability pension, but being unable to prove who you are because you can’t drive to a Service NSW centre or fly for a passport interview,” said Suzanne Gearing, CEO of Physical Disability Australia. “This isn’t just inconvenience, it’s discrimination. People with disabilities are being denied financial independence, access to Centrelink benefits, and even basic information, all because our systems weren’t built with them in mind.”
Key challenges highlighted in the report include:
The report calls for immediate action, including:
Disability advocate Dr George Taleporos shared his concerns, “People with disability are once again being shut out by government systems that are built around able-bodied assumptions. Requiring a passport or driver licence to access essential identity checks ignores the reality that many of us cannot drive, do not fly, or do not have those documents. This is not a minor administrative problem. It is a serious access and equity failure that affects all areas of our lives. The government must make this verification system accessible and inclusive to people with disability.”
George Taleporos is concerned that the government’s verification systems do not consider accessibility and equity for Australia’s disability community.
pdapressreleaseidsystemsmay2026
Physical Disability Australia is calling for urgent action to fix inaccessible charging infrastructure before inequality is further embedded into the nation’s transport system.
As petrol prices climb and fuel security becomes more volatile, Australia’s move to electric vehicles is accelerating. But for many people with disability, the nation’s EV charging network remains inaccessible, unreliable, and unequal.
The recent Austroads’ “Enabling Accessible Electric Vehicle Charging” report confirms what drivers with disability already know: accessible charging is still not being treated as essential. A “minimum bays” approach may meet basic requirements on paper, but in practice it leaves people with disabilities facing longer waits, fewer options, and greater uncertainty every time they need to recharge.
Physical Disability Australia says that must change.
“If Australia is serious about an electric future, it must be a future that includes everyone,” said Suzanne Gearing, CEO of Physical Disability Australia. “Accessible charging cannot be an afterthought. It is essential infrastructure. When disabled drivers are forced to rely on one bay being available, and not misused, that is not equality. It is exclusion by design.”
Physical Disability Australia is calling on governments, councils, developers, and charging operators to adopt an equity-first approach by making universal design the standard, retrofitting existing sites, and introducing enforceable measures to protect access.
“This is a chance to build the right system from the start,” Ms Gearing said. “We need leadership, urgency, and a commitment to dignity, safety, and equal access. This innovation will, like the curb cut, become a welcome addition to recharging stations, and benefit not just to people with disability, but a significant portion of the community.”
As Australia builds the transport network of the future, accessibility must be built in, not bolted on.
https://newshub.medianet.com.au/2026/05/australias-ev-future-is-leaving-disabled-drivers-behind/
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Melanie Hawkes, PDA’s WA Director, shares her frustration around accessibility of her local EV charging infrastructure.
We understand just how overwhelming and stressful this period is for people with disabilities. Seeing the issue constantly highlighted in the news and across social media can make it feel even more intense and isolating.
At Physical Disability Australia we are acutely aware that this can be traumatizing, so we are being careful to ensure that we keep you updated with the facts, while we spend our energy being as involved as we possibly can in the process, keeping abreast of the facts and sharing them as soon as we can, making sure your voices are heard, and protecting your rights. At the moment it is like having a shadow in your room you can’t quite identify – every fibre in your body feels like you are being threatened, but you don’t know what that threat looks like, what it is capable of doing, or what you need to do to banish it. It may be as simple as moonlight making you aware of a chair that needs to be moved so you don’t fall over it, or as complex as a league of ogres that are just waiting for you to make the wrong move. In this particular circumstance it will be something in between.
Our goal is to learn about this threat, find what parts are going to benefit you and what parts pose a risk. Then we will ensure you are aware of both: give you the tools the use the benefits, and gather your stories as our weapon to overcome the risks. Through this, we will be walking with you – not in front of you so that you can’t see where you are going, not behind you where it is safer, but beside you, with roadmap in hand, to guide you through it.
The journey begins. This is the speech from Minister Butler [Minister Butler speech at the National Press Club – 22 April 2026 | Health, Disability and Ageing Ministers | Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing] and a fact sheet [Securing the NDIS for future generations | Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing].
PDA will be meeting with the Minister in two weeks to learn about the rollout plan, and we will be sharing those details with you. in the interim, we will shortly have a section on our website for you to share your thoughts so that we can ensure you are heard. The link will be posted here as soon as it is up.
Kind Regards,
Suzanne Gearing
CEO
At last night’s AGM, the PDA Board farewelled one of its most valued and dedicated members, Nick Schumi.
Nick took on the role of SA Director in April 2017 and, over the years, has made a lasting and meaningful contribution to Physical Disability Australia.
During his time on the Board, he played a key role in strengthening and elevating PDA’s reputation, recognition, and national presence.
We farewell Nick with deep gratitude and respect. He leaves the organisation in a strong position, having mentored Krystal Matthews, who now steps into the roles of SA Director and Vice President.
We have no doubt that Nick will continue to make a significant impact, both professionally and personally, within the disability sector and beyond.
We wish him every success in his future endeavours.
Thank you Nick.
We look forward to seeing what lies ahead for you.
Last night, we successfully held our deferred AGM, and we offer our sincere gratitude to the many members who chose to join us.
Following the meeting, elections were conducted for the Executive Board.
We are thrilled to announce the newly appointed PDA Executive Team, whose energy and vision promise to lead us forward with renewed enthusiasm:
Paul Williamson – President
Krystal Matthews – Vice President
Tammy Milne – Treasurer
This provides us with a robust and energised leadership team, equipped with the skills and dedication needed to guide our organisation through this pivotal period.
We are confident that, together, we will continue to protect the rights of people with physical disability and seize new opportunities to make lasting, positive change.
PDA is entering an exciting new phase, with a re-energised board and a new CEO, and we are thrilled to introduce, as our new CEO, Suzanne Gearing.
Suzanne brings outstanding nonprofit leadership, advocacy expertise, and a passion for turning vision into action – the ideal formula to support PDA as we enter a new chapter in our mission to enable every Australian living with a physical disability to realise their full potential.
Suzanne has a strong commitment to sustainable growth, and a people-first culture rooted in equity and inclusion. With lived experience, boundless energy, and a drive to remove barriers, she deeply believes that everyone should have the opportunity to be fully included in all social, economic, and political aspects of life.
Suzanne also chairs the Board for Women with Disabilities ACT, serves on the Advisory Board of Dial-a-Mate Mental Health Support Services, and is an award-winning mentor and leader.
Please join us in welcoming Suzanne as we move towards a more inclusive, empowered future!
As part of PDA’s 30th year celebrations, a new look was commissioned for both our logo and a refresh of our website to meet our needs and strengthen our organisation as we move forwards.
Working with our project partners, FivebyFive, over the past eight months, we are now proud to officially launch the new website and our new logo. The creation of the website has been a collaboration in design, concept and structure with the new site having a fresh, exciting new look that is both informative and accessible.
In recognition of PDA’s heritage logo, the new PDA logo uses the traditional purple associated with disability and combines with a vibrant and fresh green to denote growth and moving forwards. The image with its soft curves demonstrates activity and movement with conviction and flow. The person like image in purple deliberately spreads and reaches across the green of Australia, with the curves indicating physical movement and presence. ‘Physical Disability’ is emboldened to clearly indicate who we are, our strength and our courage.
This logo was chosen as it positively reflects PDA as a truly national organisation with coverage across the entire country.
Armed with 30 years of history as a leading force representing Australians living with physical disability, PDA looks toward a future that grows our organisation and improves the lives of our members and the wider disability community.
We invite you to visit our “new” website by going to www.pda.org.au.
You may have noticed a new addition to our recent social posts, in the way of a new logo in the bottom right hand corner of our images.
As part of PDA’s 30th year, a new look was commissioned with our logo and also as a refresh of our website to meet our needs and also strengthen our organisation as we move forwards.
Working with our project partners, FivebyFive, over the past eight months, we are now proud to officially launch the new website and our new logo.
The creation of the website has been a collaboration in design, concept and structure with the new site having a fresh, exciting new look that is both informative and accessible.
In recognition of PDA’s heritage logo, the new PDA logo uses the traditional purple associated with disability and combines with a vibrant and fresh green to denote growth and moving forwards.
The image with its soft curves demonstrates activity and movement with conviction and flow. The person like image in purple deliberately spreads and reaches across the green of Australia, with the curves indicating physical movement and presence. ‘Physical Disability’ is emboldened to clearly indicate who we are, our strength and our courage.
This logo was chosen as it positively reflects PDA as a truly national organisation with coverage across the entire country.
Armed with 30 years of history as a leading force representing Australians living with physical disability, PDA looks toward a future that grows our organisation and improves the lives of our members and the wider disability community.
We invite you to explore our “new” website.
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Yesterday was International Day of People with Disability (IDPwD).
As a person that lives with a disability, I didn’t celebrate the day or attend any IDPwD events.
Leading up to yesterday and now the day after, I have been trying to reflect on why I wasn’t able to embrace the occasion?
I acquired my disability in 1983, 2 years after the first IDPwD was declared, and 44 years ago. In 1992, Australia brought into law the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA), with a set of subsequent DDA standards to follow. Australia ratified the Conventions of the Rights of People with Disability (CRPD) in 2008 and in 2010 the first National Disability Strategy was endorsed by all incumbent governments. In 2013 the NDIS commenced, and was touted as one of the greatest social reforms for people with disabilities.
On the surface, from a legislative and policy perspective, all the of the afore mentioned give the impression that people with disabilities in Australia should be fully accepted in Australian society. It’s also not lost on me that Australia, as a Nation, positions disability in a far better place than many other countries. However, we should be experiencing full participation in all aspects of life – including education, employment, healthcare, recreation, housing and financial stability.
Now, I could list a range of statistics here that indicate that this is not the case, and in my current role I get to see these numbers on a regular basis. But this is more of a personal post, so here is a link: https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/disability/people-with-disability-in-australia/contents/about
So why have I been struggling to embrace the IDPwD?
I acknowledge that there are many people with disabilities in Australia who will have many varied experiences when talking about their own lives. Some will do so with positivity and others respond with a more negative tone, leaving others somewhere in between. Me, I’m ambivalent.
I experience discrimination on a regular basis. I witness vitriol thrown at my colleagues and friends because of their disability. I read the lateral violence that comes our way, and I see the impact it has on us.
We are in the trenches fighting for the rights of people with disability, or re-fighting battles we thought we had won 40, 30, 20, 10 years ago, and it appears that we have reached a plateau at the most.
I want to believe in us, in Australian society, in the people, in government. I want to get to the point where we no longer have to fight for our inalienable rights. I want a Human Rights Act. I want to stop and take a breath and say, “job done.”
Maybe then I will be able to fully embrace the IDPwD or, better yet, there will no longer be a need for this day!?
After a significant number of re-writes, refining and researching, the fabulous Sarah McInnes and I, on behalf of PDA, have completed our submission on the review of the Commonwealth Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) (1992).
After finalising our 39-page document and wondering what it meant, who was going to read it and how much impact it would have, I became side-tracked.
The first issue that caught my attention was a post showing Senator Jordan Steele-John debating with the staff from the Department of Public Administration around accessibility at Parliament House in Canberra. The stonewalling of improving access due to ‘feasibility’ is unbelievable. I can’t help wondering if Australia’s bastion to democracy, the place where our human rights are supposed to be upheld determines that access for all has to pass a ‘feasibility’ test before consideration, what example is being set. I’m not filled with confidence that once the DDA undergoes a makeover, it will finally become the tool that stops discrimination with a ‘no-excuse’ mandate. Those of us who remember writing submissions for the first round of DDA standards back in the 90’s, witnessed a failure of willingness by government to provide a true instrument of change. This cannot happen again.
The second distraction came from my own musings. I can’t help wondering that as a nation, and as a country we not alone in this, but in 2025 we have not become sophisticated enough to realise that we shouldn’t need a DDA, nor a sex discrimination act, nor a racial discrimination act. Acts that are supposed to protect and uphold human rights. Perhaps, as a nation, we should have started with a human rights act that was for ALL Australians, and, if it had been necessary, added elements that clearly indicated that acts of discrimination were just not permissible. Not a feasibility test in sight.
There was a third distraction, and I promise this will be the last. As the CEO of PDA, this morning I received the Disability Sector Update from NDIA. This update gives information about all things NDIS/NDIA related. One of updates indicated that the NDIA, as a workplace had released its Gender Equity Action Plan. The update states “This Plan is part of our ongoing efforts to make our workplaces welcoming, safe and inclusive for everyone.
Gender equity benefits everyone. Gender equity is when all genders are treated: fairly, equally, with respect.” Well, what is interesting about this piece of information is, Women with Disabilities Australia (WWDA) has been seeking clarification regarding the pausing of the NDIS Gender Strategy, with the agency indicating they would be introducing a set of ‘inclusion principles’ instead. You see where I’m going with this. The agency rightly believes that there is a need for a Gender Equity Action Plan, but NDIS participants don’t deserve the same consideration. Curious.
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