For most people without disabilities, the process of simply flying from point A to point B is understood and, in the most part, goes as expected.
As an airline passenger, you pack your bags, arrive at the airport an exorbitant number of hours before your flight, fight your way through supposed ‘easy’ self-check-in’, drop bags, make intimate 60 second friendships with security, and if you have time, buy an overpriced coffee and wait to board your flying tube of necessary cosiness with a large number of people you have never met.
So why is this not a given for people living with a disability?
When you are a person flying with a disability, particularly a physical disability that requires use of a wheelchair or mobility device, all the above are the same – albeit usually with added road blocks in the process that make air travel cumbersome (at the very least), difficult or (at worst) nigh on impossible.
I am just one air traveller that uses a wheelchair, and I could share several ‘incidents’ that I have personally experienced when traveling over the years. However, the reality is that I could write a thesis of the number of times people with disabilities have been either overtly or covertly discriminated against whilst trying to access air travel.
On the weekend there was yet another incident where a person with a physical disability was subjected to unnecessary and unwarranted stress due to an airline’s inability to provide reasonable adjustments and demonstrated a severe lack of communication for the passenger. This lies at the hands of Qantas. The passenger in question had not experienced these issues prior, so why now, why the inconsistency in policy and approach? Why do we, as people with physical disabilities, have to keep asking these questions?
On March 28th, the ACCC gave the final go-ahead for the Virgin Australia, Qatar Airlines integrated alliance. This partnership between the two airlines will bring an added twenty eight weekly flights between Australia and Doha, with the promise of reduced airfares due to greater competition. Whilst this sounds fabulous for most Australians, people with a physical disability or those using a mobility device may be impacted by this joint initiative.
Qatar Airlines has an appalling record in its treatment of people with physical disabilities, with discrimination reported on at least a dozen occasions in the last 24 months. The latest involving a 12 year old boy living with cerebral palsy and his family who were denied travel due to the airline’s lack of disability training and protocols.
In today’s landscape of accessibility, occurrences of disability discrimination are illegal, unnecessary, avoidable and ultimately result in added costs to those discriminated against with little or no compensation.
With Virgin Australia possessing a better record in its protocols for those travelling with accessibility requirements, how will it ensure that its passengers flying with physical disability will not be discriminated against by Qatar Airlines? Have they addressed this issue with Qatar Airlines? Are they aware of the previous incidents of discrimination that have occurred? Will passengers travelling on Virgin have a relatively good experience, only to meet their connecting international flight with Qatar Airlines and encounter unwarranted and unwanted barriers to travel?
If and when I choose to travel internationally again, I would certainly not take these potential risks in travelling with Qatar Airlines. This doesn’t mean other international airlines are perfect when it comes to their policies, procedures and in-person treatment of people with physical disabilities (and let me tell you, their processes vary greatly), but it does mean that the in-person experience comes with a ‘tell us what you need, and we will try our best to accommodate’ approach.
Of further concern to people with physical disability, QANTAS has ordered twenty eight new A321XLR aircraft from Airbus to replace its existing Boeing 737 fleet – with the first plane arriving in June this year.
However, this model does not seem to address the accessibility requirements of passengers who require access into the cabin and their seats whilst remaining in their wheelchair. Whilst technology to do so now exists, why is this technology not mandatory for new aircraft? Why don’t aeroplane manufacturers make it mandatory for cabin design? Why is the airline industry nearly completely exempt from providing accessible transport when every other transport style around the world (trains, fast trains, very fast trains, ships, council buses, taxis – although not ride-sharing providers) have integrated the technology to do so?
Why is airline travel treated differently?
Surely if aircraft engineers have the capabilities to design, develop and build a plane that stays in the sky, it can incorporate a cabin design that accommodates wheelchairs.
One of recommendations from The Disability Royal Commission was to review the Disability Discrimination Act. This provides added incentive to enforce better access to airline travel for everyone – including those living with a physical disability.
The Australian Government’s 2024 Aviation White ‘Towards 2050’ skirts around the issues of truly accessible air travel for people with a disability, despite providing an extremely generous timeline of 25 years. One of the goals of the White Paper is to “Improve remedies for damage to wheelchairs and mobility devices.” Surely the best remedy for avoiding damage to wheelchairs is to provide wheelchair accessible cabins and cabin storage for mobility devices.
By 2050, I will be long departed from this mortal coil. To me, it seems inconceivable that it could take up to another 25 years before people with physical disabilities may be graced with discrimination free airline travel.
Optimistically, let us hope it does not take another 25 years before all people with disabilities can be free of discrimination in all aspects of life – whether in employment, education, transportation, or simply in life itself.
With the upcoming Federal Election announced to take place on May 3rd, you now get the opportunity to exercise your democratic right to vote.
Or do you?
The AEC states that 43% of the national polling booths are fully wheelchair accessible and that a further 48% will have ‘assisted wheelchair access’. (https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/the-vote-casting-hurdle-these-australians-face/ja0dm5uby)
Voting is your democratic right. You can be fined if you are a registered voter and do not vote.
So if we all have the right to vote, and it is mandatory, and you can be fined if you do not vote, why aren’t all polling booths and all pre-polling booths fully accessible for every registered voter, or every potential fine recipient?
Yes, there is the option of lodging a postal vote, but it should not be the only option due to inaccessibility.
Plus, I don’t want to miss out on my other inalienable right of acquiring heartburn from a democracy sausage with my name on it.
No onions please.
Please note these comments are my personal opinion as a woman with a physical disability.
As a wheelchair user, I find it difficult to vote in person. We just had a state election on Saturday 8 March, and had to complete two ballot papers: one for the Legislative Council and one for the Legislative Assembly.
I have no problem with the Legislative Assembly paper, as it’s about A5 size. And we only had 5 candidates this time. I can write with a pen in my hand, but it’s easier with the pen in my mouth instead.
So this small size paper is easy. The Legislative Council ballot paper, on the other hand, is one A4 sheet tall and over 3 A4 sheets wide (in portrait mode)! There is no way I can fit this giant sheet on my wheelchair tray, or reach any of the boxes above the line.
It’s my preference to vote below the line anyway. But its size made it difficult. For this reason I always opt for a postal vote, so I can do it in the comfort and privacy of my own home. I spread it out on my computer desk so I can see all the candidates.
But who do I choose? There were 13 boxes above the line (for groups and parties – some I’d never heard of) and 146 below the line. 20 was the minimum number of boxes you were allowed to number if voting below the line. So I set about searching for the policies these parties had and what some of these people stood for. I wanted to make sure my vote aligned to my beliefs and wishes for an accessible and equitable society.
I scrolled through every website of the political parties listed, looking for their policies and information on the candidates. Where there were policies, I searched for keywords like ‘disability’, ‘access’ and ‘disabled’. Only two websites mentioned disability! Just two!
To say I was disappointed would be an understatement. I was appalled. I’m a well-educated, computer-literate woman and I couldn’t find basic information like policies. The major parties were the worst. On my ballot paper, it listed 37 candidates for the WA Labor Party, yet only eight were listed on their website! What about the other 29? And not a single piece of information about who they are, what they stand for, or their ambitions if elected. Don’t people check who or what they’re voting for?
They say there’s 5.5 million people with disabilities in Australia, or 20% of the population. That’s a lot of people. And a lot of votes. Do we see disability represented in our parliament? No. Why not?
Maybe we need to form our own political party. I mean if the Shooters and Fishers can represent themselves, and the Legalise Cannabis party can push their own agenda, we should too. Our issues are important, and not a political football for the government to throw around.
I really hope it’s better for the upcoming federal election.
When I finished my accountancy degree in 2010, I couldn’t begin to imagine the challenges I would face trying to secure work as a graduate with a disability or that it would take three years before I secured meaningful employment. I ‘ve had a colourful and varied career journey since then, owning three businesses and experiencing a multitude of highs and lows. Which is why, when I first heard about the YConnect program (which is delivered by YWCA Australia) in late 2021, I instantly recognised the need for the program and the positive influence it could have on employment for people with disability.
The YWCA YConnect program assists women and gender diverse people living with a disability to achieve their career development goals by participating in a range of professional development activities including networking opportunities, career counselling sessions, classes and workshops. YConnect also works with the business community to actively tackle the myths and fears associated with employing people with disability. The programs offered by YWCA Australia’s YConnect have been developed based on consultations with our participants. The programs offered cover topics such as; how to dress for work, basic, intermediate and advanced computer skills, your rights and responsibilities in the workplace, bullying, how to talk to your employer about your needs, how to create a LinkedIn profile and much more. We’ve even offered a series of workshops on what you need to consider when starting your own business.
Had this program been available 10 years earlier, I have no doubt that it would have assisted me in my employment journey. In addition to being a part of the organising committee and a facilitator and/or co-facilitator of many of the workshops, I’ve personally gained great value by joining some of the workshops as a participant, particularly the bullying workshop. Sadly, like many workers with a disability, I have experienced workplace bullying and the topics covered in the bullying workshop gave me a better understanding of the warning signs to look for when faced with these issues and more importantly where to go for help.
Whilst the YWCA Australia YConnect program is currently only available to those living in the Toowoomba region, it would be great to see it expanded nationwide. The issue of disability employment is not confined to a single region and it would be great to see this fabulous program available to more people.
PHOTO ABOVE: The YWCA Australia YConnect Advisory Committee – (Left to Right): Tanja, Laura, Alyce, Francene
Facebook Marketplace has broadened the buying power of people with disabilities who might not necessarily be able to access or have physical access to charity secondhand stores.
Yes! That is a thing. Charity stores can be inaccessible because of stairs and no ramps, and it’s not just the small ones either. Huge chain charity stores are at fault for not providing access too.
I am not going to deny it, I love Marketplace. Why? Because it’s easy to access, it’s value for money and I am saving my money and the environment, one purchase at a time. In my home more than half my furniture and most of the plants in my garden and in the house, my clothes and books have been sourced from Marketplace at a fraction of the cost of both large secondhand stores and retail stores.
My therapeutic bed was a Marketplace purchase, unused by the previous owner and sold to me for a third of the cost for the same item from the big disability equipment provider in town. At that time I was also able to claim it as a disability cost through NDIS. I’m not sure what the rules on that are now, but back then I saved the NDIS $4000.
Myself and other people with disabilities are able to peruse the offerings on Marketplace from the comfort of our own homes, and then go off on adventures with a support worker to pick up said items.
It is probably not the intention of the NDIS or Marketplace to facilitate easier access to good quality secondhand items, but the results in providing good supports enable people to have more control over their purchases and their purse.
The risk? Personally I have not purchased anything from Marketplace that has not been of good quality. A few risk mitigation precautions, like never paying before pickup and also making sure the seller will allow you to look at the item before handing over your money, reassuringly means you have more control and less risk. In terms of personal safety, it’s also a bonus to have your support worker with you.
According to statista.com 2022, the secondhand item economy was valued at over 60 billion dollars with 85% of Australian households reporting they had sold unwanted items. And now PWD can be more a part of this than ever before.
If I want a book, a new release book, I can either go to a bookstore and buy it or I can look for it on Marketplace. More often than not, I will find the item (read once) and up for sale for half the cost of a new copy.
The benefits of this secondhand economy to our community are manyfold. Items are given extra life when they change hands, the disability community is given easy access because of technology and, because we are supported by support workers for social participation, we can go to the supermarket and do other errands on the way to pick up our Marketplace purchases.
I actually thought it was just me doing these sort of adventures, but it’s more common that I first thought with PWD off picking up items cheaply that they would not necessarily be able to afford on a fixed income with the assistance of supports.
The most amazing thing of my Marketplace purchases was a leather lounge suite, that I picked up for $800 from a doctor who didn’t want to pay for it to be shipped to their next posting. The same lounge suit is still available in stores for $4000. I also have purchased Christmas presents and gifts for birthdays from Marketplace. Today I bought a dress for my daughter from Decuba for $20 which still has the tags on it – that’s a $100 dress for $20! Too good to be true? No, and here is why. Stores will not return clearance items.
The growing trend of the circular economy is now open to PWD!
I see this accidental collision between good supports and access to the secondhand economy as a win/win. The cost-of-living crisis is affecting everyone, but PWD who are often paying more for medication and other necessities not always funded by NDIS are doing it tougher. A little affordable retail therapy is a bonus that was not an intentional consequence of the NDIS, but a happy outcome of good support and sensible spending.
Happy Marketplace shopping everyone!
Friday was a good day.
I only suffered discrimination and othering three times because of my physical disability.
I am a wheels user. I have been disabled since birth. I live in Tasmania.
The first incident occurred when I was called “ cute” by a couple of young people who I was introduced to by my support worker. They probably thought I was cute because of the long held perception that PWD are childish and infantile. I am a 60-year-old woman and in no way would my peers describe me as cute. I did not speak up, I just disengaged and went on my way. Sometimes it’s simply easer to just roll away.
I went to dinner with my daughter and a friend. I drank wine. I needed a wee. I went to the only disabled loo in the restaurant…and waited and waited. I did a little trickle in my pants, my bad!
A lovely dad and his young son finally came out of the only disability access loo in the establishment and said “sorry”. I said “do not worry, I peed my pants a little.” Too passive aggressive?
The frustrating thing is that the dad and his child could have gone to ANY toilet in the establishment. Could have, but chose to use the only disability access loo. If a choice was available to me, I would have gone to any of the vacant toilets, however I couldn’t. I could only access one.
Look, the boy (around 7) probably needed a poo and understandably the dad had to be on hand to wipe. I am assuming this to be the case, but this encounter added to my feelings of being too needy.
I was not the only person in a wheelchair in the restaurant.
We then went to a theatre performance a local public college in Hobart. The performance was fantastic. We enjoyed it immensely. What I did not enjoy though was how I was not able to enter the building like that of other theatre goers. On arrival we found a disabled parking spot really easily and were quite impressed. The issue lay in the fact that once we left the carpark, we were not able to get onto the footpath to get to the theatre. There was no curb cut and we were greeted with a step. One small step, but wheelchairs can’t fly. So, we headed off down the road, dodging cars in the dark to find another entrance.
We did find one, but we were unable to access it because the gate was locked. My companion had to go inside and find a teacher to come and unlock the gate. The gate was not locked, but we didn’t know that. We entered and had a wonderful time watching the show. When it was time to go back to the car, we discovered that the gate had been locked. Again my companion had to find a teacher to let us out, whilst my other companion went to get the car so that I did not have to traverse back to the carpark with all the traffic in the dark.
I was not alone in this inaccessible challenge. Another disabled theatre goer was waiting on their elbow crutches for their car to come pick them up as well.
I am one person with a disability negotiating my community telling you about one day in my life.
There are laws, there are policies and legislation around access and inclusion to ensure that people with disabilities are not discriminated against or disadvantaged. However, they only work when attention to detail is adhered to and people are mindful and respectful. When things are not right on the ground in community, it takes the labour of people with disabilities to speak up, again and again. Some do not not. They choose to stay silent rather than being viewed by community as ungrateful or troublemakers. We need to shatter the belief that PWD are resilient, stoic and such inspirations, but that is when they don’t speak up of course. It seems as though community is not keen on the “loud minority”. And until other PWD speak up, the work will be on the shoulders of the tided few who fight on for the rights of all.
So while advocates and allies are in Canberra or in our local parliament debating matters of disability, the application of these rules, legislation and policies are only as good as their application on the ground.
My name is Bikash Chapagain. 45 years ago (in 1979) I was born in Nepal, a small landlocked mountainous country between China and India. I still remember my childhood memories. Nostalgia always haunts me. It is pretty normal in one’s life, isn’t it?
As a child, my four limbs, feet and hands were a little weak, however, I was strong enough to walk and run. At the age of five, I was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy. At the age of thirteen, I could not walk at all. There was no hydrotherapy treatment in Nepal but with the support of a life jacket, I was able to walk and float in the normal swimming pool (non heated).
Whilst studying my Bachelor’s degree at the age of twenty in Nepal, I read the essay “The Declaration of Independence” by Thomas Jefferson. I used to contemplate and was very much touched by the lines: “all men/women are born equal. Life, liberty and pursuit of happiness are the three inevitable human rights endowed by nature.”
Sitting in my manual wheelchair, I always used to be astonished by these words and what these basic, fundamental and universal human rights meant for my life!
Twelve and half years ago, I received the Australian Government’s Endeavour Vocational Education and Training Award to pursue a Diploma of Community Services Work at Southbank, Brisbane. It was during this time that I discovered a wheelchair accessible, heated swimming pool. In July 2014, I was involved in a terrible motor vehicle accident in front of PA Hospital in Brisbane that put me in hospital recovery for nearly 4 months. For encouragement and motivation in life, I used to attend professional development training and resilience in Brisbane. This helped me to cope with my physical condition, excruciating back pain and challenged mental state.
In 2015, I got 4 appointments via Medicare for hydrotherapy. The hydrotherapist, Michael, inspired me and assisted me to walk without a life jacket and independently (but under supervision). I gained so much more confidence to walk in the heated pool with its comfortable temperature of around 32 degrees celsius. Brisbane Lions Club also gifted me a 7 day pass, whilst PA Hospital’s hydrotherapy and Mater Hospital’s physio also provided me with sessions of hydrotherapy.
Despite my physical disability, I am grateful for the wheelchair accessible infrastructures offered in the heated pool – such as the waterproof wheelchair, ramp and disability friendly bathroom. These gave me the opportunity and ability to access the pool with the assistance of my physio or, on some days, just my wife. I was also able to be independent in the bathroom to shower and to transfer and get dressed.
In 2018, I became an NDIS participant and started getting support workers. In my time with them, it’s always my preference to attend a heated pool, to walk there and to learn how to swim and enjoy playing beachball in the pool. From June 2018 until today, it is with the support of NDIS that I can go to a heated pool almost everyday.
I can now swim independently. Swimming has helped me to better understand my back pain, body pain and how to deal with my stress, anxiety and depression. Swimming is supporting me to cope with and beat my physical and mental conditions.
My two children and my wife are also good swimmers. My own personal experience has been instrumental in living my life to the full, and I recommend hydrotherapy as a great blessing and boon for everyone, from all walks of life – even small kids, elderly people, pregnant women and people with limitations of neuro motor skills like muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy and spinal cord injuries too. I have even noticed that many people with visual impairments, hearing impairments and intellectual disabilities also enjoy swimming. I am so appreciative to have been introduced to swimming and to have it play such a big role in my everyday life and a life that I always advocate and stand for. Swimming has broadened my horizon and widened my perception of life.
I will be grateful for my swimming until I take my last breath. Swimming is my faith, my belief in life. When I stand and walk in water, I call it life. When I swim independently, I call it liberty. And when I relax in water and my skills and amazing buoyancy allow me to float independently, I call it pursuit of happiness.
Together, these attributes bring me achievement, meaningful purpose and help me to live an extraordinary life.
Often it can take time to find answers, let alone the right support. Finding the right medical professional who works with you and understands enough, and being able to access appropriate support, can take years. Or maybe answers and support are available in good time. Either way we all have questions. When the disability or long term answers are newly acquired, life will never be the same again. The more answers we get the more questions we have – and there is always something that accompanies those questions – fear and uncertainty. So we ask, can we use that fear to our advantage?
What is fear? 1: An unpleasant, often strong emotion caused by anticipation or awareness of danger 2: anxious concern 3: reason for alarm.
Fear can interrupt processes in our brains that allow us to regulate emotions, read nonverbal cues and other information presented to us, reflect before acting and act ethically. This impacts our thinking and decision making in negative ways, leaving us susceptible to intense emotions and impulsive reactions (Louise Delagran, MA, Med).
Fear in this state becomes our enemy. The high level of cortisol causes long term damage to our physical health and when left unchecked we become controlled by our emotions and instincts – which never works in our favour – within ourselves, family or when working with the medical profession. But fear can be my friend, and we work together for my good.
I have learned to sit with fear and pain. Don’t fight them. Fighting makes it worse. Just sit with them and breathe. This creates a still place. Yes, you may be enveloped by fear, but this is good because now it’s not attacking you. In this state you can ask how your fear and pain can guide you. There is a strength in being able to exist alongside them. We may be afraid of the unknown, but we become empowered by listing the unknowns and seeking information about them to be more prepared. One benefit to this is having a better idea of what questions to ask doctors etc. This is your life, so become comfortable with seeing yourself as the boss. But accepting that we may not have complete control over every aspect of each stage is also important. We can still live a full life in whatever way that manifests for us individually.
So take slow breaths, seek information, find the little things each day to delight in, celebrate all the little wins and take breaks from advocating. And challenge your idea of what living a full life means. This looks different for each of us.
PDA is now recognised as an independent Disability Representative Organisation (DRO) with equal standing to the big movers, having contributed to Disability Advocacy Network Australia’s joint submission on the NDIS Bill.
Our organisation has worked hard to earn its place at the table and to stand equally with the major forces on Australia’s disability landscape.
We do this for, and with the help of our Members, and are incredibly grateful for our community and what we together bring to the conversation in our efforts to defend, uphold and support the right to live equal, inclusive and (extra)ordinary lives.
Not yet a PDA Member, but want to sign up for free?
Go to pda.org.au/membership/
We look forward to welcoming you to our community.
I applied for a job. A small job offering 7 hours a week. That’s all. I did not get an interview and I am not sure why.
Could it be that I am now 59 years old?
Could it be that I have too many degrees and graduate diplomas?
Or could it be the elephant in the room – that I have a disability?
I was upfront in my application that I have a congenital disability (from birth), but my application was solid and outlined my extensive work experience.
A friend told me that she never discloses her disability when applying for a job. So was this my mistake? Should I have hidden my disability like it was something to be ashamed of?
For seven hours work a week they received 50 applicants! Is this an indication of the jobs market now? Has our boom of low unemployment disappeared?
Whatever the economic reasoning, the thing is that high unemployment for people with disability has not disappeared or changed in 30 years.
“People aged 15–64 with disability are more likely to be unemployed than those without disability. They are also more likely to be unemployed for longer.” [as reported by the Australian Institute for Health and Wellbeing in 2024]
On average, it also takes a university graduate with a disability 3 years longer than their contemporaries to gain employment. The percentage of people with disabilities who have superannuation is also minuscule.
So what does this mean for people with disabilities – who are amongst the poorest of minority groups in Australia today and suffer social discrimination? It results in a lack of financial stability, with a flow on effect to the social indicators of disadvantage; poverty, housing stress, food stress and mental health stress. Alongside these consequences, the sense of worth of a person with disabilities is undermined every time they apply for a job and are rejected. When the rejection letter pile reaches the (glass abled) ceiling, that’s when they stop trying.
Even though a person with disability may be highly educated or highly skilled, these social indicators do not move if the person is unemployed. On average, PWD die 10 -15 years earlier than those without disability. This is assisted because we simply cannot rise above the unconscious, or dare I say conscious, bias that people with disabilities are less and thus unworthy.
The benefits of having meaningful employment for PWD has been explored and persued by successive governments for over 30 years and yet, as mentioned earlier, unemployment rates for PWD have not changed.
“Our Government has committed an additional $227.6 million, bringing the total funding to $5.4 billion over the next five years to help more people with disability prepare for and find suitable employment including through a new specialised disability employment program commencing on 1 July 2025.” [Reported by the Department of Social Services in 2024]
This is fantastic news. Finally Government acknowledges the problem and is throwing billions of dollars towards getting PWD into jobs and accessing an under-utilised employment pool. Unfortunately though, this step forward is overshadowed by Government’s very own under-employment of PWD. Did I mention the job I applied for was a state government position?
I am not saying that Government should not spend billions of dollars on a huge social issue that is broader than just job agencies and training courses. What I am saying is that Government should step us and put in place dedicated programs for PWD to gain employment in the public sector. If you are going to talk the talk on disability employment, then walk the walk.
When speaking of Government as a whole, we need to understand that Government is made up of a conglomerate of agencies, both at federal and state levels, and the culture of these individual agencies needs to be accountable for any bias against PWD and work towards correcting these prejudices or oversights.
I am not suggesting anything new here. PWD have long advocated to have more Government jobs dedicated and provided to PWD. If a position is disability related, surely it makes sense to have a person with the most lived experience in that job? I.e. a person with a disability.
However, it is not just Government that has an issue with employing people with disability. Our own disability organisations have horrendous track records of employing PWD within their own organisations. Of all the peak bodies organisation for disability, almost none have a CEO who is disabled themselves. The policy officers who write policy for these organisations, and present them to Government, also predominantly do not have a disability themselves.
Sadly, my disappointment at not being deemed worthy of an interview for a seven hours a week job becomes a drop in the ocean of the disappointment felt by PWD everyday, enduring rejections and building on feelings of unworthiness and trashed self esteem.
In a conversation with a disabled friend, I was told “I’ve just given up. I can’t stand the hurt from rejection anymore and will just live my life as best I can on the pension.”
Australian Federation of Disabilities (AFDO) reported that 53.4% of Australians with disability are employed, compared to 83.2% of non-disabled Australians – keeping in mind that employment can mean as little as 1 hour/week and that the 88% of people on Disability Support Payments are not counted (AFDO, 2024). It’s not rocket science to see that the vast majority of PWD do not have jobs and that the scale of unemployment for PWD is huge and that corrective action is long overdue.
Most PWD want to work, be contributing members of their communities and get paid for it. Volunteering or sitting unpaid on a board is one thing, but actually getting paid for the work you do brings a whole level of life satisfaction and self value.
Australia has a long way to go in truly becoming a welcoming country that embraces and values all its people, and this includes the culture of disability where our great community is portrayed as being less – deserving pity and paternalism. How will we ever reach equality if we are never given opportunities? I grieve that I was not good enough for seven hours a week and this grief is amplified by the millions of fellow PWD who are discarded in the “not-employable” pile each and every day.
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