The level of inequity experienced by young people with disability has remained largely unchanged since the turn of the century, according to new research led by Flinders University.
Using data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey (HILDA), researchers examined the extent of social inequity experienced by young people aged 15–29 years with disability, compared with those without disability, between 2001 and 2023.
“Our findings indicate that things haven’t improved to any major degree – despite ongoing policy initiatives over recent decades aimed at reducing inequity for people with disability,” says Flinders research associate Dr Asha Parkinson, first author of a new article in the Australian Journal of Social Issues.
“We found that despite increased funding and major reforms over the last two decades, as of 2023, the inequity gap between young people with and without disability has not meaningfully narrowed for any of the 29 indicators since 2001.
“Some outcomes for young people with disability have improved in isolation, such as year 12 completion rates. However, as these increases have been matched by comparable or even greater improvement for young people without disability, the inequity gap remains.”
As well, the percentage of young people with disability in the HILDA sample who reported receiving NDIS peaked at 11% in 2023, suggesting that many young people with disability may not be benefitting from the scheme’s current structure.
Australian Bureau of Statistics 2024 data estimates that approximately 9% of Australians aged 15-29 are living with disability.
The new study published in Australian Journal of Social Issues is one of the first evaluations tracking the inequity gap between young people with and without disability over the full 23 years of the HILDA study, using nationally representative data for 29 indicators spanning mental and physical health, employment, education and community engagement.
The 29 indicators align with seven articles of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which correspond to specific priority areas for improvement identified in Australia’s Disability Strategy.
Following Australia’s ratification of the UN convention in 2008, the first National Disability Strategy 2010–2020 was established as well as provision of individualised disability support through the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) from 2013. The four-year Disability Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability delivered its final report in 2023.
Co-author Matthew Flinders Professor Sally Robinson says the aim of the study was to assess Australia’s progress in promoting the rights of young people with disability over this period.
“Our findings raise questions about how Australia measures its own progress towards achieving disability rights,” says Professor Robinson, Professor in Disability and Community Inclusion at Flinders University.
“Most government reporting tracks whether people with disability are better off now than in the past, rather than whether they are catching up to their peers. This means current reporting may suggest progress even while the underlying inequity gap stays the same.
“As a result, changes in these outcomes over time provide an indication of the Australia’s Disability Strategy’s effectiveness in reducing inequity.”
Professor Robinson, Flinders Professor Gerry Redmond and other experts are leading the Australian Research Council Discovery Project ‘Young People with Disability and Young Carers’, which also has been collaborating with a group of young people with disability and young carers to assess what is important to them.
