According to recent research conducted in Australia, the social and economic contribution people with disability are capable of making is massively undervalued and forgotten altogether. Perceptions of and attitudes towards people with disability greatly affect their inclusion in their communities and their capacity to achieve basic goals, such as employment and education. Examples of negative attitudes towards people with disability include derogatory stereotypes and beliefs that people with disability have a lesser position in society, that they are in need of ‘fixing’ or that they have a diminished capacity to contribute due to their impairment.

Access to education and employment is vital for Australians with disability. Education and employment can contribute to a sense of identity and self-worth, greater economic independence, inclusion in the wider community and have positive health impacts for some people with disability. Alarmingly, over the last few years, the rate of unemployment for those with a disability had increased (9.4% in 2012 compared to 7.8% in 2009), while remaining steady for those without disability (4.9% in 2012 and 5.1% in 2009). In comparison with other OECD countries, Australia ranks 21st out of 29 OECD countries in employment participation rates for people with disability. Negative attitudes and misconceptions about disability reportedly contribute to the reluctance of employers employing a person with disability.

In addition, Australians with disability are less likely to participate in post-secondary education. About 15% of people with disability had obtained a bachelor degree or higher in 2012, compared with 26% of people without disability. Data published by the National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education suggests that within the post-secondary education sector, students with disability continue to be identified as a disadvantaged equity group due to the under representation in accessing, participation and succeeding within higher education in Australia. In 2012, students with a disability represented 5.2% of all domestic undergraduates in Australia, below the national reference target of their population share of 8%. Astonishingly, the University of Queensland (UQ) had the lowest representation rate of students with disability across all 41 Australian Universities, with approximately 2.7% of the student body self-identifying as having a disability. This suggests UQ currently possess barriers which prevent people with a disability from attending the university. This could largely be attributable to the absence of financial support (specifically equity and access scholarships and/or bursaries), as well as Disability Services being significantly under-resourced.

1.2. The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

The CRPD offers the most comprehensive and authoritative set of standards on the rights of people with disabilities. The fundamental purpose of the Convention is to:

“promote, protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities, and to promote respect for their inherent dignity” (Article 1).

Although the CRPD is not legally enforceable in an international court, it constitutes a powerful means of holding governments accountable to the international community and providing a springboard for national advocacy[3]. The Convention consists of 50 Articles, which are summarised as follows:

Articles 1 to 7: sets outs the general principles that establish people with disabilities are the subject of rights.

Articles 8 and 9: seeks to raise awareness, foster respect, combat stereotypes, prejudices and harmful practices, including the exclusion of people with disabilities from physical environments and essential services.

Articles 11 to 17: reflects the priority given to physical and mental safety and well-being, as a precondition for social inclusion.

Articles 18 to 30: recognises the barriers to effective social participation as the interplay between the embodied experience of disability and the disabling effects of active and passive discrimination.

Articles 31 to 50: relates to governance, reporting and monitoring of the Convention.