The disability royal commission examined education in Queensland this week, hearing stories of bullying, verbal and physical abuse and exclusion from school activities but at no point did it actually hear from an alleged victim.

Key points: Royal commission into disability abuse failed to have any testimony from actual victims

Royal commission into disability abuse failed to have any testimony from actual victims It heard stories of children being pulled along the ground and a child with Down syndrome being forcibly isolated

It heard stories of children being pulled along the ground and a child with Down syndrome being forcibly isolated Greens senator Jordon Steele-John led the criticism and called for witnesses to be protected

And the decision to not have a single disabled person speak drew the ire of advocates and experts alike.

"When you say you're going to have a royal commission that's going to have disabled people at the heart of it and then you don't have a single disabled person whose giving evidence, that's incredibly problematic," advocate Samantha Connor said.

"If you can imagine the same thing happening for the deaths in custody royal commission. I mean, imagine having the union who was in charge of representing prison guards and not having a single Aboriginal person at the royal commission."

Inclusive education academic Dr Shiralee Poed from Melbourne University said she was understanding of the fact it was only the first of many hearings on education to be run in the next three years but agreed first-hand accounts must be heard.

"The lived experience of people with a disability must come out in this royal commission and there must be opportunities for people to talk about their experiences of the education system directly," Dr Poed said.

"We've heard from some parents but their experience is often slightly different to their child's."

The inquiry heard stories of children being pulled along the ground by their arms, and of deaf students being denied access to bathrooms and left in their own urine.

One mother talked about her daughter, who has Down syndrome being made to stand 3 metres away from the rest of her classmates during a school dance performance.

Dr Poed said she wasn't surprised by those stories and that they were likely just the tip of the iceberg.

"I've had hundreds of parents contacting me this week, sharing stories that just reinforce that the education of children with disabilities across the country seems to be a very hot topic in terms of the variants in quality that people have experienced," Dr Poed said.

"It makes me terribly sad because this week we've been confronted with the stories of families that have really had to fight for what is just a basic human right."

Children and Young People with Disability Australia CEO Mary Sayers was in Townsville for the first week of hearings.

"There were a few things that were obviously missing for us, in terms of people with disability being able to present their stories," Ms Sayers said.

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Ms Sayers' organisation was urging the royal commission to delay its start until next year due to concerns about there not being enough witnesses who had experienced poor treatment themselves and advocates on social media also questioned whether things were rushed, with no victims on the stand.

In the first week of hearings, much of the evidence focused on comparing the outcomes for students with disability in inclusive 'mainstream' schools versus those in segregated special-education schools.

There was ample evidence in support of inclusive education but there was no witness testimony from families whose children attended special schools, or from anyone representing special schools.

"I'm not surprised parents who have their children in special education might feel as though their choices might be under attack by the royal commission, but that's certainly not the case," Ms Sayers said.

She said the commission counsel had made it clear this was just the beginning of the examination of education of people with disabilities, and that many more stories and experiences would be heard.

In a statement, the royal commission said it chose to focus on schools in North Queensland because they practised inclusive education on a daily basis.

The statement also addressed concerns no people with disabilities had testified at this week's hearings.

"This Commission absolutely recognises the importance of young people with a disability being able to speak for themselves. In future hearings we will seek to hear from young people who are willing to share their story with the commission in public hearings," the statement read.

Greens senator says it was rushed

Greens senator Jordon Steele-John says his fears have come true. ( ABC News: Nick Haggarty )

Greens senator Jordan Steele-John believes the first week of hearings validated concerns the royal commission start date was rushed.

"Disability organisations felt that the date of the first hearings was too soon and that the commission was not prepared to undertake its first hearing and I think we did see evidence of that," Senator Steele-John said.

One example he's pointing to — legislation to keep private testimony confidential after the three-year inquiry ends — is not yet in place.

This week, commission chair the Honourable Ronald Sackville QC said the commission might have to ask the Federal Government to introduce legislation to give them that ability.

Until that happens, Senator Steele-John says potential witnesses could be scared off from giving evidence.

"As one woman said to me, 'Jordon, I can't tell my story if I think that in three years' time, when this is over, it'll come out to my employer and I'll lose my job'."

The royal commission's next hearing will take place in the week of December 2-6 in Melbourne — the evidence will focus on people with disability living in group homes in Victoria.