Chasm of inequality for people with disability: report

Businesses, employers and every citizen must step up to bridge the chasm of inequality between the one in five Australians living with disability and those who don’t, a new report warns.

Businesses and communities must step up to bridge the social and economic gap between people with disability and those without​

Businesses, employers and every citizen must step up to bridge the chasm of inequality between the one in five Australians living with disability and those who don’t, a new report warns.

An increased policy focus on supporting people with disability including initiatives such as the National Disability Insurance Scheme has been welcome, but the disparity in health, economic and social outcomes for millions of Australians living with a disability remains vast, the study by the Actuaries Institute says.

Taylor Fry actuary Dr Laura Dixie.

The new paper, Not a Level Playing Field – People With Disability, examines the link between disability and inequality and argues that businesses and the community must do more than simple compliance to support people with disability to be active participants in society.

“The change needed goes beyond government policy. It needs a mindset change from all of us, individually and in business,” Taylor Fry actuary and report co-author Laura Dixie said.

“We need companies to build disability awareness to create more inclusive workplaces to help reduce barriers to unemployment.

“Given Australia’s current period of low unemployment rates, and with many businesses struggling to find workers, now is the ideal time for companies, and society more broadly, to step up and do their part,” Dr Dixie said.

“And community attitudes need to evolve to reduce discrimination and stigma, given that currently three in four Australians say they are unsure how to act toward people with disability.”

The report lays bare the extent of inequality faced by the almost one in five Australians who live with a moderate or severe disability. While 36 per cent of those over 65 are considered to have such a disability, compared to 14 per cent of 15-64 year-olds, the report focuses on those of working age.

It finds working age people with disability have about $24,000 less disposable income per year than people without disability, which is compounded by the fact that people with disability need an estimated 50 per cent additional income to achieve the same standard of living as people without disability.

The employment rate for people with moderate or severe disability was 46 per cent, which is 35 percentage points less than for people without disability (81 per cent), it says.

“The total cost of poorer employment outcomes for people with disability is estimated to be $21.5 billion per year,” it says.

Dr Dixie said workplace culture had changed as a result of the Covid pandemic, which had implications for how people with disability are treated.

“If you think of the adjustments made in terms of work and workplaces over the last few years, it shows we can be more flexible than maybe we give ourselves credit for,” she said.

The final report of the Disability Royal Commission last month proposed a range of policy changes to achieve a “future where people with and without disability live, learn, work, play, create and engage together in safe and diverse communities.”

It highlighted the need to focus on inclusion, and end the segregation of people with disability from work, education, accommodation and other settings.

The Actuaries Institute report notes there is a long way to go.

It finds people with disability are twice as likely to be living in poverty, six times more likely to be either a recent victim of crime, or incarcerated, and three times more likely to die by suicide.

There are also significant gaps in home ownership and Year 12 completion rates, it says.

And rates of homelessness, representation in child protection and reliance on public housing and welfare payments are also higher for people with disability.