Election Hub
2025 Federal Election Platform
Investing in children and young people with disability is investing in Australia’s future
In this Federal Election, CYDA is calling for urgent and genuine action across four key areas to improve outcomes for children and young people with disability, and their parents and caregivers.
Calls to Action
- Build a truly inclusive education system
- Ensure a fair, safe, and accessible disability supports ecosystem
- Address cost-of-living and unemployment impacts
- Invest in individual advocacy
1. Inclusive Education
A truly inclusive education system in Australia would cost less and improve outcomes for all students.
It is also required under Australia’s Disability Strategy 2021-31 and Disability Standards for Education.
We call for commitments to:
- Action a National Roadmap to Inclusive Education
- Set up a national independent oversight body to make sure providers meet their legal obligations
- Create an Inclusion Fund for Early Childhood Education and Care
- Provide federal funding to schools to guarantee safe and quality education for students with disability
- Strengthen pathways into higher education for students with disability
“We need to entirely dismantle and redesign the education system in Australia because it’s not meeting the needs of disabled students and thus is not inclusive.”
2. Supports ecosystem
Many children and young people with disability are not having their supports needs met.
We call for a fair, safe, and accessible disability supports ecosystem through commitments to:
- Guarantee children with disability stay in the NDIS until they can get other supports that meet their needs
- Provide more intensive supports at key transition points
- Invest in lived experience by employing young people with disability and co-designing reform
- Make the NDIS accessible by giving participants clear information, transparent communication, and accessible assessment processes
“I live in [regional area] where we lack funding and staffing in education and health. I don’t trust that there are resources for adequate support.”
3. Cost-of-living
Children and young people with disability are hardest hit by the cost-of-living crisis. They have the highest unemployment rates, lowest incomes, and higher living costs.
We call for commitments to:
- Create a National Youth Disability Employment Strategy to tackle job insecurity
- Increase income support by raising JobSeeker and Youth Allowance and introducing supplements
- Make sure Disability Support Pension and carer payments are accessible, available, and not impacted by relationship status
- Move away from segregated employment in Australian Disability Enterprises to inclusive, fair-wage jobs
“Disabled young people are drowning under the rising cost of living. We’re struggling with housing, medical treatments, and basic necessities in a world where so much is stacked against us. Something's got to give.”
4. Individual advocacy
There is a serious shortage of individual advocacy services for children and young people with disability. More advocacy support is needed to uphold rights and improve outcomes.
We call for commitments to:
- Create a specialist individual advocacy service for children and young people with disability
- Provide dedicated funding to existing advocacy services
- Provide sustainable funding for peer support activities that build self-advocacy skills
- Invest in targeted support for children and young people with disability with intersectional experiences and from diverse backgrounds
“We have this added burden [...] there are so many different parts of our lived experience that we have to try and explain to people.”
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