National Disability Strategy Beyond 2020

Executive summary

Children and Young People with Disability Australia (CYDA) is the national representative organisation for children and young people with disability aged 0–25 years. CYDA has an extensive national membership of more than 5000 young people with disability, families and caregivers of children with disability, and advocacy and community organisations.

CYDA’s purpose is to systemically advocate at the national level for the rights and interests of all children and young people with disability living in Australia. We are pleased to be able to provide a submission to the development of the new National Disability Strategy (NDS).[1]

CYDA’s submission covers:

• How and why children and young people should be meaningfully engaged in decision making processes[2]
• Required areas of action to realise the NDS outcomes areas
• The development of an outcomes framework and strategy to delegate roles and responsibilities and support accountability processes.

More specifically, the submission outlines several priority areas of action that the NDS must include to ensure the proposed six outcome areas are fulfilled. These priority areas include the realisation of inclusive education as outlined by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2006 (CRPD) and recommendations for appropriate supports and supply and demand interventions to enable young people with disability to find and maintain meaningful employment. Other priority areas outlined in our submission include the need for equitable, timely and appropriate information provision, the provision of adequate social security and access to safe and accessible housing.

The submission also outlines CYDA’s recommendations for greater accountability measures across departments and jurisdictions. This includes the development of an outcomes framework to accompany the new NDS and the development of an independent oversight function to monitor and report on progress against the NDS. CYDA also recommends investment in human rights-based disability representative organisations to provide systemic advocacy and the development of improved data collection processes as key mechanisms to ensure accountability.

Our submission affirms that one area of a child or young person’s life cannot be understood without viewing them holistically. This includes understanding their previous experiences and encounters with systems, both positive and negative. As such, solutions for outcomes areas can not be siloed to single departments. A collaborative, whole-of-government approach is essential for improved outcomes and greater inclusion for people with disability in Australia.

CYDA’s submission also draws attention to the inadequacies of the previous NDS in considering the distinct developmental and aspirational needs of children and young people and disability. As such, the new NDS and its priorities areas and proposed outcomes should be developed and evaluated with children with disability and their family and caregivers, and young people with disability. 

Recommendations

Recommendations to meaningfully engage young people and children and their families and caregivers in decision-making processes

• The new Strategy is underpinned by the life course approach and incorporates priority areas that reflect different needs across the lifespan
• Priority areas and consequential policies and programs are formed and evaluated with the meaningful inclusion of young people with disability and families and caregivers of children with disability
• Governments engage with disability advocacy and representative organisations to ensure young people and families and caregivers are engaged in consultation and co-design processes that are safe and inclusive

Recommendation to ensure the inclusive education

• The Commonwealth and state and territory governments undertake major systemic reform as outlined in Driving change: A roadmap for achieving inclusive education in Australia to fulfil Australia’s CRPD obligations and the NDS outcome areas

Recommendations to provide targeted and support for students’ career-planning and address state and territory inconsistencies

• Increase tailored supports for young people for young people with disability to engage in work experience and/or paid employment during school years
• The recommendations for students with disability in the Looking to the future: Report on the review of senior secondary pathways into work, further education and training be adopted and evaluated
• Improve national consistency in post-school transition activities, building on what works best around the country
• Include young people with disability and families in every stage of developing new post-school transition activities
• Ensure post-school transition programs are well-structured, outcome-oriented and student-focused
• Start post-school planning activities for all students with disability by at least the age of 15
• Improve data collection about post-school transition programs, including their uptake, implementation and outcomes
• Review funding arrangements in all states and territories for school and post-school programs for students with disability

Recommendations to address low expectations of young people with disability and address direct and indirect discrimination in the workplace

• Counter the narrative of ‘low expectations’ for young with disability through concrete actions and monitor post-school outcomes for students with disability
• Increase targeted, evidence-based interventions addressing the negative and misinformed attitudes of employers. These development strategies must include the meaningful involvement of young people with disability
• Assure that the Australian Human Rights Commission, and other independent oversight agencies, receive sufficient resourcing to safeguard the rights of young people with disability in the workforce
• Continue and increase investment in regular community and employer attitudes surveys and research to monitor changes over the duration of the next NDS

Recommendations to develop fit-for-purpose employment programs and supports

• Improve monitoring and public release of caseload and outcome data of young people with disability in employment programs
• Ensure young people with disability across Australia can access age-appropriate employment programs that are designed to address barriers to employment

Recommendations to provide an adequate safety net and improve access to accessible housing

• Ensure timely and appropriate information and support is available for young people to assist them to secure income support payments
• Review and amend the DSP eligibility requirements to ensure that it does not prevent young people with disability to receive earnings from a wage
• Provide an adequate safety net for young people with disability that reflects the contemporary cost-of-living, inclusive of the increased living-costs associated with having a disability
• Increase in the development of social housing that meets accessibility standards
• Introduce regulations of accessibility requirements in all new housing in line with universal design best-practice principles

Recommendations to provide timely and appropriate information and support

• The commitment and establishment of a reporting framework for Commonwealth and state and territory systems and governments to demonstrate equitable and appropriate information provision for different cohorts within the disability community
• Any future community targeted information provision and support initiatives be developed with people from disability from the relevant communities (i.e. initiatives targeting young people must include young people)
• Monitoring the effectiveness of targeted information provision initiatives or supports
• Increased investment in individual advocacy services, particularly in developing child and youth specific disability advocacy organisations in each state

Recommendations to develop clear mechanisms for accountability and safeguarding

• Develop a robust outcomes framework with clear delegation of, and accountability around, responsibilities between national, state and territory and local governments
• The outcomes framework is in line with the CRPD and reflects the different needs of people with disability across the life course
• The outcomes framework must include clear oversight protections across systems in all jurisdictions to safeguard children and young people from abuse, discrimination and neglect, and eliminate the use of restrictive practices in all settings
• Establish an independent body to monitor and report on the progress of governments in accordance with the outcomes framework

Recommendations to sufficiently resource systemic advocacy

• Ensure there is always a funded national children and youth representative organisation (CYDA) under Australia’s obligations under the CRPD
• Boost funding to Disability Representative Organisations providing strategic and systemic policy advice to government to ensure the rights of people with disability are upheld

Recommendations to develop consistent and comprehensive data collection mechanisms and reporting requirements

• Develop consistent and comprehensive data collection, that includes disaggregated data for different age-groups, disability-type and demographics within the disability community
• Develop clear and consistent data reporting requirements across jurisdictions
• Co-design the new National Disability Data Asset with young people with disability  

Introduction

Children and Young People with Disability Australia (CYDA) is the national representative organisation for children and young people with disability aged 0 to 25 years. CYDA has an extensive national membership of more than 5000 young people with disability, families and caregivers of children with disability, and advocacy and community organisations.

CYDA’s purpose is to systemically advocate at the national level for the rights and interests of all children and young people with disability living in Australia, and it undertakes the following to achieve this:

• listening and responding to the voices and experiences of children and young people with disability
• advocating for children and young people with disability for equal opportunities, participation and inclusion in the Australian community
• educating national public policy-makers and the broader community about the experiences of children and young people with disability
• informing children and young people with disability, their families and caregivers about their citizenship rights and entitlements
• celebrating the successes and achievements of children and young people with disability. 

CYDA welcomes the opportunity to contribute to the development of the next National Disability Strategy (NDS). The ten-year scope of the NDS, and our ability to make vast improvements to community inclusion over this time, will have significant impacts on the lives of children and young people with disability. During this time, we can protect, support and empower children and young people with disability to have a childhood, adolescence and early adulthood just like everyone else. We can ensure that they will have every opportunity to learn, build relationships and meet new people, find a job in line with their skills and aspirations and live independently in a home they choose. Ultimately, done well, the NDS can support children and young people with disability to thrive – in the now and as they transition into adulthood.

While the previous NDS outlined a welcomed vision and plan for a more inclusive and just society, ten years later, children and young people with disability continue to experience systemic neglect and significant barriers to social and economic inclusion. They continue to be left out of conversations and decision-making that affects their lives and are denied opportunities and rites of passage that their peers without disability assume as a given.

This submission covers:

• How and why children and young people should be meaningfully engaged in decision making processes
• Required areas of action to realise the NDS outcomes areas
• The development of an outcomes framework and strategy to delegate roles and responsibilities and support accountability processes

CYDA’s submission draws on our previous survey and research work, including:

• 2019 National Education Survey
• Pathways for young people with disability after school (n=86)[3]
• Time for change: The state of play for inclusion of students with disability (n=505)
• Towards inclusive education: A necessary process of transformation (2019)
• Post school transition: The experiences of students with disability (2015)
• Strengthening Participation of Children and Young People with Disability in Advocacy (2014)

CYDA has also attached the following work we have been involved in or commissioned to support our points:

• What is inclusive education? Fact sheet
• Driving change: A roadmap for achieving inclusive education in Australia

In October 2020, CYDA hosted the inaugural National Youth Disability Summit, a five day, online virtual summit designed by and for young people with disability. Some of the broad themes and topics that emerged throughout the Summit have been included in this submission.

The Summit included four consultation sessions asking young people with disability what they would like to see included in the next NDS. The topics covered by the sessions included education, employment, living a good life, and choice and wellbeing. CYDA will produce a separate reporting collating the themes and ideas that emerged from these sessions to ensure that young people’s voices, opinions, and ideas are amplified.

The current submission also includes two case studies to illustrate the impact of systems failures on the lives of children and young people with disability. 

Children and young people with disability must be meaningfully engaged

Recommendations

• The new Strategy is underpinned by the life course approach and incorporates priority areas that reflect different needs across the lifespan
• Priority areas and consequential policies and programs are formed and evaluated with the meaningful inclusion of young people with disability and families and caregivers of children with disability
• Governments engage with disability advocacy and representative organisations to ensure young people and families and caregivers are engaged in consultation and co-design processes that are safe and inclusive

While the previous NDS states that it reflects and reinforces the ‘life course approach’, and takes ‘into account a person’s likely needs and aspirations over their lifetime’, specific mention of children and young people is largely absent from the document. To understand the life experiences of a person with disability, the NDS must bring a more critical lens to how our services and systems are supporting or failing people with disability at different points in their life transitions, and how these inadequacies have flow-on impacts across the life course.

For example, despite it being well-established that a child or young person’s early experiences with the justice system are linked with their future interactions and outcomes, and that existing (albeit limited[4]) data[5] indicates that children and young people with disability are overrepresented in the justice system, the previous NDS’ Rights protection, justice and legislation outcomes area did not include any priority actions to support the cohort.

By not acknowledging different life stage needs, the Strategy limits its view of children and young people with disability to just their disability. Fundamentally, children and young people with disability are children and young people. For the NDS to achieve its vision of ‘an inclusive Australian society that enables people with disability to fulfil their potential as equal citizens’, it needs to acknowledge and value children and young people’s identities, aspirations and dreams.

To understand what children and young people with disability want and need, the NDS and the departments actioning the priority areas must meaningfully engage with this cohort on their terms and in accessible and inclusive ways.

In a report commissioned by CYDA in 2014, “Strengthening Participation of Children and Young People with Disability in Advocacy”[6], it is noted:

“Participation by children and young people in advocacy and change-making can not only improve and foster positive change in their own lives, but also influence the lives of others. When young people’s participation is supported, meaningful and engaged, multiple benefits accrue. Their perspectives and experiences bring a unique contribution and can result in rights-based empowerment, enacted citizenship and improved relationships. This has the potential to shape policy, to increase the relevance and responsiveness of organisations they use, and to influence change in their communities in positive ways.[7]”

Participation can occur at different levels, including at a:

• Local/individual level: such as decision making and influencing change for daily living.
• Structural level: influencing change in systems, such as within education and community.
• Systemic level: influencing change at a society/policy level.[8]

The 2014 report provided evidence on the many benefits stemming from the inclusion of children and young people with disability in participatory activities. These include individual benefits for young people themselves, benefits for the organisations they are involved with, for informing policy, and systemic benefits for wider communities. However, the report noted:

“There are a range of barriers that discourage, prevent or actively exclude children and young people from participating. Some of these are social and cultural barriers, such as attitudes and low expectations. Others are practical — participation processes which limit the depth and involvement of children and young people’s influence, such as one-off, adult-led consultations. These barriers to participation are magnified for children and young people with disability, particularly younger children and those with higher or more complex support needs.[9]”

The ongoing impact of these barriers was highlighted by young people who attended CYDA’s 2020 National Youth Disability Summit (NYDS).  

“Politicians don’t have lived experience of the systems they are designing. So, they don’t necessarily know the ways of enacting systems change that are going to best benefit the people that exist within the system” - Young participant at the 2020 NYDS

Young people with disability rarely have opportunities to meaningfully engage with government policy development processes or consultation; and there is a long way to go to ensure these processes are genuinely inclusive and built on co-design principles.[10] At the national level, policy impacting children and young people with disability sits across multiple policy portfolios, including:

• Employment policy, services, income support – Services Australia, Department of Social Services (DSS) and Department of Educations, Skills and Employment (DESE)
• Youth policy – Department of Health
• Disability services – DSS and National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA)
• Abuse, neglect, child protection and juvenile justice – DSS, NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission, Attorney General’s Department
• First Nations policy and programming – National Indigenous Australians Agency.

At the state and territory level there are also multiple departments and agencies, and again there is little opportunity and few formal structures for young people with disability and families and caregivers of young children to be involved. The machinery of government approaches to policy‑making and program delivery for children and young people with disability create structural barriers and mean that governments generally have difficulty in holistically considering the needs of young people with disability and involving them in consultation and/or policy development.

Additionally, children and young people with disability often face barriers to participating in consultative process because of inaccessible processes (including inadequate information delivery, meeting structures, interpreters, assistive technology), and we have seen little evidence that government consultative processes are responding to these needs adequately. This notion was echoed in the Social Deck’s recent consultation report to help shape the next NDS, which confirmed young people ‘do not find current mechanisms used by governments to engage on these issues appealing, suitable or easy to access’.[11]

“As a young person myself, I've been told 'No you can't speak' or 'you're not old enough' so it's so lovely to see older people especially respect that the future is ours to take. And that out decisions and our voice is important.” - Young participant at the 2020 NYDS

For children and young people with disability to engage with government safely, confidently, and meaningfully, extensive pre-briefing, tailored accessibility support and post-briefing support is needed.  This support is best provided by disability advocacy organisations like CYDA, and state/territory-based organisations for work in those jurisdictions. Our organisations have the skills and expertise to ensure safe, meaningful and supported engagement activities. Peer support and peer work approaches have also been shown to be effective in consumer participation and engagement.[12] 

The National Disability Strategy outcome areas remain unrealised

The six outcome areas identified in the previous NDS remain relevant, because they have not yet been realised. The next section of our submission will outline what CYDA recommends as some of the necessary steps and levers to accomplish the proposed outcomes and work toward a more inclusive and just society.

While the current submission talks to priority areas that are closely aligned with particular outcome areas of the previous NDS, CYDA urges the new NDS to recognise that all outcome areas are interrelated and dependent on each other’s success. For instance, a young person with disability’s experience in the workforce cannot be understood without the context of their experiences in the education, health and housing systems. Similarly, a child or young person’s health and wellbeing outcomes cannot be understood without the context of economic security, personalised supports or inclusive community attitudes.

The table below outlines the required areas of actions identified by CYDA and the related outcome areas included in the previous NDS. In line with CYDA’s human-rights based approach and the previous NDS’s human rights imperative, the ‘Rights protection, justice and legislation’ outcome area relates to each identified area for action. In any instance, where children and young people with disability do not have full and effective participation and inclusion in society and do not experience equality of opportunity, their human rights are violated.

Ensure inclusive education

Recommendations

• The Commonwealth and state and territory governments undertake major systemic reform as outlined in Driving change: A roadmap for achieving inclusive education in Australia to fulfil Australia’s CRPD obligations and the NDS outcome areas

What changes should be monitored

• For an extensive list of short, medium and long-term outcomes required to achieve inclusive education, please see Driving change: A roadmap for achieving inclusive education in Australia
• Increased % school attendance
• Increased % higher levels of education attainment
• Decreased % early school leaving rates
• Increase % of students with disability completing year 12
• Decrease % of suspensions and expulsions
• Increase % of student engagement
• Increase % of student’s reporting feelings of inclusion, belonging etc. (factors of engagement)
• Decrease in funding allocated to segregated schools or settings (with the ultimate goal to phase out segregated education entirely)
• Decrease % of children and young people being subject to restrictive practices in education settings (which the ultimate objective being the elimination of the practice)
• Increase % students with disability transitioning into VET, tertiary education or open employment (in line with their aspirations) post-school

The NDS outcomes – particularly the Learning and Skills outcome – cannot and will not be realised until education settings and systems include students with a disability on an equal basis and ensure all students are valued as contributors and learnings. Achieving inclusive education “requires recognising the right of every child (without exception) to be included and adapting the environment and teaching approaches in order to ensure the valued participation of all children.”[13] Inclusive education is more than a student with disability simply being present in early education, school or tertiary education settings, but rather entails the full participation and full membership of all students within the school community.[14]

Evidence shows that inclusive education “has positive benefits for everyone”[15] – students with and without disabilities, as well as teachers and the broader school community. For all students, inclusive education facilitates social development, socially inclusive attitudes, improved education outcomes and communication and language development.[16] To the contrary, there is no evidence base to support segregated education in any form, including in special schools, special units or special classrooms.[17]

Fundamentally, inclusive education is in line with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2006 (CRPD) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989 (CRC) – of which Australia is a signatory to both. These Conventions contain clear standards and obligations on the rights of children and people with disability to equal access to education[18], including the emphasis that no form of segregation constitutes inclusive education. Australia’s ratification of these Conventions articulates the Australian Government’s commitment and responsibility to protect, respect and promote the rights of all children and young people with disability to receive a quality, free and inclusive education.   

Despite the known benefits of inclusive education and Australia’s obligations to achieve inclusive education, governments in Australia continue to provide ongoing funding ongoing commitment to resourcing and supporting special class and special school placements.[19] In the case of Victoria, not only has inclusive education not been realised, but 2019 data shows that enrolment rates in special schools have increased by 53 per cent since 2010. [20]

Gatekeeping – whereby ‘power holders’, such as principals and medical practitioners, “create, mobilise, recreate and reinforce structural barriers” to accessing education ­– also remains a consistent barrier for students with disability. In 2020, a research report[21] was published with the aim to determine the extent and distribution of gatekeeping and restrictive practices in Australia. Drawing on a national sample, the study found that more than a third (37 per cent) of the 745 families surveyed reported that they were told by educators, medical practitioners and allied professionals that segregation would be in the best interests of their child. Concerningly, the study also found that nearly a quarter of families (24 per cent) reported that restrictive practices were used to manage behavioural challenges.

Types of restrictive practices[22]

Restraints

• Physical restraint: Using physical force to immobilise a student or reduce their movement. This can be done by holding a student’s torso, arms, legs, or head (while they are sitting, standing or lying down) so that they cannot move freely.
• Chemical restraint: Providing medication to a student so as to subdue a student’s behaviour. This does not include the use of medication prescribed by the student’s medical practitioner, unless the medication is used above or below the prescribed dosage or frequency authorised.
• Mechanical restraint: The use of a device, including harnesses, straps, clothing, or equipment, to subdue a student or restrict their movement.

Seclusion

• Seclusion is the confinement of a student in a room or area from which their free exit is prevented. Seclusion is regarded as a restrictive practice when the student has been removed from the environment and placed in the space against their will (as opposed to a calming space the child chosen to enter)

In total, the study found that over 70 per cent of families reported experiencing gatekeeping or restrictive practices. The most commonly reported practices were ‘inadequate education or teacher assistant support’ (54 per cent) and ‘inadequate opportunities and support to develop and maintain peer friendship’ (48 per cent). The researchers from the study determined that the survey data represents a widespread practice of a serious violation of human rights in Australian education settings.

The findings from the study are consistent with CYDA’s own research, and gatekeeping was also explored at a recent education hearing of the Disability Royal Commission. Between August and September 2019, CYDA conducted a National Education Survey to understand the experience of children and young people with disability in their school education[23]. There were 505 young people with disability and families and caregivers of children with disability who responded to the survey.

The survey had representation from all states and territories, all age groups and from metropolitan, regional, rural and remote Australia. The majority of respondents were from families of students with disability (97%), with the balance of respondents being students with disability.

Our study found that that students with disability are routinely excluded in their education, with many being segregated from ‘mainstream’ schools and classrooms, not attending school full-time, refused enrolment and excluded from school activities. Suspensions and expulsions are also familiar practices, showing the lack of understanding and support for students with disability.

Findings from the study also showed that students with disability experience unacceptably high levels of abuse and violence at school, including bullying and restrictive practices such as restraint, seclusion or both of these.

Max’s story in Appendix A highlights the impact of the use of restrictive practices.

Families did not believe:

• students with disability received adequate support in their education
• that they were communicated with regularly about the student’s learning progress
• that teachers had high expectations of the student, or
• that teachers had the required training to provide a supportive and enriching education environment.

For a more comprehensive understanding of the findings from CYDA’s National Education Survey, please see the supplementary data included in Appendix B.

Recently, at the 2020 National Youth Disability Summit, CYDA heard directly from young people with disability about what they believed were the barriers to experiencing an inclusive education. The group talked about how their needs in school settings were often disregarded, ignored and misunderstood.  They observed that those in power in education settings often did not listen to young people with disability, choosing to instead make assumptions about what was best for them and their education.

“‘Being an Aboriginal, LGBTI+ person with disability has meant that none of my identities are taught in school. This has made my experience difficult both in my institutions but also in my own shaping of who I am. I felt left out. Felt different. Felt like I don’t belong. Like the default is white, abled and heterosexual. I have experienced discrimination from teachers and lecturers, such as being told that I was ‘too sick’ to be at university. And constantly being in detention at school because the system just wasn’t designed for someone like me.’’ – Young participant at the 2020 NYDS

The group also discussed what helped or enabled them experience an inclusive education. The importance of educators asking young people with disability what they need, instead of assuming they know best, was a primary finding. To improve the education system, the group talked about the need for ‘educating the educators’. This included providing education, co-designed by those with lived experience of being a young person with disability at school, TAFE or university, to educators and other students without disability alike.

What is clear is that despite 10 years of the NDS and the 15 years (and multiple reviews) of the Disability Standards for Education, the rights of children and young people with disability to experience an education on the equal basis as others continues to be grossly violated. While the intentions of the NDS Learning and Skills outcome area to ‘focus on reducing the disparity in educational outcomes for people with a disability and others’ is well-intentioned, this will never be achieved until governments, systems and education settings are accountable for providing inclusive education settings where all students’ potential to thrive in their education is fostered.

To realise the NDS outcome areas, the phasing out of segregated education and the realisation of inclusive education (as defined by the CPRD which Australia has endorsed, but not fulfilled) for students with disability must be a priority.

The Australian Coalition for Inclusive Education (ACIE), an initiative which brings together organisations that share a commitment to advance inclusive education in Australia, has developed a 10-year plan³¹ (Driving change: A roadmap for achieving inclusive education in Australia) to help realise inclusive education and prevent the violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation of students with disability. This plan has been endorsed by specialist organisations across the country.

CYDA recommends the uptake of Driving change: A roadmap for achieving inclusive education in Australia to promote equitable education outcomes for children and young people with disability. Apt for the NDS, the Roadmap details a 10-year plan to achieve inclusive education, with short-term and medium-term outcomes that will lead to this longer-term goal. The Roadmap also includes the key levers for change that are needed to realise these outcomes, including the commitment and shared responsibility of the Australian and all state and territory governments.

CYDA has attached a copy of Roadmap to our submission.

Provide targeted and support for students’ career-planning and address state and territory inconsistencies

Recommendations

• Increase tailored supports for young people for young people with disability to engage in work experience and/or paid employment during school years
• The recommendations for students with disability in the Looking to the future: Report on the review of senior secondary pathways into work, further education and training be adopted and evaluated
• Improve national consistency in post-school transition activities, building on what works best around the country
• Include young people with disability and families in every stage of developing new post-school transition activities
• Ensure post-school transition programs are well-structured, outcome-oriented and student-focused
• Start post-school planning activities for all students with disability by at least the age of 15
• Improve data collection about post-school transition programs, including their uptake, implementation and outcomes
• Review funding arrangements in all states and territories for school and post-school programs for students with disability 

Indicators to monitor

• Increased % of young people with disability participating in meaningful work experience during their school years
• Increased % of young people with disability engaged in part-time employment during their school years
• Increased % of students feeling supported to consider their aspirations and post-school prospects and options
• Increase % confidence in students with disability about their post-school options
• Year level that students are first engaging with post-school planning activities
• Funding and resource levels from respective education departments to provide post-school programs and activities for students with disability

While CYDA agrees fully with the intent of the previous NDS to improve pathways from school to further education, employment and lifelong learning, ten years on, young people with disability still experience inequitable post-school outcomes. A major influence on disparate outcomes is a young person’s experiences and career supports in the lead up to their school completion.

In 2015, CYDA released a report[24] into the experiences of young people with disability during their post-school transitions. The report found that, while the transition from school is a critical period and young people have a variety of options, “many young people with disability however have extremely poor post school transition experiences…[which] is impacting negatively on life outcomes, where there is low participation in employment and tertiary study, and social exclusion remains high. While there are pockets of good post-school transition practice, generally programs and preparation for this transition are fragmented with minimal coordination and guidance regarding what should occur during this time.”[25]

Sadly, the situation today for students with disability remains very similar to that outlined in the above report.

As shown in Figure 1C (see Appendix C), the majority of respondents in CYDA’s 2019 post-school survey (80.2 per cent) reported that their school did not provide support or appropriate information about career planning, and more than half reported that they did not receive adequate support to think about and plan for their future (57.8 per cent), or that they did not find the assistance and information available through their school to be useful (52 per cent).

Fewer than one in five students report receiving assistance in understanding their strengths and skills for post-school transition; practical assistance such as resume-writing; or assistance to plan any study or training. Additionally, parents reported feeling a significant degree of responsibility for the career-planning process, and note that the support provided is generally not tailored to students with disability, and therefore options are limited.

Comments from young people and families in our 2019 post-school transition survey demonstrates the limited support available in many places:

“Very little assist[ance] was given due to lack of options and lack of funding to individually support my son” - family of a young person with disability 19-20 years old, metropolitan VIC 

“Career counselling available was of extremely poor quality and not suited to the current issues for school-leavers. Huge disconnect between a regional public high school in a low-SES area about post-school life and particularly on scholarships to universities and open days, etc.” - young person with disability over 25 years old, metropolitan VIC 

“Only Work-Related Skills subject for VCAL no other assistance” - family of a young person with disability 17-18 years old, regional VIC 

“My daughter attended TAFE one 1/2 day a week and school 4 days on a life skills curriculum with a 2 hour a week extended work experience placement external to the school. I coordinated this program for my daughter. This is not normally available in NSW schools.” - family of a young person with disability 19-20 years old, regional NSW 

“Support for assessment for NDIS SLES program” - family of a young person with disability 19-20 years old, metropolitan ACT

Around three quarters of our survey respondents agreed that much more needs to be done to support post-school planning and to help students to achieve their goals (73.2 per cent). Suggestions for further investment include assistance with life skills, more teacher support, tailored work experience with interest and abilities, more community integration for students and more information for families.

Participation in work experience, paid and unpaid, during the last years of secondary schools is consistently a strong indicator of post-school success,[26] however in our 2019 post-school survey, less than half of respondents reported having the opportunity to undertake work experience and had assistance to organise this.

Additionally, young people with disability who exit school with a job are more likely to maintain a positive career trajectory than those who do not.[27] With most employers requiring applicants to hold previous work experience[28], more needs to be done to support young people with disability to partake in work experience and part-time employment during their school years to support their full transition to the labour market.

Our 2019 post-school transitions survey also highlighted the disparities of school career programs across different states and territories in terms of their approaches and resourcing. Around 80 per cent of our survey respondents (n=68) reported that they have received a form of career planning at school, however for most students this did not start until the later years of high school. Almost 30 per cent of these students reported they started receiving career-planning support in Year 12, with around 45 per cent receiving support in either Year 10 or 11 (see Table 2C, Appendix C). Fewer than five per cent reported receiving support in Year 9.

Additionally, many families report they are not aware of these programs. This may be for a number of reasons, including the student not finishing school or not being provided appropriate support and opportunities to develop skills due to lower expectations and exclusion.

Reflections from young people[29]:

“Year 12, yes, but it was very limited - one session with a teacher to talk about what we were thinking of doing. Many people were pushed earlier into trades at TAFE, rather than focusing on them getting into university. Students with disabilities that impacted on their results, who stayed until year 11 and 12 were pressured into segregated 'life skills' classes, meaning they did not receive their HSC (this happened to my brother, even though he has ASD, but was completely capable of completing the HSC)” - young person with Disability aged over 25 years old, metropolitan VIC

“Begin the process a lot earlier than end of year 11. Presume competence. Inform, encourage and support families to be involved in the process. Give them all the options and assist in making these happen. Education department to work with NDIS to understand, support and fund real transitions” - family of a student with disability aged 17-18 years old, metropolitan NSW.

The Looking to the future: Report on the review of senior secondary pathways into work, further education and training[30], to which CYDA provided a submission[31], highlighted the importance of starting the transition from school and career planning activities early, with specific recommendations that all students with disability should have an individual post-school transition plan.

Students with disability may require extra or different support for their transition from secondary school, and it is beneficial to start the career planning earlier. A number of studies have confirmed that post-school transition planning for young people with disability needs to include five key areas:[32]

1. Student-focused planning
2. Student development
3. Family involvement
4. Program structure
5. Interagency collaboration.

CYDA recommends taking a unified approach across the country and introducing career-planning activities that include the five key areas for all students with disability by the age of 15 years. To build the skills of the students, it will be important to include practical subjects as well as work experience or exposure to different work industries where students have expressed interest.

It is critical that young people with disability, and families, are involved in the development of any new transition planning activities or programs from the beginning and throughout the development and implementation process.

“Working with young people in defining the problems and issues that affect them can lead to new understandings about the source of such problems as well as potential responses. Young people’s involvement also helps to build credibility and rapport for the project and ensure that their values and attitudes are accounted for.

Pragmatically, a Participatory Design approach helps us to develop interventions that are engaging to young people and therefore are more likely to be used, increasing the overall reach and impact of the intervention.”

-Young and Well Cooperative Research Centre, 2012[33] 

Address low expectations of post-school transitions of young people with disability

Recommendation

• Counter the narrative of ‘low expectations’ for young with disability through concrete actions and monitor post-school outcomes for students with disability 

Indicators to measure

• Increase % young people with disability completing year 12
• Decrease % young people with disability entering ADEs
• Increase % students with disability transitioning into VET, tertiary education or open employment (in line with their aspirations) post-school
• Increase % in students with disability feeling that their school, and others ‘around them’, have high and expectations of their post-school outcomes

Expectations of post-school outcomes, by the young person with disability and those around them, are known to be linked with employment outcomes[34], with those who are perceived with low expectations facing increased barriers to employment. Discriminatory attitudes from schools, communities, and government and policy approaches gatekeep the young person’s possibilities and undermine their right to social and economic participation on an equal basis.

CYDA’s 2015 research into the post-school transitions experiences of young people with disability[35] found that systemic low expectations regarding the capability, value and individuality of the young people consulted heavily impacted on their post-school transition experiences.

Reflections from young people with disability^[36]:

“Year 12, yes, but it was very limited - one session with a teacher to talk about what we were thinking

“People treat you like you’re dirt and talk down to you. Some act like they might catch it off you if they stand too close. They lie and dismiss you so they don’t have to deal with you.

“Discrimination at school and failure to provide supports I’m legally entitled to meant I lost access to supports and developed severe mental health issues. I’m still unemployed.”

“I tried the employment services but they could not help me as they said I was too disabled.”

“I wish my teachers had believed in me.”

“My teacher said I could not work with animals. I did a transition program working one day a week over two terms at the local pound”

Five years later, low expectations from those around young people with disability continue to be a significant barrier. Almost two thirds (63.7 per cent) of respondents in our 2019 National Education Survey[37] reported feeling that the school did not have high expectations of the student with disability regarding employment or further education after school. Further, our post-school survey also found that 70 per cent of the young respondents were not encouraged to complete or to choose subjects to lead a good ATAR score for higher education (see Table 3C, Appendix C).

For many young people with disability, and particularly young people with intellectual disability, transition from school directly into Australian Disability Enterprises (ADEs) is still presented as the best or only option.[38] Often characterised as low-skilled work-experience, ADEs do not offer people with disability the ability to develop transferable skills that could lead to open employment or a full wage[39]. In 2014, less than one per cent of people with disability in ADEs moved into open employment[40].

Further, the segregated nature of ADEs and below minimum wage young people in ADEs receive is a clear violation of a multitude of human rights under the CRPD.[41] They exclude young people with disability from the rest of the community and exploit their labour for a wage[42] that prevents them the ability to live independently.

Despite this, according to recent NDIA data[43], of the young participants in the NDIS who are ‘employed’, 35 per cent of this group are working in ADEs. In comparison, only 41 per cent of young NDIS participants who are employed are in open employment and receive an award wage.

Hannah’s story in Appendix A highlights how the attitudes and low expectations held by people around young people with disability withholds their ability to learn and thrive.

To enable young people with disability to experience equitable employment outcomes, when they first transition into the labour market and then into adulthood, the NDS must include funded interventions targeting those who hold misinformed perceptions and low expectations of what young people can achieve in their schooling and post-school. 

Address direct and indirect discrimination in the workplace

Recommendations

• Increase targeted, evidence-based interventions addressing the negative and misinformed attitudes of employers. These development strategies must include the meaningful involvement of young people with disability
• Assure that the Australian Human Rights Commission, and other independent oversight agencies, receive sufficient resourcing to safeguard the rights of young people with disability in the workforce
• Continue and increase investment in regular community and employer attitudes surveys and research to monitor changes over the duration of the next NDS 

Indicators to monitor

• Increased % of young people with disability in open employment
• Increased % confidence of employers using equitable hiring processes
• Increased % application of employers using equitable hiring processes
• Increased % employer rates of awareness and understanding of the rights of people with disability and anti-discrimination legislation
• Increased % uptake of government-funded workplace adjustment supports

Societal attitudes ultimately can determine what a young person with disability can achieve in the workforce. While it essential to ensure that young people with disability are equipped with the same resources as their peers as they transition into the labour market, such as a quality and inclusive education, NDS interventions also need to target direct and indirect discrimination within the workforce. For example, despite higher education attainment being well linked with employment, employment outcomes for graduates with disability remains lower than those without disability. In 2019, undergraduates with a disability had a full-time employment rate which was six percentage points lower than undergraduates without disability (66.6 per cent compared to 72.6 per cent).[44]

Lack of awareness and misconceptions about people with disability remain a significant barrier to employment, including for young people. A decade on from the influential Shut Out report identifying that few employers were willing to hire people with disability[45], and the completion of the first ten-year NDS, almost two thirds of employers are largely uncommitted to employing jobseekers with disability[46]. Despite research finding that people with disability take fewer days off and less sick leave, and have a higher retention rate[47], a recent community survey[48] demonstrated that there are persistent underlying community beliefs that people with disability are less productive employees than those without disability.

Concerningly, this same survey demonstrated that one in five people agreed or strongly agreed that employers should be allowed to refuse to hire people with disability, with a further one in four ambivalent on the topic. Compounded by the discriminatory lens with which society often views young people, it raises the question that even if young people with disability were fully equipped with every skill and resource necessary to thrive in the workforce – would the workforce ever even grant them a fair chance?

Employers’ lack of confidence about the process of employing people with disability and the potential need to make workplace adjustments has also been repor

Authorised by:

Mary Sayers, Chief Executive Officer

Contact details:

Children and Young People with Disability Australia
E. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
P. 03 9417 1025

W. www.cyda.org.au 

 Acknowledgements:

Children and Young People with Disability Australia would like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the lands on which this report has been written, reviewed and produced, whose cultures and customs have nurtured and continue to nurture this land since the Dreamtime. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present and future. This is, was and always will be Aboriginal land.