People with disability face significant barriers in participating in political and public life. The ability of people with disability to vote independently and in secret in Federal, State and Territory and Local Government elections is still not a reality for many people with disability in Australia. This is despite the fact that voting is compulsory in Australia, and people are fined for not casting a vote if they are on the electoral roll or register.
The Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth)(DDA) makes it unlawful to discriminate on the basis of disability with regards to the administration of Australian laws and programs, the provision of goods and services and access to premises. These provisions cover access to the electoral processes including being able to vote.
The Electoral Act 1918 (Cth) (Electoral Act) governs various aspects of federal voting registration qualifications and voting procedures that affect the political rights of people with disability. Each State, Territory and Local Government has separate legislation governing their respective election processes.
The National Disability Strategy (NDS) recognises the need to remove societal barriers that prevent people with disability from being able to vote.606 The NDS describes some measures that are being taken by some Australian governments to address this, but there are no actions concerning comprehensive legislative and policy reform in this area.
