Anti-discrimination legislation exists at the national, State and Territory levels to protect people with disability from discrimination in the education system. Under this legislation, educational institutions are prohibited from discriminating against persons on the basis of disability.453 Under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth)(DDA), education and training service providers may be required to provide ‘reasonable adjustments’ to accommodate the needs of students with disability.
The Disability Standards for Education 2005 (the Education Standards), which are established under the DDA outline the minimum requirements for education and training providers to ensure students with disability are able to access and participate in education on the same basis as other students.454 Many disability representative, advocacy and legal organisations report that despite implementation of the Education Standards, access, equity and entitlement to an education is still a significant issue for children, young people and adults with disability.455
The Federal Government provides some funding for students with disability, but State and Territory Governments are primarily responsible for education policy, administration and the majority of funding for students with disability. There is a wide variation in compliance with anti-discrimination legislation and the implementation and monitoring of the Education Standards and policy across States and Territories, with the result that the rights of many children, young people and adults with disability are being denied.
The National Disability Strategy (NDS) recognises the “significant gap between students with disability and those without” and the need for “targeted support” as well as “mainstream education programs…to be designed for people of all abilities”.456 While the NDS does identify some broad measures that need to be taken, as at March 2012 the NDS Implementation Plan has not been finalised or endorsed by the Council of Australian Governments.
