2025 Federal Election

Key Question

Do you commit to demonstrating leadership in diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) by investing in strategies and initiatives across government; committing to ambitious employment targets for under-represented groups across the Australian public sector; and promoting the importance of DEI in the private sector?

Boost national productivity through employment policies that include everyone

Key Question

Do you commit to co-designing a national, staged, funded transition plan that would bring an end to segregated employment of people with disability within the term of Australia’s Disability Strategy 2021-31; investing in employment support models that focus on individualised, tailored planning; and improving data collection about employment outcomes for people with disability?

Background

Australians with disability are severely underrepresented in the workforce. Barriers to employment persist, and those who are employed face unacceptable levels of discrimination and unfair treatment because of their disability.

Disability is still not considered within the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ (ABS) monthly Labour Force Survey that underpins the official unemployment rate. We must therefore rely on data from the Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers (SDAC), conducted every three to four years. According to the 2022 survey, 2.7 million people with disability living in households (i.e. not in closed systems) were of working age. Only 56.1 per cent were employed, compared with 82.3 per cent of people without disability. The unemployment rate for people with disability considered part of the labour force was 7.5 per cent, which is more than twice the rate for people without disability (3.1 per cent).

For those who are employed, discrimination and unfair treatment are persistent issues. The median gross personal income of a person with disability was $575 per week in 2022, less than half that of a non-disabled person at $1055 per week. In 2022, one in ten people with disability (9.9 per cent) reported experiencing discrimination. A quarter of these people (24.5 per cent) reported their employer as the source of this discrimination. This was the third highest source, following service and hospitality staff and strangers in the street. Of people with disability who experienced discrimination in the labour force, 40.2 per cent reported their employer as the source, while 37.7 per cent attributed this to work colleagues.

Such statistics paint a stark picture about employment outcomes for Australians with disability compared to their non-disabled peers. For those stuck in segregated or exploitative separate systems, the situation is even more bleak. There are two aspects of the so-called Supported Wage System (SWS) that continue to inflict segregation or exploitation on workers with disability: employment in Australian Disability Enterprises (ADEs) and ‘open’ or ‘supported’ employment in mainstream settings.

Both result in workers being paid far below the national minimum wage. According to the Final Report of the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability, there are more than 17,000 people working at about 161 ADEs. Pursuant to the Supported Employment Services Award, a minimum wage rate of $6.03 per hour applies to Grade A workers in ADEs (Clause 15.2), which can be reduced to as little as $3.01 per hour by a productivity assessment (Schedule D.4.1). The second part of the SWS allows ‘mainstream’ employers, often supermarkets, retailers, or fast-food outlets, to exploit workers with disability on wages that are lower than their peers within the same workplace doing the same job.

All forms of segregated and/or exploitative employment relying on separate different systems that only apply to one segment of the Australian population must end. Neither the SWS nor the Supported Employment Services Award have any place in a future where Australia upholds its international obligations and stated commitments under Australia’s Disability Strategy 2021-2031. These produce poor outcomes for people with disability, the workforce, the economy, and the community.

There is a need for urgent steps to co-design a comprehensive, funded transition plan to end the Supported Wage System (SWS) and the Supported Employment Services Award in Australia. This does not mean closing ADEs down overnight; it means establishing a clear pathway to transition ADEs to a new business model that ends segregation and ensures that all Australians are protected by the existing mainstream minimum employment standards that apply to all other workers. The transition should be supported by investments in co-designed programs to address the shortfalls in mainstream employment that exclude workers with disability.

The ‘Guiding Principles for the future of supported employment’, which resulted from a limited consultation with invited participants at the Supported Employment Roundtable in October 2022, are vague and lack the necessary potency to drive the change that is needed to overcome the disability employment gap in Australia and to uphold the employment rights of people with disability. These should be reviewed and strengthened as part of the transition plan away from supported employment.

In summary, JFA Purple Orange is calling on all political parties and candidates in this election to commit to:

Co-designing a national, staged, funded transition plan to bring an end to the segregated employment of people with disability within the term of Australia’s Disability Strategy 2021-31.
As part of the transition plan, abolishing the Supported Worker System and the Supported Employment Services Award within five years and reviewing and strengthening the ‘Guiding Principles for the future of supported employment’ through an open consultation process.
Investing in employment support models that focus on individualised, tailored planning to increase levels of mainstream employment by people with disability.
Establishing national annual targets for the mainstream employment of people with disability, with the ultimate goal of achieving parity with non-disabled people by the completion of Australia’s Disability Strategy in 2031.
Improving data collection about the employment outcomes of people with disability, including by funding the ABS to include a disability variable in the monthly Labour Force Survey, among other mainstream surveys, and increase the frequency at which it conducts the Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers.

Urgent investment needed in accessible and affordable social housing

Key Question

Do you commit to directly investing in accessible and affordable social housing that complies with the minimum accessibility standards set out in the updated National Construction Code 2022 Livable Housing Design (LHD) Standard; supporting implementation of the LHD Standard without unnecessary concessions throughout Australia (e.g. through monitoring, data collection, reporting and capacity building); and ceasing to fund group homes?

Background

All Australians should have access to an accessible, affordable and safe place to call home. Housing should be understood, first and foremost, as a basic human right for individuals and as essential social infrastructure for communities¹. Housing policy should reflect this and ensure sufficient investment is dedicated to delivering on this objective for all Australians experiencing the current housing and cost-of-living crisis, including people with disability.

According to the Australian Urban Housing & Research Institute (AHURI), adults with disability “experience more housing disadvantage than their non-disabled counterparts, including homelessness, poor-quality housing, and housing unaffordability.”² Social housing is an important mechanism through which many people, including people with disability, find a home. However, research conducted by the Grattan Institute in 2021 found that Australia’s accessible housing stock has barely grown over the last 30 years, and the 430,000 dwellings considered accessible at that time represented only 4 per cent of all housing in Australia.³

JFA Purple Orange welcomes the National Construction Code (NCC) 2022 Livable Housing Design (LHD) Standard being made mandatory for all Class 1a and 2 buildings from October 2024. This is an important first step toward addressing the need for more accessible housing. This will ensure that residential properties are easier to enter and navigate in and around, as well as allowing further adaptations to be made later to suit a resident and allow them to age in place.

However, the LHD Standard doesn’t apply to other accommodation types, like student accommodation, and therefore those housing options are often not available to people with access needs. The LHD standard should be extended to all new housing construction to increase the stock of accessible housing and so that people with disability have true choice in deciding where they want to live. We are also seeing inconsistencies across Nation with some states delaying implementation or implementing concessions. We are very concerned about the extent to which blanket concessions are being applied pursuant to the LHD Standard. It is vital that the use of concessions is carefully monitored, and that the housing sector is educated and supported to ensure that concessions are only applied when absolutely necessary and do not apply blanket concessions automatically. This includes raising awareness of the many benefits of full compliance with the LHD Standard. It is vital for all that these Standards are implemented to the greatest extent possible across Australia and create national consistency.

Given that approximately 38% of households with a person with disability are classed as low-income households⁴, housing affordability is a pressing issue. JFA Purple Orange acknowledges the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) introduction of Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) in July 2016 aims to create more living options for people with disability, giving choice and control, as well as strengthening the housing sector. However, the NDIS does not provide housing support for the vast majority of its participants and only 3.5 per cent of NDIS participants are eligible for SDA accommodation⁵. This leaves more than 96 per cent of NDIS participants – and millions more Australians with disability – to navigate the mainstream housing market where the supply of accessible affordable dwellings is well below current demand. This is reflected in a reduction in the number of NDIS participants who are happy with their current home over the past four years.⁶

JFA Purple Orange continues to be concerned about the extent to which people with disability are living in group homes with people not of their choosing. A significant proportion of these people live with intellectual disability and communication barriers. As highlighted in the Final Report of the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability, living in shared supported accommodation such as group homes can heighten their risk of exposure to violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation.⁷ We advocate for flexible housing solutions for people with disability, to ensure they can live in safety with people of their choosing and receive the support they need.

In summary, JFA Purple Orange is calling on all political parties and candidates to commit to:

Directly investing in building accessible and affordable social housing that complies with the minimum accessibility standards set out in the updated National Construction Code 2022 (NCC 2022).
Extending the LHD Standard beyond Class 1a and 2 buildings, to include all new housing construction.
Investing in monitoring, data collection and public reporting about the number and use of concessions granted pursuant to the LHD Standard.
Investing in education, capacity building and demonstration projects to promote the benefits of complying with the LHD Standard and to support the housing construction sector to implement the LHD Standard without blanket exemptions.
Improving data sharing between the NDIA, Federal Government, State Government and community and affordable housing providers, to provide a clearer picture of the level of demand for accessible housing by people with disability, including the type of housing being sought (level of accessibility) and geographical locations of demand.
No longer funding group homes that accommodate two or more people who are forced to live together by circumstance, not by choice.
Continuing to invest in ensuring sufficient and appropriate wraparound supports and flexible housing solutions (such as Individualised Living Options) to allow people with disability to live in a home of their choosing.

References

1 United Nations, International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Article 11.1.

2 Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2024) People with disability in Australia 2024, catalogue number DIS 72, AIHW, Australian Government.

3 https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-11-29/social-housing-future-fund-to-fix-australias-housing-crisis/100651342

4 Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2024) People with disability in Australia 2024, catalogue number DIS 72, AIHW, Australian Government.

5 National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) (2025) Quarterly report to disability ministers Q2 2024-25 Appendices, NDIS, Accessed 04/04/2025. PB Quarterly report to disability ministers Q2 2024-25 Appendices_0.pdf.

6 Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2025) Australia’s Disability Strategy 2021–2031 Outcomes Framework: 3rd annual report, AIHW, Australian Government, accessed 04 March 2025.

7 Final Report of the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability, 29 September 2023, p.155.

Place grassroots navigation support at the centre of NDIS reforms and the transition to Foundational Supports

Key Question

Do you commit to prioritising the design, piloting and staged rollout of a new NDIS navigator program; prioritising and co-designing a well-funded system of Foundational Supports; and continuing existing funding arrangements for all services, programs, and supports for which the NDIS Review proposes replacement Foundational Supports until such options are fully established and working well?

Background

The design and rollout of Foundational Supports, and the design and piloting of a new navigation role, must be top priorities for the federal government in 2025.

When designing the NDIS, the role of Local Area Coordinators (LACs) under the NDIS was to be pivotal to advancing the life chances of Australians with disability. Unfortunately, as found by the NDIS Review,¹ the implementation of the LAC role has lacked the clarity of purpose and practice needed to ground the Scheme within the local context of each participant. It is critically important that this changes. A new navigation role is needed, and this should be at the forefront of developing Foundational Supports. It should be designed to maximise the transformational benefits of Foundational Supports for people with disability. We believe people with disability should have a choice of navigator to ensure they are the agent of the person. This means the person with disability would have the opportunity to choose the navigator that fits them best.

The navigator role must be inherently local. The current large-scale commissioning of LAC providers has not achieved the objective of harnessing grassroots resources and realising positive outcomes at a community level. The role needs to focus on unlocking genuine grassroots connections in local communities and linking people to opportunities and both formal and informal supports. While there are additional challenges in providing navigational supports in remote areas with ‘thin markets’, a developmental approach to commissioning programs offers a pathway to an effective solution.

A nationally consistent framework for the navigator role should be developed in partnership with state and territory governments. This needs to be coupled with a carefully planned approach to testing the new navigation model, including through pilot programs. The new navigator role should be introduced through a staged transition.

The transition to a new model should be accompanied by strong monitoring and evaluation mechanisms that ensure proper measurement of impact and outcomes, which was identified as a shortcoming of LACs in the NDIS Review.² Critically, the design and piloting of the new role should occur as a priority and in tandem with the design and rollout of Foundational Supports, to ensure all elements are complementary and function as a joined-up whole.

Well-designed and appropriately funded Foundational Supports can deliver many benefits for Australians with disability, as well as their families, informal supports, allies, the disability sector, governments, the economy, and society. Unfortunately, as the NDIS was rolled out across Australia, governments withdrew funding from their ongoing responsibilities; something that has proven to be a grave mistake that now requires urgent attention and resources. Foundational Supports are not an additional initiative, as is sometimes suggested, but rather a much-needed investment in existing responsibilities after a period of severe neglect.

This type of investment could help reduce the need for some people with disability to obtain an individual NDIS plan, because their life chances have improved, or been defended, by accessing Foundational Supports. Further, committing to prioritising Foundational Supports will boost community confidence in the proposal in light of widespread anxiety and confusion.

In summary, JFA Purple Orange is calling on all political parties and candidates in this election to commit to:

Prioritising the design of a new NDIS navigator role that is inherently local in nature, focuses on grassroots connections and supports, and serves as agent of the person.
Developing a nationally consistent framework for the navigator role in partnership with state and territory governments.
Piloting the new NDIS navigator role prior to undertaking a careful, staged transition.
Undertaking thorough monitoring and evaluation of the new navigator function.
Co-designing every element of Foundational Supports with Australians with disability.
Drawing on the recommendations of the DRC – particularly those of Commissioners with lived experience – when developing Foundational Supports. This would exclude funding for new or existing segregated services or programs.
Committing sufficient long-term federal funding to the design and rollout of Foundational Supports, in line with the Commonwealth’s funding responsibilities and its commitments in Australia’s Disability Strategy 2021-2031.
Committing to provide ongoing funding for all services, programs and supports that will be replaced by Foundational Supports until this new program is fully established.

References

¹NDIS Review, ‘Final Report: Working together to deliver the NDIS’, 2023, p.42.

² Ibid.

Invest in a Disability Action Plan to end violence against women and children with disability

Key Question

Will you commit to investing in the co-design and implementation of a targeted, properly resourced, five-year Action Plan to address the prevalence of violence against women and children with disability?

Background

The recent Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation Against People with Disability highlighted that women and children with disability are significantly more at risk of experiencing all forms of violence (including but not limited to physical, emotional, sexual, financial, institutional forms of violence) in a range of private and public settings. The National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022-2032 echoed these findings, recognising women with disability as a group particularly at risk of violence.

Violence may present in ways that are not traditionally understood as ‘violence’ including reproductive coercion, forced sterilisation and forced medical interventions. Violence may be perpetrated by a range of people including intimate partners, family members and peers, as well as by paid professionals. Data from the ABS (2021)¹ paints a grim picture. People with disability reported that over the previous two years they had experienced:

Sexual violence (4 per cent compared to 2.5 percent without disability).
Emotional abuse by partner (7.0 per cent compared to 4.6 percent without disability).
Economic abuse by partner (4.6 per cent compared with 2.4 per cent without disability).
Physical violence (5.8 per cent compared with 4.2 percent without disability).

In terms of support for survivors of violence, JFA Purple Orange hears too often that women and children with disability fall through the cracks. Professionals within the NDIS may not recognise or address support needs related to violence. Meanwhile broader services such as homelessness services, domestic/sexual assault (and other) services tasked with intervention, recovery and support are poorly equipped to respond to the needs of people with disability. This results in women and children with disability going without timely, adequate support.

While the National Plan is a significant step forward in addressing the widespread violence against women and children in Australia, it falls short for women and children with disability. The Final Report of the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability noted that the National Plan ‘does not identify specific actions to address the drivers of violence against women and girls with disability, the specific experiences of violence against women and girls with disability, or the dearth of accessible supports’.

In response² to the DRC, the Federal Government committed to ‘applying a disability lens’ as part of implementing the National Plan and to developing a disability lens framework in 2025. This falls short and ignores repeated calls for a targeted five-year Action Plan. Such an approach is underwhelming given the magnitude and urgency required to address the epidemic of violence against women and children with disability.

We desperately need a funded Disability Action Plan, similar to the dedicated ‘Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Action Plan 2023-2025’ (also a very welcome step). It is essential for this Disability Action Plan to be co-designed with the disability community.

In summary, JFA Purple Orange is calling on all political parties and candidates in this election to commit to:

Prioritising the prevention of violence against women and girls with disability as well as the provision of support for those who experience violence.
Co-designing and adequately resourcing a five-year, national action plan to address the prevalence of violence against women and children with disability. This should focus on the following (but is not limited to):
A holistic approach aimed at eliminating discrimination against women and girls with disability;
The promotion of autonomy and supported decision-making;
Addressing the specific and unique factors that expose women and girls with disability to violence;
Addressing the barriers preventing women and girls with disability to access mainstream services and justice;
Targeted actions specific to addressing violence against First Nations, CALD and LGBTIQ+ women and girls with disability;
Reducing the prevalence of violence against women and girls with disability by ensuring their representation at the table of any policy planning and commissioning related to women’s safety and wellbeing;
Investing in implementing policy that will improve accessibility of mainstream support services for women and girls living with disability; and
Significant and sustained investment in independent individual and systemic advocacy services across Australia.

References
¹ People with disability in Australia, Violence against people with disability – Australian Institute of Health and Welfare

² Responding to the Disability Royal Commission | Department of Social Services

Let people on the Disability Support Pension work more and raise the rate to cover the basics

Key Question

Do you commit to raising the rate of the Disability Support Pension (DSP) and updating DSP arrangements to eliminate barriers, disincentives, and penalties for people to earn more income from employment so they can afford the basics during a cost-of-living crisis?

Background

We are currently in a cost-of-living crisis, and the government is failing those who need support the most. People with disability who receive the Disability Support Pension (DSP) are scraping by on dismally low payments, posing a serious risk to their health, safety and wellbeing. The system is highly complex to enter and navigate, and it disincentivises DSP recipients from transitioning to employment.

The recommendations of the Senate Community Affairs References Committee’s ‘Inquiry into the purpose, intent, and adequacy of the Disability Support Pension’ (DSP), which were delivered in February 2022, still need to be implemented to address the cost-of-living crisis for those who rely on the DSP to afford life’s basics.¹ Inflation and cost increases have only compounded since the Committee’s Report was delivered. The final report of the Senate Select Committee on Cost of Living in 2024² was disappointing, as it failed to recommend concrete actions to provide greater financial stability for people with disability.

The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) does not cover everyday living costs for participants. For many people with disability, the DSP is their only source of income. The current maximum rate of the DSP with supplements for a single person is just $572.20 per week. This would be extremely hard to get by on, particularly given the additional costs often incurred by people with disability.

The employment rules and requirements of the DSP are currently too complicated and not well understood by many recipients. This creates significant disincentives to doing any amount of paid employment, which needs to be addressed urgently. The process to apply for the DSP is so lengthy and taxing that many recipients regard gaining access as akin to achieving the ‘holy grail’ and fear losing it if they do any work or attempt to re-enter ongoing employment.

The rates of transition from DSP to employment are currently extremely low. Lifting work restrictions would encourage people to earn income, even in ad hoc or short-term ways. In some cases, with the security of DSP eligibility, a person may be able to build up to ongoing employment where they can suspend their DSP payments – a win-win result. There is nothing to gain for the budget bottom line by discouraging these outcomes through arbitrary work restrictions whereby the person receives the same DSP payment without working at all.

In summary, JFA Purple Orange is calling on all political parties and candidates in this election to commit to:

Increasing the rate of the Disability Support Pension to enable people with disability to adequately cover the cost of living.
Changing the rules for receiving DSP payments to remove the disincentives for people with disability to work, particularly by:
- Increasing the income thresholds so people can earn more from employment without impacting their DSP payments;
- Increasing the period for which a person can pause their DSP payments (but remain eligible to restart), and make sure this rule is promoted and understood by people on the DSP; and
- Removing the 30-hour work limit for DSP recipients as recommended by the Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee.³
Providing the necessary resources for the Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee to comprehensively review the Disability Support Pension (DSP) and supplements to inform future policymaking.

References

¹ Access the report and government response

² Access the Cost of Living report

³ See Recommendation 9 Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee 2024 Report to Government

Election Commitments from the Labor Party

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Unknown
Employment Unknown
Housing Unknown
NDIS and Foundational Supports Unknown
Violence against women and girls Unknown
Disability Support Pension (DSP) Unknown

Written response from Labor Party

Thank you for your email presenting the election platform for Purple Orange.

The Albanese Labor Government is committed to creating a more inclusive community where all people with disability can participate as equal members of society.

Labor has been working to improve the lives of people with a disability.

We have:

Invested $124 million to deliver on the priorities of Australia’s Disability Strategy;
Acted to boost workforce participation for people with a disability;
Doubled funding for the systemic advocacy program;
Updated the National Construction Code with a liveability standard to increase the stock of homes with accessibility features;
Established the National Disability Data Asset and National Disability Research Partnership; and
Launched the first ever National Autism Strategy.

Labor will continue to focus on improving disability employment outcomes and participants experiences. We launched a new DES Quality framework, and recently announced that Swinburne University of Technology will lead a consortium to deliver The Centre of Inclusive Employment, which will support a better approach to disability employment. And, later this year, we will be introducing Inclusive Employment Australia, a new specialist disability employment program built on mutual respect and trust, with $5.5 billion in funding over four years.

To support our goals of improving employment outcomes, we have doubled funding for workplace accessibility and to support employees in the workplace.

We have also invested $52 million to assist the supported employment sector continue to evolve and offer a wider range of employment opportunities.

Labor is putting disability inclusion at the forefront across government – whether this in our tourism plans, across the creative arts sector, aviation industry or in emergency management.

We are continually engaging with people with lived experience of disability, to ensure our many investments are hitting the mark.

Thank you for your representations on behalf of people with a disability and their families.

Yours sincerely
Australian Labor Party Campaign 2025

Election Commitments from the Liberal Party

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Unknown
Employment Rejected
Housing Rejected
NDIS and Foundational Supports Rejected
Violence against women and girls Unknown
Disability Support Pension (DSP) Rejected

Written response from Liberal Party

Few countries provide the strong safety net available to Australians.

The Disability Support Pension is long term income support paid at the highest rate in the social security system.

In addition to base rates of income support payment, there are more than 20 supplementary payments available to income support recipients, depending on their circumstances and additional needs.

Every dollar spent is a dollar that someone earned, so it is incumbent upon us that spending on our social security safety net is sustainable into the future.

We have to make sure our welfare system is fair to the taxpayers who pay for it. It is funded by taxpayers and needs to be managed responsibly.

This responsibility extends to future generations who will have to meet the cost of the social security system in the decades to come.

Social security payment rates, including the Disability Support Pension, are indexed on a regular basis in line with living cost increases, which helps to maintain their value over time. Increases to these payment rates are automatically linked to specific price changes, such as the Consumer Price Index and wages.

Australia has a comprehensive income support system. In addition to base rates of payment there are more than 20 supplementary payments available to income support recipients, depending on their circumstances and additional needs.

On top of cash payments, our social security system also includes employment services, Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme concessions and health care cards.

The Coalition delivered Australia’s Disability Strategy 2021–2031. It is a national framework that all Australian governments have signed up to and sets out a plan for continuing to improve the lives of people with disability in Australia over 10 years. The Strategy is supported by targeted action plans and a robust outcomes framework, together with a $250 million investment to help drive change for people with disability.

The Strategy’s vision is for an inclusive Australian society that ensures people with disability can fulfill their potential, as equal members of the community.

In addition, the Coalition launched the Disability Employment Strategy, Employ My Ability, to increase workplace engagement and improve recruitment practices.

An elected Dutton Coalition Government will provide practical support to help those living with disability overcome any barriers they may experience and enable them to find and keep employment.

Will you commit to directly investing in accessible and affordable social housing that complies with the minimum accessibility standards set out in the updated National Construction Code 2022 Livable Housing Design (LHD) Standard; supporting implementation of the LHD Standard without unnecessary concessions throughout Australia (e.g. through monitoring, data collection, reporting and capacity building); and ceasing to fund group homes?

To address housing supply constraints and support builders to get on with the job of building more homes, the Coalition will freeze any further changes to the National Construction Code for 10 years.

Labor promised to get the NDIS ‘back on track’, however eight months since the NDIS Legislation (Bill No. 2) passed Parliament, and over their three year term, there is little evidence of any improvements in the Scheme.

It is extremely concerning how little action has been taken against the allegedly illegal, fraudulent and criminal activity taking place within the Scheme, putting providers, support workers and other vulnerable participants at risk of harm. It’s evident that the NDIS has never been worse for Australians with a genuine disability and never been better for criminals and fraudsters rorting taxpayers’ funds.

The Coalition is focused on ensuring the NDIS remains fit for purpose and sustainable for future generations to come.

A Dutton Coalition Government will eradicate fraud and waste from the NDIS to deliver value for taxpayer dollars and provide ongoing support to those with permanent and significant disabilities and protect the safety of workers and providers.

If elected, the Coalition will continue to consult with stakeholders and carefully consider the recommendations of both the Disability Royal Commission and the NDIS Review.

The Albanese Labor Government is at odds with the States and Territories on what foundational supports will involve, and the disability community has been kept in the dark about foundational supports.

The Coalition will provide practical support to help those living with disability and ensure all levels of government provide the support required.

The Coalition will provide practical support to help those living with disability overcome any barriers they may experience.

Family, domestic and sexual violence is a major issue in Australia, affecting all socioeconomic and demographic groups. As a local policeman before he entered Parliament, Peter Dutton attended countless domestic violence incidents where he provided crucial support to victim-survivors.

An elected Dutton Coalition Government will make child protection and the safety of women an enduring priority.

We will invest significantly in family support services, including emergency payments to assist women and children fleeing domestic violence, which the Coalition established in 2021.

In government, we invested more than $3.5 billion in women’s safety. Our initiatives meant more frontline support, emergency accommodation and access to legal and health services for women and children in need. We have a strong track record on online safety and cracking down against image-based abuse.

The Coalition supports the 10-year National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022-2032. The National Plan sets out a path to end violence against women in one generation. It is an ambitious goal, but one our country must strive to achieve.

The National Plan sets out specific actions to deliver its outcomes, including:

continuing to develop, implement and evaluate targeted primary prevention activities designed by, and tailored for (among other communities), women and children with disability.
supporting women to make decisions about their own lives, particularly women with disability.
giving women and girls with disability the tools and confidence to challenge sexism, harassment and the specific forms of violence and abuse directed at those who rely on carers and support so they can challenge violence in those contexts.

It is clear much more must be done. An elected Dutton Coalition Government will address key gaps in ending family, domestic and sexual violence and improve the outcomes of those escaping violence.

A Dutton Coalition Government will create new offences to make it illegal to use mobile phone and computer networks to cause an intimate partner or family member to fear for their personal safety, to track them using spyware or to engage in coercive behaviours. We will also ensure tough bail laws apply to these new Commonwealth offences.

Election Commitments from the Australian Greens

- Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Unknown
- Employment Agreed
- Housing Agreed
- NDIS and Foundational Supports Agreed
- Violence against women and girls Agreed
- Disability Support Pension (DSP) Agreed

Written response from Australian Greens

The Greens will fully fund a transition plan to close Australian Disability Enterprises and move to inclusive mainstream employment in five years by providing $200m to support a safe and well-planned transition process. We will end the role of for-profit employment services providers by replacing them with a new public-sector Commonwealth Employment Service, ensuring employment services are driven by support, not profit. This will enable disabled people seeking employment to receive more individualised support.

The Greens will also set a 20% quota for full employment representation of disabled employees in the APS by 2030 to ensure greater disability representation in public service policy, decision-making, and delivery.

The Greens support mandating the “Livable Housing Design Silver Standard” in the National Construction Code to ensure that disabled people can expect the same standard of accessibility in new homes, regardless of the state or territory in which they reside. We pushed the government to mandate the Silver Standard be required for all homes constructed as part of their Build to Rent plan, but unfortunately the Labor Government decided against including accessibility in their housing plans.

The Greens have consistently stressed the need for foundational supports to be well funded and nationally consistent to prevent the return to the situation prior to the NDIS when the quality and availability of disability supports were dependent on your postcode.

Labor’s 2024 NDIS Bill is already seeing people with psychosocial disabilities removed from the scheme or having funding for support cut from their NDIS plans. Foundational supports through States and Territories have been offered as an alternative, but these are not yet available meaning that there are disabled people falling through the cracks between the systems.

The Greens will provide $1.6b to support people with psychosocial disability who have been determined to no longer meet NDIS eligibility requirements or have had psychosocial supports defunded. Payments will be $2,500 twice a year until the participant has their access to the scheme restored, foundational supports are fully implemented, or the funding pool is expended.

We will also invest an additional $50m over ten years in advocacy organisations to enable them to effectively do their job to support and advocate for people who need it. This includes supporting people through the NDIS, health systems, legal systems and other areas of their lives.

The Greens have committed $12B towards a National Plan to End Violence Against Women and Children, and to co-designing Action Plans that respond to the particular needs of specific communities, including women and girls with disability. We will also ensure that the voices and experiences of victim-survivors are central to the design and implementation of Action Plans.

The Greens want to see all income payments – including JobSeeker, Disability Support Pension, Youth Allowance and Age Pension – raised above the poverty line. In a wealthy country like Australia, no one should live in poverty.

Disabled people should be able to access a liveable income payment, and the Disability Support Pension currently doesn’t provide that. Additionally, many participants find themselves locked out of the payment due to heavy restrictions on access. The Greens plan would ensure that everyone gets the support they need, with payments above the poverty line. The Greens will also make sure participants can earn more by lifting the income free area to $300 per fortnight, and setting a fairer taper rate. This is on top of the Greens plan to abolish all welfare conditionality, like the program of support under the DSP.

Election Commitments from Dr Verity Cooper

- Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Agreed
- Employment Unknown
- Housing Agreed
- NDIS and Foundational Supports Agreed
- Violence against women and girls Agreed
- Disability Support Pension (DSP) Agreed

Written response from Dr Verity Cooper (Independent)

Yes, showing leadership in DEI (we can’t go down a Trumpian path).

Yes, social and affordable housing that is fit for purpose for people living with disability is important to continue building.

NDIS needs a thorough overhaul, of inefficient provision of services and detection of fraud (one plan provider has identified $500 million of duplicate or fraudulent claims in just their remit alone). The NDIS Royal Commission recommendations need implementing, but agreed, we can’t let services that people living with disability rely on, fall through until the changes have been made.

Totally agree that a “lens” is definitely underwhelming.

Governments need to listen to their communities and change priorities to what the people want and need, rather than what multinationals and rich donors want.

Josh Frydenberg said it best: “Everything is affordable if it’s a priority”.

Yes, the Disability Support Pension needs to increase to at least the poverty line, and people should be able to earn from outside work as well up to a certain point.

Key Question	Labor Party	Liberal Party	Australian Greens	Dr Verity Cooper	Other^
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion	❓	❓	❓	✅	No response
Employment	❓	❌	✅	❓	No response
Housing	❓	❌	✅	✅	No response
NDIS and Foundational Supports	❓	❌	✅	✅	No response
Violence against women and girls	❓	❓	✅	✅	No response
Disability Support Pension	❓	❌	✅	✅	No response

Our new look is here

Key Election Asks and Papers

Key Question

Boost national productivity through employment policies that include everyone

Key Question

Background

Urgent investment needed in accessible and affordable social housing

Key Question

Background

Place grassroots navigation support at the centre of NDIS reforms and the transition to Foundational Supports

Key Question

Background

Invest in a Disability Action Plan to end violence against women and children with disability

Key Question

Background

Let people on the Disability Support Pension work more and raise the rate to cover the basics

Key Question

Background

References

2025 Election: Political Party Commitments

Election Commitments from the Labor Party

Written response from Labor Party

Election Commitments from the Liberal Party

Written response from Liberal Party

Election Commitments from the Australian Greens

Written response from Australian Greens

Election Commitments from Dr Verity Cooper

Written response from Dr Verity Cooper (Independent)

Party Commitments Summary

Our new look is here

2025 Federal Election

Key Election Asks and Papers

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Key Question

Employment

Boost national productivity through employment policies that include everyone

Key Question

Background

Housing

Urgent investment needed in accessible and affordable social housing

Key Question

Background

NDIS and Foundational Supports

Place grassroots navigation support at the centre of NDIS reforms and the transition to Foundational Supports

Key Question

Background

Violence against women and girls

Invest in a Disability Action Plan to end violence against women and children with disability

Key Question

Background

Disability Support Pension

Let people on the Disability Support Pension work more and raise the rate to cover the basics

Key Question

Background

References

2025 Election: Political Party Commitments

Labor Party

Election Commitments from the Labor Party

Written response from Labor Party

Liberal Party

Election Commitments from the Liberal Party

Written response from Liberal Party

Australian Greens

Election Commitments from the Australian Greens

Written response from Australian Greens

Dr Verity Cooper

Election Commitments from Dr Verity Cooper

Written response from Dr Verity Cooper (Independent)

Party Commitments Summary