Understanding Disability
Disability is a part of human experience. In 2022, 5.5 million Australians making up 21.4 per cent of the population had disability, up from 17.7 per cent in 2018.1
Students with disability are diverse and live in the full range of life roles: as parents, partners, employees, managers, health professionals, artists and athletes, young people aspiring toward careers, among many others. How disability is understood is shaped by social and cultural attitudes, and barriers to participation often arise from those attitudes and from inaccessible environments rather than from disability itself.
The Australian Universities Accord identifies students with disability as one of four priority equity groups for parity. Using a population share formula adjusted by age and ‘profound’ disability, the Final Report concluded that people with disability are at or near parity in higher education and recommended maintaining current participation.2 This position was contested by advocates and peak bodies in the sector.3 Notwithstanding, disclosure in higher education has risen substantially: students with disability made up 13.5 per cent of domestic undergraduates in 2024 – around 98,000 students, up from about 5 per cent in 2011.4
In vocational education and training (VET), students with disability represented 4.0 per cent of domestic VET students aged 15–64 in 2024, and this indicator has declined slightly since the 2021 baseline of 4.4 per cent reported in Australia’s Disability Strategy Outcomes Framework.5 Attainment gaps persist in the wider community: in 2022, 19.7 per cent of people with disability aged 15 and over held a bachelor degree or above (up from 16.1 per cent in 2018), and certificate-level attainment for people with disability (as the highest non-school qualification level held) fell from 24.5 per cent in 2018 to 23.5 per cent in 2022.1
In this section
This section introduces disability in the Australian post-secondary context. The pages below cover the legislation and standards that apply and the social and political context.
Legislation and Standards
Social and Political Context
For current data and statistics on students with disability in tertiary education, see Data and Evaluation.
References
1 Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2024). Disability, Ageing and Carers, Australia: Summary of Findings, 2022. ABS. Accessed June 2026. https://abs.gov.au/statistics/health/disability/disability-ageing-and-carers-australia-summary-findings/latest-release
2 Australian Universities Accord Panel. (2024). Australian Universities Accord final report. Department of Education. Australian Universities Accord final report (PDF). Note: see page 115 of the report for the statement about adjusting the population parity percentage.
3 All Means All, Australian Disability Clearinghouse on Education and Training, Australian Tertiary Education Network on Disability, Blind Citizens Australia, Children and Young People with Disability Australia, Equity Practitioners in Higher Education, National Union of Students, Physical Disabilities Australia, & Universities Enable. (2024). Ableism in the Universities Accord: Joint submission. adcet.edu.au/resource/11654/ableism-in-the-universities-accord-joint-submission
4 Australian Centre for Student Equity and Success. (2025). Students with disability in Australian higher education: Analysis of 2024 data (2025 update). ACSES. Accessed June 2026. acses.edu.au/publication/students-with-disability-analysis-of-2024-data-2025-update
5 Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. VET participation, Australia’s Disability Strategy Outcomes Framework. Accessed June 2026. VET participation – Australia’s Disability Strategy Outcomes Framework (AIHW)