Disabled people in Australia are more likely to live in poverty, says a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers. Australia ranks in the bottom third of OECD nations in employing disabled people making them more likely to be the poorest than in any other developed country in the world. Disability Expectations says a cultural shift is needed to the way we think in employing more disabled people in Australian workplaces.
The report also states that we shouldn’t rely on the proposed no-fault National Disability Scheme – crucial as it is as implementation of an NDIS may support an extra 370,000 people with disabilities into the workforce by the year 2050 – to rectify the imbalance. “It’s clear the current system is broken big time. Australia is sitting last in OECD rankings on poverty for people with disabilities. It’s just wrong, if we were sitting that low in rankings in cricket or rugby the Australians wouldn’t countenance it,” said PwC government sector leader Chris Bennett.
People with a disability in Australia are only half as likely to be employed compared to those without a disability, says the report. The OECD average is 60 per cent ranking Australia 21 out of 29 nations. It also found that 45 per cent of Australians with a disability live in or near poverty.
Mitch Fifield, opposition spokesperson for disabilities, questioned the government’s commitment to an NDIS and said “the government has raised expectations about a better deal for people with disability. It would be cruel if these were dashed, without funding in the mini-budget the government’s commitment to an NDIS remains in-principle only”.
