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Support Groups in QLD

About Disability

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Your Rights in QLD

What is disability?
The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) classifies disability as ‘an umbrella term for any or all of the following components: impairment, activity limitation and participation restriction, as influenced by environmental factors’.

The Disability Discrimination Act (1992) also defines disability as:

• Total or partial loss of a person’s bodily or mental functions;
• Total or partial loss of a part of the body;
• The presence in the body of organisms causing disease or illness;
• The malfunction, malformation or disfigurement of a part of a person’s body;
• A disorder or malfunction that results in a person learning differently from a person without the disorder or malfunction;
• A disorder, illness or disease that affects a person’s thought processes, perception of reality, emotions or judgment, or that results in disturbed behaviour.

There are many different types of disability. A disability can be caused by a genetic condition, an illness or an accident, and includes:

• Intellectual disability
• Physical disability
• Sensory disability
• Acquired brain injury
• Neurological impairment
• Dual disability (one of the above and a psychiatric disability)
• Disabilities that are unrelated to ageing
• Any combination of these.

Disability is part of human diversity. One in five Australians has one or more disabilities and this proportion is increasing with the ageing of the population.   

A disability may be visible or hidden, may be permanent or temporary and may have a minimal or substantial impact on a person’s abilities. A disability may affect mobility, ability to learn, or ability to communicate easily.

The majority of people with disability have a physical disability (83.9 per cent), 11.3 per cent have mental illness and behavioural disability and 4.8 per cent have an intellectual or developmental disability.

Each person’s experience of disability is different. Experiences are influenced by what happens in your life, your access to information, services, opportunities, the environment where you live, and the attitudes of people in your community.

Who are people with disability?
People with disability are part of every section of our community: men, women, and children; employers and employees; students and teachers; indigenous and non-indigenous; customers and citizens. 

The only thing that distinguishes a person with disability is that they may be unable to do certain things in the same way that most people in mainstream society do them. Some people who experience disability may choose to utilise some form of adaptation or alteration to assist them overcome the effects of their disability (such as a wheel chair or brace)

People with disability bring a variety of skills, talents and abilities to any workplace.
People with disability can be successful in all areas of the workforce. Many are tertiary or trade qualified and hold senior managerial positions. People with disability who are currently employed, work across many occupations:

• 37 per cent are professionals, managers and administrators
• 30 per cent are clerical sales and service workers;
• 33 per cent are from remaining occupational categories including trades people, production, and transport workers as well as labourers and related workers (Australian Bureau of Statistics 2003).

Although most people with disability want to work, some employers may have concerns about employing people with disability. As a result, people with disability often find it hard to break down these barriers to recruitment.

Disability Services Queensland has a website that includes a Disability Information Service. By simply typing in the type of service required and the town or postcode that you live in you will receive a list of appropriate services in your region.

http://www.disability.qld.gov.au/disability-information/