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Disabled and feeling invisible in the upcoming election? You’re not alone..

I don’t know about anyone else, but when it comes to politics, the Budget and the election, I feel rather invisible—and I know exactly why.

It’s because disability isn’t really represented, and it isn’t something we talk about: and that becomes reflected in our politics.

A blue budget 2025-26 document. In the background a print out is open and has some purple highlighter marks on it.

Now, this isn’t anything new. But what shocks me is how continuously we are forgotten. How continuously the causes that impact us aren’t raised or improved. How even the fact that we exist seems to be something many people in power forget—because even when it comes to situations and topics that affect us, we’re still not mentioned: despite disabled people representing 20% of Australia’s population and being one of the largest marginalised groups in the world. A group anyone can join at any time.

Let’s take the recent Budget. There were exceptionally few items that mention disability and accessibility. Aside from a small amount of NDIS funding and some funding for information, linkages and capacity, the Budget was exceptionally disappointing. There was nothing about responses to the Disability Royal Commissions, no action on disability poverty, and so many other things that need to be addressed.

Even more frustrating, the funding for things that could help us—like funding for domestic violence services and affordable housing—don’t mention disability-specific needs, like that these services should be accessible and inclusive. Not just to the disabled community, but to every marginalised group that requires consideration. It would be so easy to come at these issues from a disability perspective. It would make such a huge impact to so many people, particularly because accessibility benefits everybody, but once again, we are invisible.

And it’s not just me saying that. In fact, many Disability Representative Organisations, including the Disability Advocacy Network Australia calling out the lack of representation, because: “people with disability are invisible in this budget”.

But it’s not really a surprise that we aren’t represented, particularly when there are so few disabled people in parliament.

While we don’t know how many might have invisible disabilities (whether they recognise them as such or not), we only have one visibly disabled person in Parliament: Greens Senator Jordon Steele-John. And while he’s doing the best he can, I’m not sure we’ll ever have fair representation without more disabled people in parliament. Without more people being loud on this topic. Without the non-disabled community recognising the importance of disabled inclusion, and fighting alongside us.

I am so tired of the disabled community having to constantly fight and advocate to be heard and included. I am so tired of our needs and rights being ignored, when we fight for them so fiercely. And I’m so tired that even small, quick wins for disability inclusion and advocacy are ignored. Inclusion really doesn’t take much, and yet, the disabled community often needs to beg and scream for it to happen.

A row of townhouses with steps to the entry.

And if we can’t even get basic, small things right—like enacting accessibility standards for new affordable housing—how can we get the more complicated things right?

Do people in parliament really just not think about us? Do they hope that by not mentioning us or supporting us, we’ll just go away?

The reality is most of them probably don’t think of us at all—other than, perhaps, a burden contributing to “NDIS budget blow outs” (which is ridiculous in so many ways, but particularly because most disabled people aren’t on the NDIS).

And to know they probably rarely think of us—or think of us in a positive manner—is a very sad, devastating feeling. And a bit of a lonely feeling.

Disabled people, like many marginalised groups, don’t see ourselves represented in politics and leadership. It sends us the message that these are simply not spaces for us.

But they are wrong. These are exactly the spaces for us to be in.

And one day, I hope we won’t have to fight so hard to be seen.

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