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Three in four disabled students are bullied or excluded at school, with three in four impacted, according to a new survey by Children and Young People with Disability Australia (CYDA).
Reports of bullying in 2024 included verbal abuse, physical violence, sexual and online harassment, and social exclusion, with students describing being spat on, threatened, groped, or mocked for their disability.
Lily Gaulton, a student with cerebral palsy and autism from Perth, faced some of this firsthand. The 12-year-old said fights and problems occurred daily but were brushed aside as minor misunderstandings by staff.
There was a boy in my class who told someone not to waste their energy running from me when we played. That really hurt.
Lily Gaulton
CYDA found over 7 out of 10 disabled students were bullied last year. Out of the 118 Australian students who took part in the survey, more than two in three left the education system early, citing inaccessibility, discrimination, and bullying as the main reasons.
Lily’s mother, Jenni Crowther, had to explain her daughter’s disability repeatedly to her daughter’s school, a process she called “exhausting”.
“The biggest challenge has been getting staff, parents and students to understand that neurodivergent kids can interpret the same situation very differently, and that matters,” she says.
“There are passionate teachers and staff who go above and beyond, but the system isn’t set up to give them the time, tools, or resources they need.”
Skye Kakoschke-Moore, the CEO of CYDA, says she’s not surprised by Lily and Jenni’s experience.
“Students with disability, and their families, have been telling governments for years that our schools are simply not set up to truly include them.”
With more than 500,000 children and young people with disability aged 25 and under in Australia, the impact on current and former students is staggering. The damning findings have fuelled widespread calls from the disability sector for all political candidates to commit to urgent action on inclusive education this Federal election.
Most students with disability are enrolled in mainstream schools, making it critical these settings provide genuine inclusion and support.
The Disability Royal Commission’s final report called for the implementation of a National Roadmap for Inclusive Education, but while the Federal government, and all states and territories, agreed to the idea ‘in principle’, no concrete steps have been taken towards making it a reality.
The CEO of CYDA says the advocacy organisation calling on all candidates to finally deliver on inclusive education by committing to provide federal funding to schools to guarantee safe and quality education for students with disability.
“This election is the time to end this trend,” Ms Kakoschke-Moore says.