Viewpoint: Australia’s Moral, Legal and Policy Obligations to Include People with Intellectual Disabilities in Higher Education. View Point

Attending university has increasingly become part of the expected post-school trajectory for young Australians; however, school leavers and adults with intellectual disability remain largely excluded from higher education.This is despite the Australian Government’s legal obligations under the Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disability, which enshrines the right to access post-school education, including university education, without discrimination and on an equal basis with others.This legal obligation is reflected in policy but not in practice. As a result of numerous intertwining societal, political and institutional failings, only two of Australia’s 43 universities have programs supporting and facilitating the inclusion of students with intellectual disability. Australia is thus lagging far behind countries such as the United States, where the number of higher education programs for students with intellectual disability has increased from 25 in 2004 to more than 300 in 2022, most of which are supported by government funding. Providing Australians with intellectual disability genuine access to higher education will require political will, dedicated funding, targeted legislation and a cultural shift towards recognising abilities, and valuing greater life choices and self-determination for people with intellectual disability.