Disability policy in Australia: a triumph of thescriptio inferioron impotence and neediness?

Abstract

From the time that development of a National Disability Insurance Scheme arrived on the agenda of the Australian Labor Government's 2008 Ideas Summit, the lives of disabled Australian citizens have been widely discussed, consulted on, planned for and acted on. This discourse analysis (Fairclough 2003; 2010) critiques the ways in which disabled lives have been framed in these high profile policy debates, with detailed focus on two key policy documents. The Shut Out Report: the Experiences of People with Disabilities in Australia (2009) (2009) and Disability Care and Support (Productivity Commission 2011) are both grounded in extensive national consultations and provide significant evidence about the ways that disabled Australians talk about the problems they face and the solutions they advocate. The paper employs the well‐known recognition‐redistribution debate of Nancy Fraser and Axel Honneth (2003) to interpret the findings that narratives of suffering, burden and marginalisation predominate in current policy conversations. This tends to push out discussions concerning the non‐redistributive aspects of disability reform, potentially contributing to non‐integrationist discourse entrenched over 150 years of policies of segregation. Minority voices advocating social integration are present but muted. At this stage, their influence is undetermined.

Shaping attitudes to disability employment with a national disability insurance scheme

“…The NDIS radically alters funding structures to better support and empower people with disability (Hallahan 2015), but stops short of explicitly legislating inclusion. Instead, the NDIS relies on 'nudging.'…”

“…Differences in work impairments -in disability type and severity -increase the complexity of overcoming employer resistance to hiring people with disability (Tuckerman et al 2012;Waghorn & Hielscher 2015). Personal support for people with disability included in the NDIS might not be enough for employers to include people with disability in their workforces (Hallahan 2015). The Australian government may need to consider more controversial interventions in the international literature such as tax incentives for hiring and workforce diversity mandates (Henry et al 2014).…”

The Tyranny of Fit: Yet another Barrier to Mainstream Employment for Disabled People in Sheltered Employment

“…Australia has recently introduced significant new legislation to support disabled people (Australian Government ). The National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013 (NDIS) supports disabled people to pursue social and economic goals to overcome segregation and participate in a more inclusive society (Hallahan ). Sheltered employment conflicts with the notion of inclusive societies, but how to achieve inclusion of disabled people, and defining what this might look like, is currently drawing much debate in Australia (e.g.…”

“…Sheltered employment conflicts with the notion of inclusive societies, but how to achieve inclusion of disabled people, and defining what this might look like, is currently drawing much debate in Australia (e.g. Hallahan ; Marston and Dee ). The policy debate in Australia is following that in other countries such as the UK.…”

“…The debate in Australia has now swung around to refining definitions of inclusion which allow for both segregated and integrated employment opportunities without compromising social participation opportunities for disabled people (e.g. Hallahan ; Marston and Dee ).…”