Griffith University
COST-of-living pressures, housing insecurity and difficulties finding meaningful employment continue to affect Queenslanders with disability, despite improvements in access to support, healthcare and disaster planning.
The Voice of Queensland-ers with Disability Report 2025 has provided a snapshot of the everyday experiences of people with disability across the State, highlighting both significant improvements and areas where substantial barriers remain.
Led by Griffith University and delivered in partnership with Queenslanders with Disability Network, the annual report heard from more than 700 Queenslanders with disability in 2025.
Griffith Inclusive Futures: Reimagining Disability and Hopkins Centre Research Fellow Kelsey Chapman said the findings provided an important insight into what was happening in the lives of Queenslanders with disability, their families and carers.
“Transparency is critical to improving support, and the report provides a snapshot of what’s really happening in the lives of Queenslanders with disability, their families, and carers,” Dr Chapman said.
Housing remained a significant concern, particularly as cost-of-living pressures continued to bite.
While 71.1 per cent of respondents said they lived in a home that met their needs, almost three in 10 said their housing was inappropriate for them.
There were signs of improvement in people’s ability to access their communities, with 47.5 per cent saying they could go anywhere they wanted in Queensland, up from 42 per cent in 2023.
Employment, however, emerged as an area of continuing concern.
Just 16.8 per cent of respondents believed Queensland employers placed people with disability in leadership positions, with the figure remaining largely unchanged from the 2023 report.
There was also a sharp decline in respondents reporting they had a “good job”.
In 2023, 56 per cent agreed they had a good job.
By 2025, that figure had fallen to 32.8 per cent.
The report found more positive results in health and emergency preparedness.
The proportion of respondents who reported being healthy and having access to a good primary care doctor increased significantly.
There was also a substantial improvement in disaster preparedness, with 80.2 per cent saying they had a plan to stay safe during a disaster, compared with 64 per cent in 2023.
Community attitudes also remained mixed and while most respondents reported feeling welcome within their communities, negative stereotypes and misunderstandings about disability continued to create barriers to full participation.
Dr Chapman said the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games offered Queensland an opportunity to deliver lasting improvements in accessibility and inclusion.
“Through co-design with people with lived experience, we can address complex challenges and build responsive, respectful and effective systems,” she said.
