What is disability?
There are at two official definitions of disability; the contemporary social definition provided by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the national legal definition provided by the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA).
Both definitions aim to protect against discrimination and help all people to understand their rights and responsibilities.
Australia is a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities that defines disability as:
“Persons with disabilities include those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual, or sensory impairments, which in interaction with various barriers may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others.”
The Disability Discrimination Act that protects Australians against discrimination based on disability provides a broad definition of disability including these eight types:
- Physical disability: Impacts mobility or dexterity
- Intellectual disability: Impacts ability to learn or process information
- Mental illness: Impacts thinking processes
- Sensory disability: Impacts the ability to hear or see
- Neurological disability: Impacts the brain and central nervous system
- Learning disability: Impacts acquisition, organisation, retention, and understanding of information
- Physical disfigurement: Impacts physical appearance
- Immunological disability: Impact due to the presence of organisms causing disease in the body
Language guide
This language guide from People With Disability Australia seeks to influence the social narrative around respectful and inclusive language about people with disability and to improve the lives of people with disability. It unpacks key factors which influence disability-related language, and identifies commonly misused terms and recommends suitable alternatives.
Auslan videos
We also have a full suite of Auslan videos available for viewing.