Despite being one of the largest areas of public expenditure and hundreds of thousands of people being affected by disability, it hasn’t been an issue in the election campaign. Melissa Marsden investigates why it’s been ignored.

El Gibbs, CEO of Disability Advocacy Network Australia, says despite the looming national ballot being labelled a ‘cost of living election, “the costs for many disabled people haven't been talked about”.

She’s calling out a lack of action on the needs of people with disability.

In particular, Gibbs had hoped that after the findings of the Disability Royal Commission were released some four years ago, leaders would “show more enthusiasm for the changes to make the NDIS fairer and a commitment to foundational supports.”

She says this is not an area that requires a massive financial commitment. It would, however, make a huge difference for People with Disability.  

“It would be great to have a greater acknowledgement of the harm and a greater commitment to stopping the violence and abuse”, Gibbs said. 

Gibbs comments follow Thursday’s launch of the National Disability Representative Organisation’s Blueprint for Economic Justice.

The blueprint calls for the government to put “economic justice front and centre” by changing measures relating to income support, employment and housing. 

Gibbs says DANA is calling for an increase in the Disability Support Pension (DSP) to consider cost-of-living pressures, with the pension is currently below the poverty line. 

In some cases, for every dollar that a person with disability makes they may lose some from other benefits. No political parties have touched this issue - they prefer to discuss other concerns instead.

Gibbs says rules on welfare don’t take into account the disadvantages people with disability face.

“I’ve spent a significant part of my life on the pension, and it’s tough when you don’t have access to work”, Gibbs said.

“We’re looking for an amendment to the partner test because it’s unfair and linked to violence and abuse.

“People with disability are being forced to depend on partner income. This can push people into poverty and force them to stay in domestic violence situations”.

Former NDIS Minister Bill Shorten has now moved on from politics to a $860,000-a-year salary as Vice Chancellor of the University of Canberra. This is more than double his base salary as a cabinet minister of $403,063. 

It’s also more than the $586,950 Prime Ministerial salary that Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton are currently struggling over. 

People with disabilities, on the other hand, are repeatedly highlighted as being one of the most disadvantaged members of the community while others focus on the huge cost of the NDIS. To many not receiving the benefits it appears to be a costly endeavour. 

The ABC's Evan Young and national disability affairs reporter Nas Campanella have pointed out that “the NDIS and how much it costs is far from the only disability issue out there”.

And this is a vital point for other advocates such as Gibbs. Disability is not something that can be addressed in isolation. 

“We need to increase supply [of housing] so that people with disability can own their own home”, she says. “There is a need to develop innovative ways to lower the cost of houses.”

Gibbs says the reality for people with disability is stark. “We’re poor, our families are poor and more likely to live in unstable housing”. 

The NDIS is a scheme specifically targeted at addressing disability issues. Unfortunately an answer to one problem rarely solves other issues.