To the DDA Review Panel,
I am writing to express deep concern about the ongoing systemic discrimination faced by students with disability within Australian schools, particularly in Queensland, where the situation has now reached crisis levels.
Recent data published by The Courier Mail (October 2025) and highlighted by Queensland Advocacy for Inclusion (QAI) reveals that 64% of all school suspensions in Queensland this year involved students with disability, a dramatic increase from 49% in 2023. This means that children with disability, who already face barriers to learning, are being excluded from classrooms at more than ten times the rate of their peers.
This is not inclusion, it is a systemic failure.
Behind these statistics are real children, children being told, day after day, that they do not belong in their own classrooms. For families, this exclusion leads to disrupted learning, emotional distress, school refusal, loss of trust in education systems, and long-term trauma. For students with complex needs, including those who are autistic, ADHD, or have learning disabilities or mental health conditions, repeated suspensions compound existing vulnerabilities and often breach their right to education under both the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth) and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).
The data also show that First Nations children are disproportionately represented among those suspended, echoing the 2022 report Include Me, Don’t Exclude Me by Queensland’s Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander Children’s Commissioner, Natalie Lewis. These patterns of exclusion
reflect intersectional discrimination, where race and disability intersect to further marginalise already vulnerable children.
The current approach of the Queensland Government, which has stated it will not enforce the existing rules requiring suspensions to be used as a last resort, represents a failure of legal compliance and human rights obligations. Without accountability, these protections are meaningless.
Lived Experience and Impact
As a parent of a neurodivergent child who has faced repeated exclusion and systemic neglect within the Queensland state education system, I have witnessed firsthand the emotional and
developmental harm caused when schools fail to provide appropriate supports and adjustments.
My daughter, who is autistic, dyslexic, ADHD, and has an anxiety disorder, was suspended and isolated rather than supported — despite having documented learning and regulation needs. Instead of receiving reasonable adjustments, she was repeatedly punished for disability-related behaviour and ultimately traumatised to the point that she could no longer attend school safely.
The impact of these failures has been lifelong. My child, like so many others, internalised the message that she was “too hard” or “too different” to belong. The damage to her sense of safety, identity, and trust in education has been profound.
Families should not have to choose between their child’s education and their mental health. Yet across Queensland, this is the reality for thousands of us.
Perspective as an Inclusion Teacher
In addition to my experience as a parent, I have also worked within the Queensland state education system as an Inclusion Teacher, where I witnessed the same systemic failures from within. I observed children in distress, their needs ignored or misunderstood by staff who lacked the training, resources, or willingness to provide appropriate adjustments.
I experienced moral trauma watching students with known disabilities being excluded, shamed, or punished for disability-related behaviours, not because teachers were inherently cruel, but because the system had failed to educate and equip them. Too often, I saw teachers label children as “defiant” or “non-compliant” when they were in fact communicating unmet sensory, emotional, or cognitive needs.
The weight of witnessing these injustices, of knowing what could have been done differently and seeing no systemic accountability, leaves lasting moral injury for educators who care deeply but are powerless within a broken framework. True inclusion requires not only funding and policy but a cultural transformation in how we understand and respond to disability in education.
Recommendations for the DDA Review
I am calling for the DDA Review to recommend:
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Mandatory enforcement mechanisms ensuring that suspension and exclusion policies comply with the DDA and CRPD obligations.
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Independent monitoring and public reporting on suspension and exclusion data nationally, disaggregated by disability, Indigenous status, and gender.
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Legal recognition of inclusive education as a right, not a choice — ensuring all reasonable adjustments and supports must be provided before exclusion can be considered.
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A national inclusive education framework embedding trauma-informed, neuro-affirming, and culturally safe practices across all schools.
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Accountability mechanisms for education departments and principals who breach anti- discrimination obligations, including transparent complaint pathways and oversight.
Conclusion
Every child deserves to learn in safety, dignity, and belonging. The current system is failing thousands of children and families — not because they cannot fit in, but because the system refuses to make room for them.
It is time to move beyond rhetoric and make inclusion real.
Thank you for your commitment to ensuring the DDA reflects the true intent of equity, access, and justice for all Australian students.
Yours sincerely,