A person with a disability has a right to study at any educational institution in the same way as any other student.
The Disability Discrimination Act protects people with a disability against discrimination in education in the following areas:
Admission:
- Refusal or failure to accept an application for admission from a person with a disability
- Accepting a person with a disability as a student on less favourable terms or conditions than others
Access:
- Denying or limiting access to people with a disability
- Expelling a person because of a disability or subjecting them to any other detriment
Harassment:
- Humiliating comments or actions about a person’s disability, such as insults or comments or actions which create a hostile environment
Course Changes:
- If a person with a disability meets the essential entry requirements, then educators must make changes or ‘reasonable adjustments’ if that person needs them in order to perform essential course work
Educators need to:
- Thoroughly consider how an adjustment might be made (factsheet)
- Discuss this directly with the person involved
- Consult relevant sources of advice.
Schools
All Queensland children and young people are entitled to universal access to high quality state education that will help maximise their educational potential and enable them to become an informed effective member of the community. This right is protected by legislation.
- Education General Provisions Act 2006 (Qld)
- Queensland Disability Services Act 2006 (Qld) has measures to safeguard the rights and safety of people with disability, and combines with existing systems to improve the quality of services they receive.