Improving the health of Australians with disability: recommendations from a federal-level policy forum

Abstract Background People with disability experience poorer health outcomes than those without disability. These disparities were exacerbated by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, prompting the Australian government to implement significant changes to health and other essential services for people with disability. To reflect on these changes, the Centre of Research Excellence in Disability and Health (CRE-DH) – which consisted of investigators from five Australian universities – invited senior government officials and disability advocates to a federal-level policy forum. This study examines the recommendations arising from that forum and explores how they align with subsequent government reports and policies, offering a perspective for advancing health equity for people with disability. Methods In September 2022, 32 senior representatives from 16 organisations participated in one of two identical half-day virtual workshops. Operating under Chatham House Rule to facilitate open discussion, each workshop included two small-group working sessions facilitated by an academic from the CRE-DH and focussed on improving health outcomes for people with disability: (1) within the health system, and (2) across disability, health, and other sectors. We used a six-phase thematic analysis approach to summarize the issues and ensuing recommendations that we grouped into strategic policy focus areas. Results Twelve recommendations were made to tackle health inequities across three domains: whole-of-government, health system, and cross-sectoral disability and health system reforms. Participants emphasised the unique interplay between social welfare and health systems for people with disability and highlighted the lack of coordination and accountability across government that is needed to achieve genuinely joined‑up systems. Key recommendations included: developing a National Disability and Health Strategy; implementing Disability Impact Assessments; and addressing the absence of disability identifiers in administrative systems. Discussion and conclusions The researcher-led policy forum offered an opportunity to disrupt traditional government-led consultations through intersectoral and more secure open discussions. Our approach aimed to provide more equitable collaboration between different stakeholders with the policy forum resulting in actionable recommendations on persistent issues. While recent policies address some of the recommendations, others remain unfulfilled despite being echoed in two major national reports and their potential to strengthen disability-inclusive health policy and advance health equity for all people with disability.