Australia’s National Disability Strategy lays out the ways in which the rights and needs of all Australians with disability can be met. Health is an important part of the Strategy. People with intellectual disability have very poor health outcomes and find it very hard to access the health care that they need.

The Centre's research tells us that people with intellectual disability

• are admitted to hospital for preventable reasons at 4 times the rate of the general population
• have double the proportion of avoidable deaths
• die 27 years younger.

Health care for people with intellectual disability is also very expensive and inefficient, much of this for readily preventable reasons.

The Centre wrote to Minister Rishworth for the review of Australia's Disability Strategy. We asked that the Strategy should embrace strong action on intellectual disability, in line with the recommendations of both the National Roadmap for Improving the Health of People with Intellectual Disability and the Disability Royal Commission.

We asked that the review recommend action on a Targeted Action Plan for health and wellbeing that was part of the Strategy.

2026 update: This Action Plan has not yet been developed.

You can read the letter here.