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POLICY CONTEXT
Australia is in a period of major and continuing disability reform. The introduction of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) and Australia’s Disability Strategy 2021–2031 has been followed by the Disability Royal Commission, the Independent Review of the NDIS, significant reforms to the NDIS, and work across governments to strengthen disability supports, safeguards and inclusion. Australia’s Disability Strategy was updated in 2025 and is undergoing independent evaluation in 2026.
These reforms create a significant need for high-quality evidence. Decisions are being made about the NDIS and the broader ecosystem of supports available to people with disability, including the roles of mainstream and community services and emerging Foundational Supports. At the same time, longstanding challenges remain across areas including health, education, employment, housing, transport and justice. Cost-of-living pressures, climate-related disasters and other social, health and economic changes can also have disproportionate impacts on people with disability.
Australia’s disability research system has not historically had investment or infrastructure commensurate with the scale of these policy challenges. Earlier audits and subsequent mapping of disability research in Australia identified a research landscape that was fragmented and often short-term, with important gaps in both the evidence available and the involvement of people with disability in research. This work helped establish the case for a coordinated national approach to disability research and research capacity. The Audit on Disability Research in Australia revealed significant gaps in research and concluded that the research was often small scale, fragmented, poorly integrated into policy and practice and not fit for purpose.
There are also significant new opportunities to strengthen the evidence available to policymakers, communities and practitioners. In this environment, investment in disability research is not separate from disability reform, it is an essential part of making reform work. Australia needs research that addresses the priorities of people with disability, responds to emerging policy questions, builds the evidence base over time, and is connected to policy and practice so that findings can be used.
The Australian Government invested in the establishment of the National Disability Research Partnership to help build this capability. Since 2024, NDRP has operated as an independent not-for-profit organisation governed by a Board of Directors. NDRP funds research done by and with people with disability, strengthens disability research capacity, implements a national research agenda and works to make research more accessible and useful to people with disability, policymakers and other decision-makers.