Recently in the news, a person suggested means testing disability supports. This is a bad idea, and I’m going to share some of the reasons why in this post. Feel free to add your own in the comments.
Why means testing disability support is a bad idea
Costs
Disability is expensive. It costs us more to live. If you are going to means test disability supports, then we can’t be judged by non disabled needs. Research shows we need 50%-102% more income than non disabled people.
If disabled people were means tested based on something existing (eg centrelink income tests) we’d be further in poverty than a non disabled person subjected to the same income limits.
Working
Not every disabled person can work. Not every disabled person who works should keep working. We are often limited by ableist employers to entry level jobs. Recruiters and prospective employers run away from disabled people once they find out we’re disabled.
Employers won’t accept that they need to increase their skills relating to disability. We’re expected to consult for free, where other types of consultants get paid. Once someone finds out we’re disabled, they assume we can only work with other disabled people.
If possible, we generally have to hide being disabled to get employed. Accomodations are often denied to us, because it’s a non disabled person with no literacy around disability deciding what is “reasonable”.
Disability supports often help people access work for the first time in their lives, nearly every quarterly report from the NDIS that I’ve read has had a case study on this. We’re seen as an economic burden if we don’t work, but also somehow an economic burden if we need supports to work.
We’re told to work for ourselves so that employers don’t have to be concerned with accomodating us. Employers need to be inclusive, not just appear to be inclusive.
Ageism
The NDIS does not permit people over the age of 65 on the scheme. The government incorrectly assumes disability and aged care are interchangeable. The government is removing some kids from the NDIS.
Who is next? Disability needs do not correlate with age. Age being a variable is unethical. How will family income impact eligibility? Do parents have to give up jobs to support their kids? Will kids be expecting to pay for retired parents? Who will be considered family? What income will be considered “for the dependent”?
Is it possible though?
Means testing disability support could be possible. We have a lot of things to fix first. Every link, every thought above… those are all barriers to means testing.
We need things such as healthcare systems that can’t refuse to treat conditions they don’t like. We need support systems which focus on an individuals needs, not a predetermined set of services. We need disability support services to admit they’re for people with a disability. We need to remove the idea that disabled people have to be palatable, that we have to make non disabled people comfortable, to get supports.
We need to stop expecting disabled people to have endless resilience in the face of discrimination and bureaucracy. We need something akin to a Universal Basic Income (UBI) to reduce bureaucracy and to ensure the financial safety of people who cannot work.
We need discrimination and ableism to not exist, we need true equity, in order to means test disability supports. A LOT of steps need to be taken to have true equity.
Means testing disability right now is putting the cart before the horse. And when that happens in the disability sector, disabled people die. This is not hyperbole, this is the reality we face.
Just think, all the links in this post are purely things I have come across in my life. This is one persons experience. These are only the experiences I have put online! What I share online is a very very small fraction of what I experience. Disability is diverse and I can only imagine how many other arguments could be raised from a collection of others experiences and perspectives on disability and disability supports.
