1 billion people. 5.5 Million aussies.
Across the world, more than 1 billion people live with disability. In Australia it’s 1 in 5 people. In our home town of Newcastle, it’s 30,000 members of our community.
When businesses, organisations, and groups overlook accessibility and inclusion, they’re not just missing the mark, they’re missing out. Not only on customers, clients, and talent, but on innovation, insight, and community connection.
Studies show that inclusive and accessible businesses in Australia are more than 25% more profitable. But the benefits go far beyond the bottom line.
Inclusion is an opportunity to build stronger, more responsive, and more human organisations.
Our Why. moving the dial.
People with disability are regularly asked to share their lived experience across all areas of life, from transport, to health, education, technology and tourism. This unique and valuable perspective is often key to shaping better services, systems, and policies.
Disability Consulting (DisCo) was born from a need to professionalise this knowledge. For too long, people with disability have been asked to offer their insights for free, or for little more than a sandwich and a thank you.
This isn’t just about payment. It’s about recognising and respecting that people with disability are the experts in their own lives, and that their time, insight, and emotional labour deserve proper recognition.
Often, people with disability are asked to speak about experiences that are personal, painful, and rooted in systemic exclusion or trauma. This work carries a significant emotional toll.
When this contribution goes unpaid or unacknowledged, it reinforces power imbalances and overlooks the real costs of what it takes to share stories that are painful, and often triggering or highly emotional.
At DisCo, we believe that true inclusion begins with equity. That includes fair pay, real respect, and meaningful opportunities.
powered by CDAH.
DisCo is proudly powered by Community Disability Alliance Hunter (CDAH), a grassroots, Disabled People’s Organisation (DPO), which was the first of its kind in the Hunter region.
Since its beginning, CDAH has been a trusted source of insight for government, businesses, and community groups seeking to better understand the needs and experience of people with disability.
When you work with DisCo’s lived experience consultants, you’re not just accessing one person’s expertise, you’re drawing from the collective strength, knowledge, and leadership of a whole community.
The power of Disability lived experience.
Tapping into the expertise and lived experience of people with disability allows authenticity, creativity, and practical insight to be brought to the table. It challenges assumptions, creates innovation, and drives meaningful change.
True inclusion means co-designing with (not for) people with disability. It means listening deeply, acting boldly, and committing to a future where everyone is welcome, valued, and heard.
At its core, this is about community. It’s about building spaces, services, and systems that reflect the richness and diversity of all of us.
our shared vision. disco & CDAH.
We strive for a just and inclusive society where people with disability have genuine voice, choice and control.
We aim to:
- Strengthen knowledge and skill
Provide information, advice, mentoring, peer support, training, and development to increase knowledge and skills for people with disability - Collective advocacy
Serve as a collective voice for people with disability, advocating for the rights and needs of the community - Community inclusion
Build an inclusive community that welcomes all people with a disability - Value disability lived experience
Share collective lived experience to empower people with disability, promoting voice, choice, and control over their lives. - Uphold Human Rights and the UN Convention
Adhere and be guided by the principles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and human rights frameworks.