Disability extra costs
Disability extra costs refer to the additional expenses related to having a disability. These costs can be significant, and may include expenses such as assistive devices, accessible transport, rehabilitation, or medication. These higher living costs that people with disabilities often face, can exacerbate poverty and limit access to essential services and opportunities to participate in society. They can also include the cost of lost income due to disability-related unemployment or underemployment.
Australia acknowledges the additional costs associated with having a disability, for people with disabilities and their families. It is important to address disability-related extra costs through inclusive social protection policies and schemes, to reduce the financial inequities associated with disability.
Resources in this section provide evidence and guidance to understand and implement considerations related to disability extra costs in programming and policy.
Mont, D. et al (2020) Considering the Disability related Extra Costs in Social Protection
The paper will tackle several critical elements required for social protection systems and programs to adequately consider disability related extra costs.
UNICEF (2021) Combatting the Costs of Exclusion for Children with Disabilities and their Families
This paper makes the case that the costs of excluding children with disabilities are high. Fortunately, evidence also demonstrates that there are effective ways to ameliorate these costs.
