ACT Independent Senator David Pocock is standing alongside Down Syndrome Australia and members of the Down Syndrome community calling on both major parties to commit to phasing out the $3 an hour wage for people with disability in the next parliament.

Under current arrangements people with Down Syndrome can legally be paid $3 an hour for their work in Australia. The Disability Royal Commission recommended that people with disability should receive at least the minimum wage, and that the Government should act to achieve this by 2034.

The Government is yet to respond to the recommendation from the report first published in September 2023, stating it requires further consultation with stakeholders. The Right to Work campaign online petition has already gained over 3,000 signatures.

Senator Pocock is calling on Labor and the Coalition to phase out the subminimum wages paid to people with an intellectual disability, in line with the Disability Royal Commission’s recommendation. Neither major party has made commitments specifically for people with disability in the election campaign to date.

“Everyone should be paid a fair wage for the work they complete and it is time for the major parties to commit to this meaningful change for people with disability,” Senator Pocock said

“People with disability are being overlooked and left behind in the major party policy promises this election campaign. 

“It is common sense that people should be paid a fair wage for the work they do.” 

Current laws permit people with disability to be paid below the minimum wage based on how “productive” they are assessed to be compared to someone without disability.

Senator Pocock said that these archaic laws assume that people with disability do not create value for a workplace and that employers would not hire a person with a disability if they had to pay them the Award wage. He is calling on both major parties to commit to a plan to amend the Fair Work and the Disability Discrimination Acts to phase out Special Wage Assessments and reform current exemptions that allow employers to pay people with disability below award wages and to better fund employment support services.

“The answer to getting more people with disability into work is not to allow cheap labour, it’s to ensure we are funding employment services that actually work, which allow people with disability to connect with work they find meaningful and also gives them the opportunity to build their capacity to perform those roles.

“I’m standing with an employer today who does hire people with disability and pays them the Award wage, in recognising that all of their employees have bills to pay and that they provide their business with value.

“I recognise, just like the Disability Royal Commission did, that this is not something you can change overnight, but we do need a plan to get there.”

Darryl Steff CEO of Down Syndrome Australia said Down Syndrome Australia’s Employment Connections Service has placed over 80 people with Down syndrome with employers and that it needs to be supported and scaled beyond June 2026. 

“The success of our Employment Connection Service shows that supporting workers with Down syndrome to move into open employment is beneficial for the worker themselves, but also employers, families and broader society,” Mr Steff said.

“Allowing workers to be paid as little as $3 an hour, even if they also receive the Disability Support Pension, means we’ve got people with disability living in poverty their whole lives. It also puts strain on family members who often then have to support them financially. You can’t even buy a cup of coffee for $3 these days.

“It’s not that people with Down Syndrome can’t work or don’t want to work in open employment – it’s that they’re not being given the opportunity and current support systems, like the Disability Support Pension, can actually act  as a barrier to open employment – it is not working for workers. 

“Ahead of the Federal Election, we’re urgently calling on all parties and politicians to commit to breaking down the barriers that allow people with an intellectual disability to get access to the decent jobs they deserve. Phasing out $3 wages should be the first cab off the rank.”