Today in Parliament, Abigail gave notice of a motion highlighting a UN report declaring accessibility a fundamental human right, finding that people with disability face participation and mobility restrictions up to 15 times greater than others due to inaccessible infrastructure, yet NSW still lacks enforceable accessibility standards in housing and transport legislation, leaving thousands of people with disability institutionalised or excluded from their communities not because of their impairments, but because of a failure of government design and investment.

Abigail said:

I give notice that on the next sitting day I will move: 

(1) That this House notes that:

• the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has called on governments across the world to take urgent action to treat deinstitutionalisation as an urgent human rights obligation, pairing it with investment in accessible housing, transport and community-based services; and

• according to the OHCHR in its report entitled ‘Disability-inclusive infrastructure, including transport and housing’ and published in January 2026:

  • people with disability across the world face participation and mobility restrictions up to 15 times greater than others, largely due to inaccessible and unaffordable infrastructure, transport and housing;

  • accessibility is not a quality upgrade or an optional service, but rather a fundamental human right; 

  • under the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, governments have an obligation to provide access to the physical environment and transportation on an equal basis; 

  • governments also have a duty to promote universal design for all buildings to enable people with disabilities to live independently and be included in the community, however in OECD countries, 11 percent of people with disabilities are overburdened by housing expenses compared to 9 percent of people without disabilities; 

  • building full accessibility into homes at the design stage would be more economical for everyone as it adds only around 1 percent to construction costs, whereas retrofitting the same features after a building is completed can add over 5 percent to costs; 

  • for people with intellectual, sensory and cognitive disability, accessibility requirements such as appropriate lighting, tactile design, clear wayfinding and easy-to-use household equipment are essential but often absent from housing design; 

  • despite decades of advocacy, large numbers of people with disability remain in institutional settings rather than living in their communities, not because of their impairments, but due to the absence of community-based support and care and support systems including housing and transport;

  • accessible design as a precursor to independent living is one of the means to prevent the institutionalisation of people with disability; and

  • inclusive infrastructure benefits society by creating safer, more efficient and more sustainable environments and by strengthening care and support systems that underpin equality and dignity.

(2) That this House calls on the NSW government to:

• commit to embed accessibility standards that are fully aligned with international human rights obligations and aimed at universal design into all housing and transport legislation, with enforceable timelines and oversight mechanisms; 

• fund and implement individualised housing adaptations with mechanisms to prevent disability discrimination by landlords and housing providers; 

• ensure that all public-private partnerships in transport, housing and digital infrastructure include accessibility, affordability and inclusion standards; and

• take targeted action to address the disproportionate compounding barriers faced by women and children with disability, First Nations people with disability, migrants with disability and people with disability living in rural, regional and low-income contexts.

23 June 2026