The primary purpose of this work was to ensure that children and young people with disabilities in NSW had the opportunity to express their voices, opinions and experiences in line with the principle of participation emphasised in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and ACYP’s own legislative mandate.

This report gave children and young people with disability a platform to use their lived experiences to inform decision makers and service providers about how to best continue to support their needs. The report also highlights the ways in which children and young people with disability, who are experts in their own lives, want to be included in the planning and implementation of practical solutions that affect them.

Over a six month period, spanning from 2019 to 2020 ACYP conducted face to face consultations with more than 370 children and young people with disability. The children and young people who participated in consultations were generous in dedicating their time to share their opinions on what is working well for them, what is not working well for them and what changes they would like to see to make NSW a better place, not just for them but for all children and young people.

The views of participants are categorised in the report under seven main themes. They are:

1. Education
2. Health and the National Disability Insurance Scheme
3. Employment and training
4. Voice and participation
5. Access and inclusion
6. Bullying and discrimination
7. Mental health