In June 2012, the former Disability Policy and Research Working Group, representing inter‐governmental disability officials, offered a tender for an Audit of Disability Research in Australia. This report details the findings of and process for conducting this Audit. The Audit was undertaken over a 14 month period to the end April 2014 by the Centre for Disability Research and Policy, University of Sydney with team members from People with Disabilities Australia (PWDA), National Disability Strategy (NDS) and University of Melbourne. The Audit team was supported by an Advisory Committee representing NGOs in the sector, DPOs and the DPRWG. 

The main aim of the Audit of Disability Research was to produce a report that provides a comprehensive picture of the current state of disability research in Australia. It was expected that the Audit of Disability Research would explore and determine the gaps in disability research evidence so that areas that have not been well resourced previously or where there has been little research to date can be targeted (Audit of Disability Research Tender Specification, June 2012). 

The process of conducting the Audit covered three inter‐related components. 

• The first component entailed developing a conceptual framework based on the human rights and social equity approaches embedded in national legislative, governance and policy documents. These approaches promote the social and economic participation of people with disabilities, their health and wellbeing. 
• The second component involved reviewing the scientific and grey literature from 2000 to 2013 to produce a descriptive map of disability research in Australia in this time period. This stage provided a broad analysis based on title and abstract of all research meeting the criteria determined for the purpose of the Audit. The analysis focused on identifying gaps in disability research and ascertaining research challenges to develop recommendations for improvement or addressing gaps. 
• The third component involved a review of evaluation of evidence frameworks used most typically in health, social services and policy research. This review provided the foundation for developing a ‘fit for purpose’ hierarchy of evidence framework that could be used to guide disability research in the future. 

This report is funded with assistance from a funding grant offered under the National Disability Research and Development Agenda, jointly implemented by disability representatives from Commonwealth, State and Territory governments.