BEING joins group of 75 organisations and experts calling for reform to laws that stop people with disability from voting
This Saturday, most adult Australians will vote in the Federal Election. However, there is a whole section of our community who can be removed from the electoral roll and disallowed from having their say: people with “cognitive disabilities.”
In an open letter* to the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition a coalition of 75 organisations and experts are calling for long overdue action to protect the right of people with disability to vote in line with Australia’s international human rights law obligations and longstanding recommendations for reform.
Archaic and offensive provisions in section 93(8)(a) and 118(4) of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 continue to disproportionately prevent some Australians with cognitive impairments from exercising this most fundamental democratic freedom. Between 2008-2012, more than 28,000 people were removed from the electoral roll due to “unsound mind” provisions.
In November 2023 the Final Report of the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters (JEC) Inquiry into the Conduct of the 2022 Federal Election and Other Matters recommended the repeal of these provisions before the next election. More than a decade ago, in 2014, the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) also recommended repeal. Successive Australian Governments have failed to fully implement these recommendations, leaving Australians with disability disenfranchised.
While the recent Electoral Legislation Amendment (Electoral Reform) Act 2025 (Cth) replaced the archaic and offensive term “unsound mind” with the words “cognitive impairment,” the coalition say that this reform does not go far enough as it still uses terminology that aligns with the outdated medical model of disability and does not focus on a person’s decision-making ability to enrol and vote in an election.
Australian Lawyers for Human Rights (ALHR) Co-Chair of Disability Rights and CEO of BEING – Mental Health Consumers Giancarlo de Vera said:
“Casting a vote and having your say on who governs our country is a fundamental constitutional right, an internationally-protected human right and a hallmark of democracy. The current law is inconsistent with Australia’s international obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities which states that people with disability must be afforded the right and opportunity to vote on an equal basis with others.
We call on all major parties to publicly commit to urgent law reform during the next term of government to implement the JEC and ALRC recommendations regarding section 93(8). We all deserve to have our say and it’s time to ensure that adequate measures are put in place to support people with disability to access whatever support is required so people with disability can enrol and vote in every election.”
* Read the open letter here and Easy Read here