(1)   recognises that:

(a)   there are 650 million people living with disabilities worldwide and that approximately 80 per cent of those people live in developing countries, with 82 per cent of those living below the poverty line on an income of less than US$1.25 per day;

(b)   children and young people can often be the hardest hit by disability, whether because a child has a disability or is caring for an adult with a disability; and

(c)   UNESCO has found that 90 per cent of children with disabilities in developing countries do not attend school;

(2)   notes that the Australian Government is:

(a)   committed to implementing changes in Australia’s development assistance designed to deliver better outcomes for people with disabilities, as outlined in the strategy Development for All: Towards a disability-inclusive Australian aid program; and

(b)   already held in high esteem internationally for its leadership in this field and in particular for the human rights-based approach taken to forming the strategy, in accordance with its adoption of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities; and

(3)   calls on the Australian Government to consider:

(a)   including the active participation of people with disabilities in its aid policy formulation, as well as incorporating monitoring mechanisms within aid funding to ensure that disability inclusive development is effectively measured; and

(b)   any further ways in which AusAID and the Department of Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade can continue their engagement with Disability-Inclusive Development policy to further strengthen Australia’s commitment to this important cause.