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Empowering disabled young people
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Families and carers play an important role in helping disabled young people feel confident and empowered.

This page offers practical tips so that you can support young people to speak up if something isn’t right with their NDIS supports.

Whether it’s raising a concern or making a complaint, your support can help make sure their voices are heard and their rights are respected.
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“To be empowered means having the confidence, knowledge, ability, or resources to do things you want to do. It allows your world to open up and gives you the internal belief to self-advocate in your communities more and more … Becoming empowered is an ongoing process.”

– Ezra, a disabled young person

Read Ezra's blog
In this photo, two people are sitting on a park bench having a thoughtful conversation. On the left, a woman with long blonde hair and glasses, dressed in a grey blazer and black outfit, faces a young man on the right, who is wearing a black T-shirt with colorful graphics and holding a white cane, indicating he may be blind or have low vision. The setting is a peaceful, green park with trees and sunlight, creating a calm and supportive atmosphere.

Why is it important for disabled young people to feel empowered to speak up and make complaints?

Empowerment is about recognising and building on the strengths of disabled young people.

It’s important for disabled young people to feel empowered to make complaints because it helps them speak up for their human rights and needs.

When they can express concerns or issues, they learn to advocate for themselves, build confidence, and gain control over their lives.
This image celebrates Disability Pride by showing a diverse group of disabled people confidently expressing their identities. The group includes individuals with various disabilities—some using wheelchairs, prosthetic limbs, walkers, or accompanied by a guide dog. They are all smiling and holding signs with empowering messages like “Disabled and Proud,” “Chronic & Iconic,” and “Disability Pride.”

How to empower disabled young people to speak up

Disabled young people have told us what they wish their families and carers would do to help them feel more empowered.

Here are some ideas to support your young person to speak up and take action when something isn’t right with their NDIS supports or services.

  • Talk to the young people before you schedule meetings with support workers, or other people in their lives. This can give them a sense of control.
  • Trust that the young person knows their needs best.
  • Don’t intervene or take over and do something for the young person, unless they ask you to.
  • Know that the young person’s way of solving a problem might be different from yours. Try to support and encourage their ideas.
  • If you say or do something disempowering,  acknowledge your mistake and let the disabled young person know that you’re committed to acting differently next time.
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Empowering questions to ask

When disabled young people are facing a problem with their NDIS supports or services, the way you ask questions can make a big difference. Empowering questions can help them feel more in control and confident to speak up. Try asking:

  • “Do you want me to step in, or are you happy to handle this?”
    This shows you respect their independence while still offering support.

  • “Do you want to work out a solution, or just talk about it for now?”
    This helps them feel safe to share without pressure to act right away.

  • Instead of asking “How can I help?”, try “What would you like to do?”
    This puts the focus on their choices and encourages them to take the lead.

Asking thoughtful, open-ended questions like these can help young people feel heard, respected, and more confident in managing their supports.

Barriers to making complaints

Disabled young people experience specific barriers when making complaints, including:

  • Feeling like the problem is too small or not bad enough to complain about.
  • Not knowing how to make a complaint.
  • Not being able to articulate the problem in the way they think is needed.
  • Being worried that they will face negative consequences because of their complaint, such as a fear of losing access to their services and supports.

You can support disabled young people to make complaints by acknowledging and starting a conversation about these barriers.

For example, reassuring them that they have the right to make a complaint and offering to start the process with them.
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Disability pride and empowerment

Disability pride can be very empowering for disabled young people.

Visit the webpage below for tips on fostering a sense of disability pride in disabled young people.

Disability pride
Empowering Disabled Young People