Australians with disability at the United Nations

We funded 11 Australians with disability to take part in the United Nations (UN) 18th Session of the Conference of States Parties (COSP18). It is one of the most important meetings of people with disability in the world.  

COSP18 was held on 10 to 12 June 2025 at the UN headquarters in New York. Up to 60 Australians went to talk about the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. They were a mix of individuals and representatives from:

• civil society organisations
• disability representative and advocacy organisations
• human rights organisations
• government.

COSP18 aimed to raise public awareness of the rights of people with disability and their contributions to social development.

We funded 11 delegates and their support people through the Supporting Participation Program(Opens external website) (SPP). The SPP helps Australians with disability take part in key international conferences.

The funded delegates are independent from government. They represented Australia’s diverse disability community. At COSP18, they shared their unique experiences, priorities and leadership on a world stage.

We also hosted the official COSP18 side event. This explored the value of disability-led and co-designed research. The National Disability Research Partnership(Opens external website) and the National Disability Data Asset(Opens external website) presented the event. You can watch a recording of the event and view the materials(Opens external website) .

Learn more about the conference at International disability rights(Opens external website).