The body responsible for advising the Queensland government on disability issues has sat vacant for almost a year, with the Queensland Disability Advisory Council (QDAC) yet to be reconstituted since its term expired in August last year.

The council, established under the 2006 Disability Services Act, previously comprised 14 members with lived experience of disability alongside representatives from peak advocacy organisations. Its last meeting with Disability Minister Amanda Camm took place in June 2025, according to ministerial diaries.

Council Gap Leaves Disability Voices Without Formal Channel

The QDAC was designed to give the disability community a structured avenue to inform state government policy. During its final active year, the council met four times in the 2024–25 financial year, providing advice to the minister on issues including the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), the disability royal commission, and state-based agency service plans.

The disability services department's most recent annual report underlined the council's significance, stating: "The department actively seeks the perspectives of people with disability through the Queensland Disability Advisory Council."

Jeramy Hope, chief executive of the Specialist Disability Accommodation Alliance and a member of the New South Wales Disability Council, said advisory groups play a critical role in ensuring people with disability are not overlooked. As an NDIS participant himself, he warned that without such mechanisms, "people with disability can be an afterthought."

He said an advisory committee gives the disability community the opportunity to speak directly to state governments and have their voice, opinion and knowledge heard.

Appointment Process Under Way, Announcement Pending

Minister Camm confirmed in a response to a question on notice in June that expressions of interest had been sent to existing council members and that proposed new members had been identified. She said the screening process for those new members was progressing at that time.

It is understood a renewed council and updated terms of reference will be announced in the near future. Under the Disability Services Act, the disability minister holds the authority to determine council membership and can dissolve the advisory committee at any time.

Ms Camm said she has met extensively with the disability sector throughout her tenure as minister. In a statement, she said she had listened to growing concerns from stakeholders about the lack of information from the Commonwealth regarding long-term care arrangements.

"I share the view of most Australians, who would agree the Federal Government's focus should be on weeding out the shonky operators instead of leaving vulnerable Australians to pay the price," she said.

Vacancy Coincides With Sweeping NDIS Changes

The absence of a functioning advisory council comes at a particularly consequential time for Queensland's disability community. Since the QDAC last met with the minister, the federal government has announced significant changes to the NDIS that could see more than 240,000 people exit the scheme over four years.

The Commonwealth has also unveiled the Thriving Kids program — an alternative NDIS pathway for some children with autism — but Queensland remains the only state that has not signed up to the initiative, raising additional questions about the state's disability policy direction.

With major structural changes to disability support unfolding at both the state and federal level, advocates argue the lack of a formal advisory body leaves a significant gap in how government hears from those most affected. The Queensland government has faced scrutiny over a range of policy decisions in recent months, and disability advocates say reconstituting the council swiftly is essential to ensuring community voices shape the decisions ahead.

The QDAC's reconstitution is now expected imminently, though no formal announcement has been made.