Representation. A wheelchair.

The federal government has decided to allocate AU$371 million to implement the measures recommended by the disability royal commission, including creating more jobs, updating disability discrimination laws and setting up advocacy programs.

The government will act on 172 of the 222 total recommendations from the royal commission's final report, accepting 13 in full and 130 in principle. Among the remaining 36 recommendations, the government will follow up on six, with the states and territories handling the others, reported AAP.

"Progressing the work arising from the disability royal commission will take time, and our government will be taking a phased approach to implementing our response," Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth told reporters in Sydney. "We are absolutely committed to continuing this work in order to sustain long-term, meaningful change for people with disability."

The government has outlined close to AU$227.6 million for rolling out the disability employment program, which will start in July 2025. Nearly AU$40 million has been set apart for the disability advocacy program, AU$15.6 million to coordinate support across the country for people with disabilities, and AU$12.3 million towards improving programs such as Auslan (Australian Sign Language).

Regarding the call to phase out special schools, the federal government said that states and territories were responsible for the education systems.

However, Marayke Jonkers, president of People with Disability Australia, slammed the government for its "completely disproportionate" response to the landmark report. She said the government failed to give a time-frame to bring about the "meaningful change" or a commitment in enshrining disability as a disability rights act or a human rights act, News.com reported.

"Today, us and our members are devastated, disappointed and completely caught off guard with the response to us sharing our stories over 7000 submissions," Jonkers said. "We wanted to see meaningful change, and there isn't a clear timeframe for that happening, to really make sure that this doesn't happen again."

Based on the Australian Bureau of Statistics data, one in five Australians, or 4.4 million people, were identified as having a disability.

The disability royal commission heard more than 10,000 stories over four years of submissions.

Health and disability expert Anne Kavanagh called it a "patchy" response, saying the government failed to address key recommendations on segregation in education, employment and housing, The Conversation reported. The government should implement a health strategy that is inclusive and bridge the gap between disability-related health inequities, she added.