{"id":183,"date":"2021-10-21T11:01:22","date_gmt":"2021-10-21T03:01:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/students\/?page_id=183"},"modified":"2026-03-18T15:42:00","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T07:42:00","slug":"definition","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/students\/personal-support\/disability\/definition\/","title":{"rendered":"What is a disability?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"500\" src=\"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/students\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2026\/03\/Definition-1000x500.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-43426\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/students\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2026\/03\/Definition-1000x500.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/students\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2026\/03\/Definition-740x370.jpg 740w, https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/students\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2026\/03\/Definition-480x240.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/students\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2026\/03\/Definition-1260x630.jpg 1260w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The definition of disability is very broad and includes physical, psychological, sensory, intellectual disabilities and medical conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A disability might be something that affects or limits your movements, your senses, your communication abilities, or your learning abilities. It may or may not be visible, and it may be permanent or temporary. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It may be something you were born with, or it may have appeared later in life or resulted from something that&#8217;s happened to you. Some people have more than one disability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Common disabilities and medical conditions seen at university are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Autism spectrum disorder.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Mental health diagnoses such as depression, anxiety, bipolar affective disorder and schizophrenia.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Specific learning disabilities such as dyslexia and dysgraphia.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Medical diagnoses such as chronic fatigue syndrome, epilepsy and diabetes.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Temporary disabilities such as fractures and injuries.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Vision and hearing impairments.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>If you have a diagnosed disability, we may be able to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/students\/personal-support\/disability\/help\/\">help you with your study needs, accessibility, and general support<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n<mimas-block \n        block-name=\"accordion\"\n        role=\"complementary\"\n        aria-label=\"Accordion content\"\n        data-segment=\"all\">\n\n                \n\n                    <div class=\"accordion\" aria-labelledby=\"accordion-title-View-the-definition-from-the-Disability-Discrimination-Act-1992\">\n            <button type=\"button\" class=\"accordion__heading\" aria-controls=\"View-the-definition-from-the-Disability-Discrimination-Act-1992\" aria-expanded=\"false\">\n            <div class=\"title\" id=\"accordion-title-View-the-definition-from-the-Disability-Discrimination-Act-1992\">View the definition from the Disability Discrimination Act 1992<\/div>\n            <div class=\"icon\"><\/div>\n        <\/button>\n        <div class=\"accordion__content\" id=\"View-the-definition-from-the-Disability-Discrimination-Act-1992\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n                    <div class=\"accordion__item__content\">\n<p>The Australian Government&#8217;s\u00a0<em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.legislation.gov.au\/Details\/C2016C00763\">Disability Discrimination Act\u00a01992<\/a><\/em>\u00a0defines disability as:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Total or partial loss of the person&#8217;s bodily or mental functions.<\/li>\n<li>Total or partial loss of a part of the body.<\/li>\n<li>The presence in the body of organisms causing disease or illness.<\/li>\n<li>The presence in the body of organisms capable of causing disease or illness.<\/li>\n<li>The malfunction, malformation or disfigurement of a part of the person&#8217;s body.<\/li>\n<li>A disorder or malfunction that results in the person learning differently from a person without the disorder or malfunction.<\/li>\n<li>A disorder, illness or disease that affects a person&#8217;s thought processes, perception of reality, emotions or judgment or that results in disturbed behaviour.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>It also includes a disability that:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Presently exists.<\/li>\n<li>Previously existed but no longer exists.<\/li>\n<li>May exist in the future.<\/li>\n<li>Is imputed to a person.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n        \n                            \n                    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n        \n<\/mimas-block>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Disclosing a disability<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>It can be difficult to know how to tell the relevant people at university about your disability, and when it is appropriate to do so. Curtin\u2019s AccessAbility advisors can assist you with this process.<\/p>\n\n\n<mimas-block \n        block-name=\"accordion\"\n        role=\"complementary\"\n        aria-label=\"Accordion content\"\n        data-segment=\"all\">\n\n                \n\n                    <div class=\"accordion\" aria-labelledby=\"accordion-title-Completing-the-disability-details-section-on-eStudent\">\n            <button type=\"button\" class=\"accordion__heading\" aria-controls=\"Completing-the-disability-details-section-on-eStudent\" aria-expanded=\"false\">\n            <div class=\"title\" id=\"accordion-title-Completing-the-disability-details-section-on-eStudent\">Completing the disability details section on eStudent<\/div>\n            <div class=\"icon\"><\/div>\n        <\/button>\n        <div class=\"accordion__content\" id=\"Completing-the-disability-details-section-on-eStudent\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n                    <p>Completing the Disability Details section on your student record assists us to contact you with information about disability services and to provide appropriate disability support to our students.<\/p>\n<p>You can access your record through\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/oasis.curtin.edu.au\" rel=\"noopener\">OASIS<\/a> (My Studies &gt; eStudent &gt; My Details &gt; Disability Details).<\/p>\n<p>Completing these details does not automatically result in assistance being provided. It is important that you make contact with an\u00a0AccessAbility advisor\u00a0or an appropriate staff member if you require support to access your studies due to a disability.<\/p>\n\n        \n                            \n                    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n                    <div class=\"accordion\" aria-labelledby=\"accordion-title-Disclosing-a-disability-to-a-staff-member\">\n            <button type=\"button\" class=\"accordion__heading\" aria-controls=\"Disclosing-a-disability-to-a-staff-member\" aria-expanded=\"false\">\n            <div class=\"title\" id=\"accordion-title-Disclosing-a-disability-to-a-staff-member\">Disclosing a disability to a staff member<\/div>\n            <div class=\"icon\"><\/div>\n        <\/button>\n        <div class=\"accordion__content\" id=\"Disclosing-a-disability-to-a-staff-member\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n                    <p>If you have discussed your disability information with an\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/askcurtinfaq.custhelp.com\/app\/answers\/detail\/a_id\/2499\" rel=\"noopener\">AccessAbility advisor<\/a> and provided health professional documentation, you are usually not required to discuss the details with other university staff. However, there are situations where some level of disclosure can help staff to have a clearer understanding of your circumstances and how they can assist you.<\/p>\n<p>If you do disclose to staff, it may not be necessary to divulge all the details if the information is sensitive; however it is more important for the staff member to be aware of the impact of your disability on your studies.<\/p>\n<p>For example you could say: &#8220;<em>I have a medical condition that makes me very tired in the afternoons. Because of this, I would like to attend the tutorial that is held in the morning.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<p>You could also ask the staff member to keep the information confidential, or specify who you are willing to have your situation discussed with.<\/p>\n<p>There are some situations where it is important that staff are aware of your disability or health condition if it could impact on the health and safety of yourself or others. An\u00a0AccessAbility advisor can advise you on how best to manage this information.<\/p>\n\n        \n                            \n                    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n                    <div class=\"accordion\" aria-labelledby=\"accordion-title-Disclosure-on-fieldwork-placements\">\n            <button type=\"button\" class=\"accordion__heading\" aria-controls=\"Disclosure-on-fieldwork-placements\" aria-expanded=\"false\">\n            <div class=\"title\" id=\"accordion-title-Disclosure-on-fieldwork-placements\">Disclosure on fieldwork placements<\/div>\n            <div class=\"icon\"><\/div>\n        <\/button>\n        <div class=\"accordion__content\" id=\"Disclosure-on-fieldwork-placements\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n                    <p>It is important that you discuss any disability or health issues that may impact on fieldwork or other work placements with an AccessAbility advisor and\/or your school&#8217;s fieldwork coordinator in advance of the placement, particularly if:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Your health condition may impact on the health and safety of yourself or others while on placement, or<\/li>\n<li>You require reasonable adjustments to be made while on placement.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The AccessAbility advisor or fieldwork coordinator will discuss with you the best way to disclose appropriately\u00a0on placement, and assist you in negotiating reasonable adjustments.<\/p>\n\n        \n                            \n                    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n                    <div class=\"accordion\" aria-labelledby=\"accordion-title-Disclosing-a-disability-to-AccessAbility-Services\">\n            <button type=\"button\" class=\"accordion__heading\" aria-controls=\"Disclosing-a-disability-to-AccessAbility-Services\" aria-expanded=\"false\">\n            <div class=\"title\" id=\"accordion-title-Disclosing-a-disability-to-AccessAbility-Services\">Disclosing a disability to AccessAbility Services<\/div>\n            <div class=\"icon\"><\/div>\n        <\/button>\n        <div class=\"accordion__content\" id=\"Disclosing-a-disability-to-AccessAbility-Services\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n                    <p>An AccessAbility advisor will have to fully understand your disability and how it may impact on your studies, in order to arrange the support you need to succeed in your Curtin studies. \u00a0The advisor will gather information and documentation from you, and discuss with you the best way of informing key people about your requirements. In most cases a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/students\/personal-support\/disability\/cap\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Curtin Access Plan<\/a>\u00a0will be developed to assist with this process.<\/p>\n<p>Any information disclosed to AccessAbility Services is treated confidentially, according to the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/students\/personal-support\/counselling-wellbeing\/counselling\/confidentiality\/\" rel=\"noopener\">confidentiality policy<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Please <a href=\"https:\/\/askcurtinfaq.custhelp.com\/app\/answers\/detail\/a_id\/2499\" rel=\"noopener\">contact AccessAbility Services<\/a>\u00a0and speak to an AccessAbility advisor.<\/p>\n\n        \n                            \n                    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n                    <div class=\"accordion\" aria-labelledby=\"accordion-title-Disclosing-a-disability-to-other-students\">\n            <button type=\"button\" class=\"accordion__heading\" aria-controls=\"Disclosing-a-disability-to-other-students\" aria-expanded=\"false\">\n            <div class=\"title\" id=\"accordion-title-Disclosing-a-disability-to-other-students\">Disclosing a disability to other students<\/div>\n            <div class=\"icon\"><\/div>\n        <\/button>\n        <div class=\"accordion__content\" id=\"Disclosing-a-disability-to-other-students\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n                    <p>There is no need to discuss your disability with other students, but you may choose to disclose to other students if you would like them to understand your situation.<\/p>\n<p>If you are not sure of how to handle questions that may arise if they become aware that you require certain arrangements or considerations, please feel free\u00a0to <a href=\"https:\/\/askcurtinfaq.custhelp.com\/app\/answers\/detail\/a_id\/2499\" rel=\"noopener\">talk\u00a0to an AccessAbility advisor<\/a>\u00a0about how you could respond.<\/p>\n\n        \n                            \n                    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n                    <div class=\"accordion\" aria-labelledby=\"accordion-title-More-advice-about-disclosure\">\n            <button type=\"button\" class=\"accordion__heading\" aria-controls=\"More-advice-about-disclosure\" aria-expanded=\"false\">\n            <div class=\"title\" id=\"accordion-title-More-advice-about-disclosure\">More advice about disclosure<\/div>\n            <div class=\"icon\"><\/div>\n        <\/button>\n        <div class=\"accordion__content\" id=\"More-advice-about-disclosure\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n                    <p>Read more about disclosure on these websites:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.adcet.edu.au\/students-with-disability\/disclosure\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Disclosure &#8211; ADCET website<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.westernsydney.edu.au\/choosingyourpath\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Choosing your path. Disclosure: It&#8217;s a personal decision<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n        \n                            \n                    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n        \n<\/mimas-block>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The definition of disability is very broad and includes physical, psychological, sensory, intellectual disabilities and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":327,"featured_media":0,"parent":15,"menu_order":3,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"_oasis_task_priority":"","footnotes":""},"tags":[],"class_list":["post-183","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-25 07:48:11","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"post_tag","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/students\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/183","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/students\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/students\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/students\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/327"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/students\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=183"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/students\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/183\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43429,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/students\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/183\/revisions\/43429"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/students\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/15"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/students\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=183"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/students\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=183"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}