Is ME/CFS a disability?

Under the Commonwealth Disability Discrimination Act 1992, the term disability is defined very broadly.  This means that people you might not regard as having a disability, and people who may not even think of themselves as having a disability, are included.  

The term disability refers to:

• Physical disability
• Intellectual disability
• Psychiatric disability
• Sensory disability
• Neurological disability
• Learning disability
• Physical disfigurement
• The presence in the body of disease-causing organisms.

The purpose of this broad definition is to ensure that the law applies to every person with a disability.   The Royal Commission will consider all disabilities including those within the above definition.  ME/CFS falls across a number of the terms above, so it is considered a disability for the purposes of the Royal Commission’s inquiries.