This report explores the online gaming experiences in Australia of children and young people with disability aged 8 to 17. It examines their perspectives on online gaming, the risks and benefits they experience and the safety practices they adopt. 

The world of online gaming is a digital playground for children and young people with disability, a place where they go to have fun, relax, connect and use their imaginations. Online gaming can be a great leveller for children and young people with disability – it’s a space where they have the freedom to explore – and the agency to choose – how to define themselves. 

The report finds that many of the benefits associated with gaming are more pronounced for young gamers with disability than for their peers. However, the risks of online gaming are also more prevalent. It concludes that there is more work to be done to empower young people with disability to enjoy the benefits of gaming while navigating its risks. 

Key findings

• Young gamers with disability spend more time playing games online than their peers without disability.
• Positive interactions while gaming and the perceived benefits of gaming online were more pronounced for young gamers with disability.​
• Young gamers with disability were more likely to be targets of, and to engage in, bullying-type behaviours.​
• They were more likely to encounter content and ideas associated with harm, experience online hate or grooming-type behaviour, and to receive or be asked to send nude pictures, videos or sexual information while gaming.