As noted in the preamble to the 2007 UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, ‘persons with disabilities continue to face barriers in their participation as equal members of society and violations of their human rights in all parts of the world’. In this paper we present nationally representative data on the nature and level of disadvantage faced by young Australians with a long‑term health condition, impairment or disability in 2001 and 2006. The results suggest that: (1) when compared with their non‑disabled peers, young Australians with a long‑term health condition, impairment or disability face pervasive social and material hardship and have lower subjective well‑being; (2) no progress was made between 2001 and 2006 in equalising the opportunities of young Australians with a long‑term health condition, impairment or disability; (3) lower subjective well‑being is not inherently associated with disability, but is contingent on the experience of social exclusion and material hardship.