Mr Prior is one of two applicants in a case that will challenge the validity of the Commonwealth's current system of determining the wages of people with a disability, known as the Business Services Wage Assessment Tool.

Stawell Intertwine Services is the second respondent in the groundbreaking case, as the employer of Mr Prior.

Mr Prior is being represented by a pro bono legal team comprising solicitors from AED Legal Centre and a barrister from Holding Redlich.

AED Legal is a non-profit organization funded by the Commonwealth Government which has represented more than 1000 clients in cases ranging from simple workplace disagreements to Federal Court hearings relating to discrimination in employment and education.

Senior solicitor Kairsty Wilson said Mr Prior's case is about assisting people with a disability who want to work for a living, and justice for them when the system treats them unfairly?

"This is a bid to raise the appalling wages of about 20,000 employees with a disability who work in Australian Disability Enterprises (Sheltered Workshops, also formerly known as business services) across the country," Ms Wilson said.

"Currently, the gross hourly wage rate of people with a disability working in ADEs ranges from $1.71 per hour to $8.51 per hour with an average gross hourly wage rate of $3.61 per hour.

"This is a very important case which has national significance and if successful it will improve the wages and quality of life of many people with a disability," she said.

Described as a test case, the purpose of the action is to challenge the fundamental structure of BSWAT. In particular, it is to demonstrate that BSWAT was specifically set up in a way that would ensure the wages of workers with disabilities would remain low.

The Commonwealth Government introduced BSWAT in 2004, in line with its commitment to ensuring that people with disabilities received a fair day's wage for a fair day's work. The implementation of BSWAT over the last seven years has shown that BSWAT has delivered anything but fair pay to workers with disabilities.

Mr Prior has been working with AED Legal for more than two years to bring the matter to the Federal Court.

He said the case is not just about himself, but about all those who work for extremely low wages in ADEs, sometimes for as little as $2 an hour or less.