International Day of People with Disability (Media Release)

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MEDIA RELEASE
3 December 2015
Embargoed: 11.30 am (Canberra time)
139/2015

International Day of People with Disability

Thursday 3 December is International Day of People with Disability. To mark this day, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) is highlighting its data about people with disability.

“Around one in five (18.5 per cent) people in Australia had a disability in 2012, with 1.4 million people having a profound or severe limitation affecting their mobility, self-care or communication," said Louise Gates from the ABS.

In 2012, the disability rate among 15-24 year olds was 7.9 per cent and the rate was higher for successively older age groups, at 18.0 per cent for 45-54 year olds, and 29.0 per cent for 55-64 year olds.

“Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were more likely to be living with a disability than non-Indigenous people across the age groups,” said Ms Gates.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children aged 0-14 years were more than twice as likely as non-Indigenous children to have a disability (15.2 per cent compared with 6.6 per cent).

Just over half of people with disability aged between 15 and 64 were participating in the labour force in 2012 compared to four in every five people without disability.

ABS interviewers are currently in the field collecting information from almost 28,000 Australian households for the 2015 Survey of Disability Ageing and Carers.

"This is the eighth in a series of national disability, ageing and carers' surveys conducted by the ABS since 1981. Our surveys have developed a lot since then, but there has always been great support in the community for the collection of this important data on the life circumstances of people living with a disability and their carers. We'd like to thank all our respondents for their time and effort," said Ms Gates.

Results from this Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers will be published on the ABS website in late 2016.

Media Note:

  • When reporting ABS data you must attribute the Australian Bureau of Statistics (or the ABS) as the source.
  • Media requests and interviews - contact the ABS Communications Section on 1300 175 070.