Disability, Ageing and Carers, Australia: Summary of Findings

The SDAC collects information about long-term health conditions - diseases or disorders that have lasted, or are likely to last, for six months or more. Through a series of screening questions, the SDAC determines whether a person’s condition(s) restrict their ability to do activities. People whose long-term condition(s) limit their activities are identified as having disability.

Of the 5.5 million Australians with disability in 2022, just over three-quarters (75.3%) reported a physical condition as their main long-term health condition (the condition causing them the most problems), a decrease since 2018 (77.4%).

The most common physical conditions were diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue (27.8%, down from 29.6% in 2018), including:

• arthritis and related disorders 12.2%, similar to 2018 (12.7%)
• back problems 11.9%, similar to 2018 (12.6%).

Of all people with disability, just under one-quarter (24.7%) reported a mental or behavioural disorder as their main condition, up from 22.6% in 2018. 

The most common mental and behavioural disorders were:

• psychological development, behavioural, cognitive and emotional conditions (9.4%), such as Autism spectrum disorders and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), an increase from 6.9% in 2018
• anxiety disorders (7.4%), such as generalised anxiety, phobias, panic attacks, obsessive compulsive disorders, and post-traumatic stress disorder, an increase from 6.1% in 2018.

Those with a profound or severe limitation were more than twice as likely to report a mental or behavioural disorder (31.7%) as their main long-term health condition than those with a moderate or mild limitation (16.2%), similar to 2018 (32.6% and 14.4% respectively).

Of those with a profound or severe limitation:

• 13.7% reported psychological development, behavioural, cognitive and emotional conditions as their main long-term health condition, similar to 12.0% in 2018
• 6.5% reported anxiety disorders as their main long-term health condition, similar to 5.3% in 2018.

Those with a moderate or mild limitation were more likely to report a physical condition (83.8%) as their main long-term health condition than those with a profound or severe limitation (68.3%), similar to 2018 (85.6% and 67.4% respectively).

Of those with a moderate or mild limitation:

• 14.7% reported arthritis and related disorders as their main long-term health condition, similar to 16.0% in 2018
• 15.4% reported having back problems as their main long-term health condition, similar to 2018 (15.3%).

In 2022:

• there were 290,900 (1.1%) Australians with autism, a 41.8% increase from the 205,200 (0.8%) people with the condition in 2018
• 91.4% of people with autism had disability, similar to 2018 (88.0%)
• 73.0% of people with autism reported having a profound or severe core activity limitation.

Detailed analysis of autism in Australia will be available in a future article.

While most people (96.8%) with disability lived in households, 3.3% lived in cared-accommodation such as hospitals, nursing homes, aged care hostels, and other 'homes' such as group homes for people with disability where a person must have been a resident, or expected to be a resident, for three months or more.

The likelihood of a person with disability living in cared-accommodation increased with age and severity of limitation, however the proportion of people with disability living in cared-accommodation has decreased since 2018.

In 2022:

• one in six (16.7%) people with disability aged 80 years and over lived in cared-accommodation, compared with 2.6% of those aged 65-79 years and 0.3% of people aged 15-64 years
• 158,600 (15.0%) people with a profound limitation lived in cared-accommodation, down from 165,600 (21.2%) in 2018
• 1.8% of people with severe limitation lived in cared-accommodation, down from 2.7% in 2018.

In 2022, of people with disability aged 15 years and over living in households:

• 4.9% described their sexual orientation as gay or lesbian, bisexual or used a different term such as asexual, pansexual or queer (LGB+)
• 5.4% had served in the Australian defence force
• 9.1% primarily spoke a language other than English at home
• 28.0% were born overseas
• 26.2% lived in an area of most socio-economic disadvantage [1]
• 39.0% owned their house outright
• one in four (25.6%) lived in a lone person household.
   

There have been some increases in education attainment for people with disability. 

In 2022, among all people with disability aged 15 years and over (living in households):

• 45.3% had completed year 12 or equivalent, an increase from 33.4% in 2018
• almost one in five (19.7%) had a Bachelor degree or above, an increase from 16.1% in 2018.

The SDAC collects information about employment characteristics for people aged 15 years and over living in households. The analysis presented here is restricted to the working age population, that is, people aged 15 to 64 years.

The labour force participation rate is the number of people in the labour force (employed plus unemployed) expressed as a percentage of the total population.

In 2022, the labour force participation rate for people aged 15-64 years with disability (living in households), was 60.5%, up from 53.4% in 2018. The participation rate for people without disability was 84.9% in 2022, compared with 84.1% in 2018.

In 2022, 2.7 million people with disability living in households were of working age. Of these:

• over half (56.1%) were employed, compared with 82.3% of people without disability
• 60.4% of males were in the labour force, similar to females (60.6%)
• one-third (33.4%) were employed full-time, compared with more than half (57.9%) of those without disability.

Labour force participation declined with the severity of limitation - 64.6% of those with a moderate or mild limitation were in the labour force, compared with 37.2% of those with a profound or severe limitation.

The unemployment rate is the number of unemployed people expressed as a proportion of the total labour force.

In 2022 the unemployment rate was:

• 7.5% for people with disability, down from 10.3% in 2018, but more than twice the rate for people without disability (3.1%)
• 10.7% for people with a profound or severe limitation
• 5.0% for people with a moderate limitation
• 6.4% for people with a mild limitation.

People with disability may experience employment restrictions because of their disability, such as restrictions around the type of job or number of hours they can work.

In 2022, of the 2.7 million people of working age with disability, 62.5% had employment restrictions, down from 67.7% in 2018. 

Employment restrictions were experienced by:

• two out of five (42.0%) of those working full-time
• over two-thirds (65.5%) of those working part-time
• almost three-quarters (72.6%) of those who were unemployed
• over three-quarters (806,000 or 76.4%) of those not in the labour force; and of these, 482,400 were permanently unable to work.

Disability can affect a person’s capacity to work and earn an income. The following results relate to people of working age (15-64 years) who were living in households and whose income was reported.

In 2022, the median gross personal income of people with disability was $575 per week, compared with $1055 per week for people without disability.

People with disability were more likely to live in households with a lower equivalised gross household income [2] compared with people without disability. 

Among people with disability who reported their income in 2022:

• 44.8% lived in a household in the lowest two equivalised household income [2] quintiles, compared to 24.5% of people without disability
• 14.1% lived in a household in the highest equivalised household income [2] quintile, compared with 26.2% of people without disability.

In 2022, the most common main sources of income for people with disability were:

• wages or salary (48.9%), an increase from 37.6% in 2018
• government pensions or allowances (28.5%), down from 37.9% in 2018.

A government pension or allowance was the main source of income for:

• half (50.2%) of people with a profound or severe limitation, down from 58.6% in 2018
• one in four (24.4%) people with a moderate or mild limitation, down from 37.2% in 2018.

People with disability may be supported by informal providers of assistance, including family and friends, and/or by formal providers such as government or private organisations. They may seek assistance from one or from many providers depending on their care needs.

In 2022, of the 5.3 million Australians with disability (living in households), three in five (60.5% or 3.2 million people) needed assistance with at least one activity of daily life.

Assistance was commonly needed with:

• property maintenance (30.2%)
• health care (29.6%)
• cognitive and emotional tasks (24.8%).

Among people with disability (living in households) with a profound limitation (898,500 people), the greatest need for assistance was with:

• mobility (82.7%)
• health care (69.9%)
• self-care (60.7%).

In 2022, of the 3.2 million people with disability (living in households) who needed assistance:

• 75.7% received support from informal providers, down from 79.1% in 2018
• 57.0% received support from formal providers, similar to 58.0% in 2018.

In 2022, of the 2.4 million people with disability (living in households) who received informal assistance:

• 43.3% received assistance from their partner, an increase from 40.5% in 2018
• 32.2% received assistance from their child, an increase from 27.3% in 2018
• 26.2% received assistance from their parent, similar to 27.0% in 2018.

People with disability (living in households) needing assistance commonly received informal assistance with:

• reading or writing tasks (80.5%)
• meal preparation (78.8%)
• transportation (78.2%).

People with disability (living in households) needing assistance commonly received formal assistance with:

• health care (55.9%)
• cognitive or emotional tasks (51.7%)
• household chores (36.9%).

Among those who received informal assistance:

• 42.2% received assistance every day, down from 53.2% in 2018
• 37.0% received assistance weekly, an increase from 27.2% in 2018.

Among those who received formal assistance:

• 40.7% received assistance monthly, similar to 40.9% in 2018
• 31.4% received assistance weekly, an increase from 28.2% in 2018.

A person who needs assistance with an activity may or may not receive the help they require. 

Of the 3.2 million Australians with disability (living in households) who needed assistance in 2022:

• most (89.7%) received some help (formal and/or informal) with at least one of the activities they needed assistance with
• 49.9% had their needs fully met, down from 59.7% in 2018
• 46.9% had their needs partly met, an increase from 37.7% in 2018
• 3.5% did not have their needs for assistance met at all (similar to 2018).

Just over one-third (36.7%) of those with a profound limitation had their needs fully met, compared with 60.7% of people with a mild limitation.

Less than half (44.7%) of people with disability who described their sexual orientation as LGB+ had their needs fully met, compared to 53.4% of heterosexual people with disability.

People with disability may use aids or equipment to assist with their functioning, improve their independence and increase their participation in social and economic life. In 2022, of the 5.5 million Australians with disability, over half (54.2% or 3.0 million people) used aids or equipment because of their condition.

Use of aids or equipment varied according to a person’s living arrangements. Among all those with disability:

• 58.3% of those who lived alone used aids or equipment
• 51.1% of those who lived with others used aids or equipment
• 94.0 % of those who lived in cared-accommodation used aids or equipment.

These rates were similar in 2018.

People with disability may use a variety of aids or equipment depending on personal and environmental factors, level of impairment or activity limitation, accessibility and affordability. 

In 2022:

• 24.5% of all people with disability used communication aids, including 17.0% using a hearing aid
• 18.4% used aids for mobility tasks, including 13.6% using aids for moving around places away from home or establishments.

 For certain activities, people who lived alone (in households) were more likely to use aids or equipment:

• 18.1% of people living alone used aids or equipment for self-care, compared with 13.0% of those who lived with others
• 23.0% of people living alone used aids or equipment for mobility tasks, compared with 14.2% of those who lived with others.

Of the 5.3 million people with disability living in households, 11.4% (or 605,400 people) had made home modifications:

• 7.9% had handgrab rails
• 5.8% had bathroom, toilet or laundry modifications
• 2.8% had ramps installed.

These rates were similar in 2018.

Questions about access to buildings, venues, locations and facilities were asked of respondents who:

• were aged 5 years or more 
• had disability
• were living in households
• reported leaving home and needed assistance or had difficulty with:
  • communication with someone they do not know because of disability, or
  • mobility because of disability.

Of the 2.2 million people in this population 26.4% had difficulty accessing buildings or facilities in the last 12 months.

Common difficulties people had were:

• moving around the building e.g. stairs, internal doors, corridor widths, clutter/obstructions in walkways (15.4%)
• accessing approach areas e.g. ramps, handrails, lighting (12.0%)
• accessing car parking facilities (10.5%).

Common venues or locations where people had trouble with access were: 

• shops and banks (16.1%)
• medical facilities e.g. general practitioners, dentist, hospital (11.1%)
• the street (9.3%).

Public transport can play a critical role in social and economic life but may be difficult for those with disability. 

Of the 5.2 million people aged 5 years and over with disability (living in households):

• 74.4% were able to use all forms of public transport
• 62.5% were able to use all forms of public transport without difficulty
• 7.0% were able to use some, but not all forms of public transport
• 18.0% were not able to use any form of public transport.

Among the 1.9 million people who reported a difficulty or inability to use some or all forms of public transport due to their condition, common reasons reported were:

• issues getting in or out of the vehicle because of steps (39.5%)
• getting to stops or stations (33.0%)
• fear or anxiety (29.4%)
• lack of seating or difficulty standing (25.5%).

Disability discrimination occurs when people with disability are treated less fairly than others because of their disability.

In 2022, among people with disability aged 15 years and over (living in households):

• one in ten (9.9%) had experienced discrimination
• one in ten females (10.6%) and one in eleven males (9.1%) experienced discrimination
• almost one in five young people aged 15-34 years (17.6%) experienced discrimination, compared with 3.9% of those aged 65 years and over
• LGB+ people with disability were almost three times more likely to experience discrimination compared with heterosexual people with disability (27.7 % compared with 8.7%).

Experience of discrimination varied by severity of limitation:

• almost one in five (19.0%) people with a profound or severe limitation experienced discrimination
• 6.8% of people with a moderate or mild limitation experienced discrimination.

These rates were similar in 2018.

Of those with disability who experienced discrimination, the common sources of discrimination were:

• service and hospitality staff (38.6%)
• strangers in the street (30.3%)
• their employer (24.5%).

Of those with disability in the labour force (aged 15-64 years) who experienced discrimination, common sources of discrimination were:

• their employer (40.2%)
• work colleagues (37.7%) 

These rates were similar in 2018.

In 2022, among people with disability aged 15 years and over (living in households):

• over one-third (34.7%) avoided situations because of their disability in the previous 12 months
• females (38.2%) were more likely to avoid situations compared with males (30.7%)
• over half (51.1%) of people aged 15-34 years avoided situations, compared with 22.6% of people 65 years and over
• almost double the number of LGB+ people with disability (63.7%) avoided situations compared with heterosexual people with disability (32.7%).

Experience of discrimination varied by severity of limitation and type of disability:

• over half (52.2%) of people with a profound or severe limitation avoided situations, compared with 29.1% of those with a moderate or mild limitation
• two-thirds (65.9%) of people with psychosocial disability avoided situations, higher than any other disability group.

These rates were similar in 2018.

Of those people who avoided situations because of their disability, common situations avoided were:

• visiting family and friends (45.9%)
• visiting restaurants, cafes or bars (37.4%)
• going to shops, banks etc. (35.8%).

For the first time, the 2022 SDAC asked people about their experiences of physical abuse, emotional abuse and neglect in the 12 months prior to interview.

The new questions were asked of people who:

• were aged 18 years and over, and
• were living in households, and
• received a personal interview which was answered by them and not by someone else for them (via proxy).

It is important to note that the questions about abuse and neglect were voluntary, and up to a third of respondents chose not to answer some or all of these questions. Those who preferred not to answer the questions are still included in the total population denominator used to calculate the proportions presented in this analysis.

Of people with disability who met the above criteria:

• 11.4% said they had experienced at least one form of abuse or neglect in the last 12 months
• 3.5% said they had experienced two or more forms of abuse or neglect in the last 12 months
• 4.5% said they had experienced physical abuse
• 9.1% said they had experienced emotional abuse
• 1.5% said they had experienced neglect.

Females with disability were more likely than males to report abuse or neglect overall (12.5%, compared with 9.8%), and emotional abuse (10.4%, compared with 7.4%).

Younger people were more likely to report abuse or neglect than older people, with 17.6% of those with disability aged 18-44 years reporting abuse or neglect, compared with 5.6% of those ages 65 years and over.

In 2022, of the 4.8 million people aged 15 years and over with disability (living in households):

• 68.9% had seen family and friends who were living outside the same household at least once per week in the last 3 months
• 5.6% had not seen family or friends living outside of the same household in the last 3 months.

However, almost all people with disability aged 15 years and over had non-visit contact with family or friends living outside of the same household in the last 3 months (96.0%).

The most common frequency for non-visit contact was a few times per week (36.0%) and the most common forms were phone calls (94.5%), texting (77.3%), email (37.7%), and video calls (37.3%).

When asked about satisfaction with levels of social and community participation in the last 3 months, nearly two-thirds (63.9%) of those people aged 15 years and over with disability (living in households) reported that they were satisfied all or most of the time. More than seven in ten people (71.5%) said they leave their home as often as they would like.

The most common reasons given for those who reported they do not leave home as often as they would like were:

• because of their own disability/condition (32.9%)
• fear or anxiety (14.6%)
• cost (11.6%).

Nearly two-thirds (63.3%) of people aged 15 years and over with disability (living in households) reported that they had experienced barriers to participating in social and community activities in the last 3 months.

The most common barriers reported were:

• their own disability/condition (43.1%)
• cost (41.2%)
• COVID-19 related reasons (40.8%)
• fear or anxiety (25.5%)
• too busy or no time (23.9%)
• problems with accessibility (11.3%)
• difficulty using or obtaining transport (8.5%).

The most commonly reported types of social activities where barriers were experienced included:

• socialising in someone else’s home (43.2%)
• visiting a restaurant, café, bar or club (35.7%)
• participating in physical activity for sport, exercise or recreation (34.3%).

The number of older people in Australia has increased, and so has the prevalence of disability in this population. In the Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers (SDAC), a person is considered to have disability if they have any limitation, restriction or impairment which restricts everyday activities and has lasted, or is likely to last, for at least six months. 

In 2022, 2.3 million older Australians had disability, representing:

• 52.3% of all older Australians (an increase from 49.6% in 2018)
• 41.7% of all people with disability (a decrease from 44.5% in 2018). 

Among older Australians with disability:

• 41.4% had a profound or severe limitation, an increase from 2018 (35.4%)
• 16.0% had a moderate limitation, similar to 2018 (15.0%)
• 33.1% had a mild limitation, a decrease from 2018 (40.1%).
   

Most older people living in cared-accommodation, such as hospitals, nursing homes and aged care hostels, had disability (94.9%). Of older Australians with disability living in cared-accommodation:

• more than three-quarters (76.9%) were aged 80 years and over
• almost all (98.2%) had a profound or severe limitation.

The SDAC collects information about long-term health conditions - diseases or disorders that have lasted, or are likely to last, for six months or more. Through a series of screening questions, the SDAC determines whether a person’s condition(s) restrict their ability to do activities. People whose long-term condition(s) limit their activities are identified as having disability.

Of the 4.4 million older Australians in 2022, 86.6% reported having one or more long-term health conditions. Many older people have more than one long-term health condition at the same time, with older people in 2022 reported having an average of 3.5 long-term health conditions. This average increased with age, with persons aged 85 years and over reporting an average of 5.0 long-term health conditions.

In 2022, the most common main long-term health conditions reported by older persons, that is the condition causing them the most problems, were

• arthritis and related disorders (15.1%), more common amongst older women (19.4%) than older men (10.3%)
• back problems (9.6%)
• hypertension (8.5%). 

Long-term health conditions that increased with age were all forms of Dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease and other specific dementia types, such as dementia with Lewy bodies and frontotemporal dementia. 

In 2022, of all persons aged 65 years and over:

• 217,200 (5.0%) reported having Dementia (all forms), with over half of those (55.8%) reporting Dementia (all forms) as their main condition (the condition causing them the most problems)
• 1.6% of those aged 65 to 74 years reported having Dementia (all forms), increasing to 19.5% of those aged 85 years and over.

Most older Australians (95.9%) were living in households, such as private dwellings and self-care retirement units in retirement villages. However, 4.1% (180,900 people) were living in cared-accommodation such as hospitals, nursing homes and aged care hostels. 

Of all older Australians:

• males were more likely to be living in households (97.1%) than females (95.1%)
• females living in households were almost twice as likely to live alone (35.1%) compared with males (19.0%)
• the likelihood of living in cared-accommodation increased with age from 1.3% of people aged 65 to 79 years (similar to 1.4% in 2018) to 12.9% of people aged 80 years and over (a decrease from 14.3% in 2018)
• almost two-thirds (64.1%) of those living in cared-accommodation were females.

Many older people have accumulated assets, such as their own home, to support their retirement. 

In 2022, of all older Australians living in households:

• 68.1% owned their homes outright, down from 72.3% in 2018
• almost one in ten (9.8%) had a mortgage, similar to 2018 (10.3%)
• 12.2% rented their home, similar to 2018 (12.0%)
• 10.0% lived rent free or had other housing arrangements, such as life tenure and shared equity schemes, up from 5.4% in 2018.

In 2022, of people aged 65 years and over living in households: 

• 6.4% had served in the Australian defence force
• 10.4% primarily spoke a language other than English at home
• 34.9% were born overseas
• 23.8% lived in an area of most socio-economic disadvantage [1]
• 27.6% lived in a lone person household.

In 2022, the median gross personal income of older Australians living in households was $490 per week.

Of the 3.5 million older Australians who reported their income:

• around two-thirds (69.1%) lived in a household in the lowest two equivalised household income [2] quintiles, similar to 2018 (68.1%)
• 6.9% lived in a household in the highest equivalised household income quintile.

In 2022, the main sources of income for older Australians living in households were:

• government pensions or allowances (53.0%), a decrease from 56.9% in 2018
• superannuation, an annuity or private pension (22.3%), similar to 2018 (20.6%)
• wages or salary (11.0%), an increase from 8.2% in 2018.

Older people with disability were more likely to receive a government pension or allowance (64.9%) than older people without disability (41.1%).

In 2022, among older Australians living in households, 39.8% (1.7 million people) needed assistance with at least one personal or everyday activity. This assistance may be provided by formal, paid organisations or individuals, or it may be unpaid, informal assistance provided by family, friends or neighbours. 

Assistance was most commonly needed with:

• property maintenance (27.3%)
• health care (21.4%)
• household chores (19.1%).

Overall, older females were more likely to need help with at least one activity (45.4%) compared with older males (33.4%). 

Need for assistance increased with age, with 28.2% of those aged 65 to 74 years requiring assistance with activities, compared with 77.2% of those aged 85 years and over.

In 2022, of the 1.7 million older people (living in households) who needed assistance: 

• 71.6% received assistance from informal providers
• 57.7% received assistance from formal providers.

Older Australians (living in households) needing assistance were most likely to receive informal help from their:

• spouse/partner (36.0%)
• daughter (23.5%) or son (23.0%).

Older people (living in households) who needed assistance commonly received informal assistance with:

• reading or writing (informal assistance received by 85.3% of those needing help with this activity)
• meal preparation (84.2%)
• transport (80.9%)
• mobility (78.9%).

Formal assistance from a government service or other organisation was commonly received for activities such as:

• health care (formal assistance received by 65.1% of those needing help with this activity)
• household chores (47.6%)
• property maintenance (38.3%).

Older Australians who need assistance may not always receive the help they require. In 2022, of the 1.7 million older Australians living at home who needed assistance:

• most (89.5%) received some help (formal and/or informal) with at least one of the activities they needed assistance with, down from 92.3% in 2018
• just over half (52.3%) said their need for assistance was fully met, down from 65.9% in 2018
• 43.5% said their need was partly met, up from 31.0% in 2018
• 4.2% said their need was not met at all, similar to 3.1% in 2018.

For older Australians (living in households) who needed assistance, the tasks where assistance needs were fully met included:

• reading or writing tasks (85.1%)
• communication (80.9%)
• health care (79.8%).

Tasks where assistance needs were not met at all included:

• property maintenance (12.4%)
• household chores (8.4%)
• cognitive or emotional tasks (6.3%).

For the first time, the 2022 SDAC asked people about their experiences of physical abuse, emotional abuse and neglect in the 12 months prior to interview.

The new questions were asked of people who:

• were aged 18 years and over, and
• were living in households, and
• received a personal interview which was answered by them and not by someone else for them (via proxy).

It is important to note that the questions about abuse and neglect were voluntary, and up to a third of respondents chose not to answer some or all these questions. Those who preferred not to answer the questions are still included in the total population denominator used to calculate the proportions presented in this analysis. 

Of people aged 65 years and over who met the above criteria:

• 4.4% said they had experienced at least one form of abuse or neglect in the last 12 months
• 1.2% said they had experienced physical abuse
• 3.5% said they had experienced emotional abuse
• 0.5% said they had experienced neglect. 

Abuse or neglect was more likely to be reported by those aged 65 years and over who:

• had disability (5.6% compared with 3.1% of those without disability)
• were female (5.2% compared with 3.6% of males)
• were carers (7.2% compared with 3.7% of non-carers).

In 2022, of the 4.2 million older Australians aged 65 years and over (living in households):

• over three quarters (75.7%) had seen family and friends living outside their home at least once per week in the previous 3 months
• almost all (96.8%) had non-visit contact in the previous three months with family or friends living outside their home. 

The most common forms of non-visit contact were phone calls (97.0%), texting (69.7%) and email (43.9%).

When asked about satisfaction with levels of social and community participation in the last 3 months:

• over three-quarters (77.7%) of older Australians reported that they were satisfied all or most of the time
• 85.3% said they leave their home as often as they would like
• over a third of older Australians (36.4%) reported that they would like more contact with family or friends living outside their household.

When asked about barriers to participating in social and community activities in the last 3 months, 44.0% of older Australians reported that they had experienced them. 

The most common barriers reported by older Australians were:

• COVID-19 related reasons (53.1%)
• their own condition/old age (34.6%)
• cost (25.2%)
• they were too busy or had no time (14.2%).

When asked about support in a time of crisis from someone not living in the same household, around nine in ten (91.7%) older Australians aged 65 years or more (living in households) reported that support was available to them. This support would be provided by family (82.4%), friends (52.5%) and neighbours (33.3%).

Carers provide informal assistance, help or supervision to people with disability (and/or older people aged 65 years and over), and can have disability themselves.

In 2022, of the 3.0 million carers in Australia: 

• almost two in five (38.6%) had disability, an increase from 2018 (32.1%)
• more carers aged 65 years and over had disability (59.6%), compared with 31.5% of carers aged 15-64 years.

In 2022, 6.1% of young people aged 0-14 years with disability were carers, compared with 1.7% of people in this age group without disability.

Of the 1.2 million primary carers in 2022:

• 43.8% had disability
• a similar proportion of male and female primary carers had disability (46.9% of males and 41.3% of females)
• a similar proportion of male and female primary carers reported having a profound or severe limitation (12.4% of males and 11.2% of females).

In 2022, of primary carers, living in households: 

• 3.4% described their sexual orientation as gay or lesbian, bisexual or who used a different term such as asexual, pansexual or queer (LGB+)
• 4.4% had served in the Australian defence force
• 12.7% primarily spoke a language other than English at home
• 29.9% were born overseas
• 24.2% lived in an area of most socio-economic disadvantage [1]
• 31.8% owned their house outright
• 3.7% lived in a lone person household.
   

Undertaking a caring role can affect a person’s capacity to work and earn an income. The following results relate to carers of working age (15-64 years). 

In 2022:

• almost three quarters (74.5%) of carers were in the labour force, an increase from 2018 (70.9%)
• 70.4% were employed (compared with 79.3% of non-carers)
• 74.8% of male carers were employed, compared with 66.5% of female carers
• primary carers were less likely to be in the labour force (64.6%) than other carers (79.9%) and non-carers (82.0%).
   

For primary carers aged 15-64 years, employment status varied depending on the number of hours of care per week they were providing to their main recipient of care. Less than half (45.4%) of primary carers providing more than 40 hours of care per week were employed, compared with 71.6% of those providing less than 20 hours of care per week.

In 2022, the median gross personal income of all carers aged 15-64 years was $900 per week, 10% less than the median gross income for non-carers ($1000 per week).

Primary carers were more likely to live in households with a lower equivalised gross household income [2].

In 2022, of primary carers aged 15-64 who reported their income:

• 47.1% lived in a household in the lowest two equivalised household income [2] quintiles, almost twice that of non-carers (25.9%)
• 10.4% lived in a household in the highest equivalised household income [2] quintile, compared with 25.6% of non-carers. 
   

In 2022, the main source of income for all carers aged 15-64 years was:

• employee income (61.8%, an increase from 56.1% in 2018)
• a government pension or allowance (19.0%, a decrease from 24.1% in 2018).

Primary carers were more than twice as likely to receive a government pension or allowance as their main source of income (30.0%) than other carers (12.4%) and non-carers (7.3%).

The SDAC collects information about both the carer and recipients of care, allowing for insights into these relationships.

In 2022, primary carers most commonly provided care to: 

• a spouse or partner (37.4%)
• their child (29.1%)
• a parent (24.7%).

The relationship between primary carers and recipient of care varies with age.  

In 2022, of all primary carers:

• over half (59.5%) of those providing care to a spouse or partner were aged 65 years and over
• the majority (84.7%) of those providing care to a child were female, almost half of which were aged between 25 to 44 years (42.9%)
• over half (59.2%) of those providing care to a parent were aged between 45 and 64 years.

Most primary carers (82.7%) resided in the same household as the person for whom they provided the most care.

Of primary carers who did not live with their main recipient of care:

• seven in ten (70.2%) were caring for a parent
• almost two-thirds (63.6%) were aged between 45 and 64 years.

Carers provide informal assistance with both core and non-core activities. These activities can range from helping someone to eat or bathe, to helping them with their finances, health care or property maintenance. The following information refers to assistance provided by primary carers to their main recipient of care. 

By definition, all primary carers provide assistance with at least one of the core activities of mobility, self-care and communication. 

In 2022, of the 1.2 million primary carers in Australia:

• 68.1% provided assistance with mobility tasks, down from 74.0% in 2018
• 57.9% provided assistance with self-care, similar to 2018 (56.5%)
• 55.4% provided assistance with communication, similar to 2018 (54.1%).

In terms of the specific core activity tasks for which primary carers provided help:

• 60.5% helped the person they care for to move around when they were away from home
• 27.5% helped the person they cared for to get in or out of a bed or chair
• 42.5% assisted with dressing
• 35.6% assisted with bathing and showering
• 17.2% provided assistance with toileting activities.

Nearly all primary carers (97.5%) helped the main person they cared for with non-core activities:

• 81.3% assisted with transport, with 71.1% driving the person they cared for to places away from home
• two-thirds (66.6%) assisted with household chores.

In 2022, just over half of primary carers (51.0%) spent less than 20 hours per week caring, with:

• 30.3% spending an average of 40 hours or more per week caring
• 18.5% spending an average of 20-39 hours per week caring. 

The average time spent caring per week varied for males and females, with: 

• 33.9% of female primary carers spending an average of 40 hours or more per week caring, compared to 22.7% of male primary carers
• 58.7% of male primary carers spending an average of less than 20 hours a week caring, compared to 46.7% of female primary carers.

In 2022, the three most common reasons primary carers gave for taking on a caring role were: 

• a sense of family responsibility (64.7%)
• emotional obligation (47.4%)
• an ability to provide better care than anybody else (46.0%).

The reasons for taking on a caring role varied by the relationship a primary carer had to the main recipient of care:

• over three-quarters (81.9%) of those caring for a parent felt it was the responsibility of a family member to provide the care, compared with 62.9% of parents caring for a child and 59.3% of those caring for a spouse or partner
• over one-third (38.7%) of those caring for their child said they had no other choice, compared with 18.9% of those caring for their parent and 16.2% of those caring for a spouse or partner.

Carers may receive help to assist with their caring role. This assistance may be informal, from family and friends, or formal, from organised services. Assistance may be provided directly to the recipient of care, or may be provided to the carer, to enable them to devote more time to their caring role. 

In 2022, 37.7% of primary carers reported having received assistance from organised services in the last 6 months (similar to 38.7% in 2018). Female primary carers were more likely to report receiving assistance from organised services than male primary carers (41.3% compared with 28.2%).

Primary carers were asked about their satisfaction with the quality of assistance received from organised services. 

Of primary carers who received assistance from organised services: 

• 66.0% reported being satisfied with the quality of assistance received (down from 71.3% in 2018)
• 22.5% reported being neither satisfied nor dissatisfied (similar to 18.7% in 2018)
• 12.2% reported being dissatisfied (similar to 9.8% in 2018). 

Female primary carers were more likely to report being satisfied with the quality of services received than male primary carers (68.8% compared with 58.2%).

Primary carers were also asked about their satisfaction with the range of organised services available to assist with the caring role. 

Of primary carers who answered the satisfaction questions: 

• 31.8% reported being satisfied with the range of services available (down from 36.1% in 2018)
• 27.8% reported being neither satisfied nor dissatisfied (similar to 24.1% in 2018)
• 11.5% reported being dissatisfied (similar to 12.1% in 2018)
• 29.6% reported they did not know the range of services available (similar to 27.7% in 2018).

Respite care is a service which gives carers a short-term break by providing alternative care arrangements for elderly people, or people with disability. 

In 2022:

• 9.0% of primary carers (103,800 people) reported using respite care, a decrease from 12.0% in 2018
• the proportion of primary carers who needed respite care remained similar (14.0% in 2022 compared with 13.7% in 2018). 

The main reasons primary carers reported for not using respite care included: 

• does not need service (47.7%)
• unaware of entitlements or services (12.4%)
• recipient does not want service (11.6%).

In 2022, of the 1.2 million primary carers:

• 72.3% saw family and friends living outside their household at least once per week in the last 3 months
• female primary carers were more likely than male primary carers to see family and friends living outside their household, at least once per week (74.8% compared to 67.4%)
• male primary carers were more than twice as likely to have not seen family or friends living outside their household in the last 3 months, compared with female primary carers (7.0% compared to 2.9%).

Almost all primary carers (98.3%) had non-visit contact with family or friends living outside of the same household in the last 3 months:

• non-visit contact was most commonly a few times per week (35.1%)
• the most common forms of non-visit contact were phone calls (96.9%), texting (85.0%), video calls (47.3%) and email (43.2%).

When asked about satisfaction with their level of social and community participation in the last 3 months:

• almost two-thirds (61.2%) of primary carers reported that they were satisfied all or most of the time
• 7.2% of primary carers reported that they were not satisfied any of the time
• older primary carers reported higher levels of satisfaction, with 69.3% of those aged 65 years and over reporting they were satisfied all or most of time, compared with 57.5% of those aged 15-34 years
• 47.8% of primary carers reported that they would like more contact with family or friends living outside their household.

In 2022, when asked about their participation in social and community activities in the last 3 months:

• 69.5% of primary carers reported that they had experienced barriers to their participation when attending with the main recipient of their care
• younger primary carers were more likely than older primary carers to report experiencing barriers (76.8% of those aged 15-34 years, compared with 60.7% of those aged 65 years and over)
• the likelihood of experiencing barriers increased with the average weekly hours spent caring (61.4% of carers who spent 1-19 hours per week caring experienced barriers, compared with 80.7% of those who spent 40 hours or more per week caring).

The most common barriers to participation in social and community activities when attending with their main recipient of care were:

• the recipient’s disability/condition/old age (55.9%)
• COVID-19 related reasons (39.6%)
• caring responsibilities (35.9%)
• cost (34.4%)
• being too busy or having no time (28.4%)
• problems with accessibility (24.2%).

The most commonly reported types of social activities where barriers were experienced included:

• socialising in someone else’s home (56.9%)
• visiting a restaurant, café, bar or club (43.5%)
• participating in physical activity for sport, exercise or recreation (40.8%).