Autism in Australia, 2022: key findings in plain language

This fact sheet includes key information about autism from the 2022 Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers (SDAC). The Australian Bureau of Statistics carried out the survey.

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Autism is a lifelong condition that can affect how people communicate, behave and relate to other people. 

We acknowledge that people use different words to talk about Autism. In this fact sheet, we use ‘Autism’ to refer to the Autism spectrum. We also use identity-first language. This includes ‘Autistic person’ and ‘Autistic people’.

We found that:

• there were 290,900 Autistic Australians in 2022. This is 1.1% of the population – up from 0.8% in 2018
• the rate of Autism was higher for males (1.6%) than females (0.7%)
• the rate of Autism decreased with age
• 3.1% of people who were under 25 years had Autism
• 0.3% of people who were 25 years or older had Autism.

We found that:

• almost three-quarters (73%) of Autistic people had a profound or severe disability in 2022
• 84% of Autistic people needed support with at least one everyday activity. 

In the survey, a disability is any condition that:

• limits, restricts or affects everyday activities

and

• lasts, or is likely to last, for at least 6 months.

People with profound disability are people who have the greatest need for help. This means they can’t do at least one core activity, or always need help with at least one core activity. Core activities include moving around, self-care and communication. 

People with severe disability sometimes need help with at least one core activity.

Among Autistic people who were 15 years or older and living in households, we found that:

• 45.1% had completed year 12
• 5.2% had a Bachelor degree or higher level of education.

We also found that almost all Autistic people who were 5 to 20 years old and going to school needed some form of support to go to school or to study. For example, time off school or special equipment. This was 97.3% of this population.

In the survey, households are private homes and self-care units in retirement villages. 

Among Autistic people who were 15 to 64 years old and living in households, we found that:

• 50.2% had a job or were looking for work. This is up from 37.9% in 2018
• 42.2% had a job. This is up from 27.3% in 2018.