Disability, Ageing and Carers, Australia: Summary of Findings methodology

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 All persons (a): 24,667,300 (100%), made up of:

• All persons without disability: 20,300,600 (82.3%), comprising Persons without disability with a long term health condition: 5,458,300 (22.1%) and Persons without disability without a long term health condition: 14,843,300 (60.2%)
• All persons with disability: 4,367,200 (17.7%), comprising Persons with disability without specific limitations or restrictions: 509,800 (2.1%) and Persons with disability with specific limitations or restrictions: 3,858,800 (15.6%). This Persons with disability with specific limitations or restrictions group (3,858,800 (15.6%)) comprises Persons with disability with schooling or employment restrictions only(b): 338,300 (1.4%) and Persons with disability with core activity limitation: 3,520,300 (14.3%). This Persons with disability with core activity limitation group (3,520,300 (14.3%)) comprises Persons with disability with profound core limitation: 780,200 (3.2%) and Persons with disability with severe core limitation: 632,900 (2.6%) and Persons with disability with moderate core limitation: 601,400 (2.4%) and Persons with disability with mild core limitation: 1,507,400 (6.1%). The Persons with disability with profound core limitation group (780,200 (3.2%)) comprises those living in households (c): 613,400 (2.5%) and those living in cared-accommodation: 165,600 (0.7%). The Persons with disability with severe core limitation group (632,900 (2.6%)) comprises those living in households: 615,200 (2.5%), and those living in cared-accommodation: 17,000 (0.1%). The Persons with disability with moderate core limitation group (601,400 (2.4%)) comprises those living in households: 599,600 (2.4%) and those living in cared-accommodation: 1,800 (0.0%). The Persons with disability with mild core limitation group (1,507,400 (6.1%)) comprises those living in households: 1,504,200 (6.1%) and those living in cared-accommodation: 1,900 (0.0%). 
   

Note:

• Estimates have been rounded to the nearest one hundred persons 
• Due to rounding the sum of subtotals may not equal totals 
• Derived from Table 3.1
   

1. For more information on the terms used, refer to the Glossary and appendices associated with this publication 
2. Excludes people with disability who have both a core activity limitation and a schooling or employment restriction
3. 'Living in households’ comprises all private dwellings

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 All persons living in households (a): 24,472,300 (100%) made up of:

• Persons aged less than 15 years (b):4,660,800 (19.0%), comprising Not a carer: 4,612,000 (18.8%) and Carer: 46,300 (0.2%). This Carer group (46,300 (0.2%)) comprises those With disability: 9,300 (0.0%) and those Without disability: 37,300 (0.2%).
• Persons aged 15 years and over: 19,811,000 (81%), comprising Not a carer: 17,216,500 (70.4%) and Carer: 2,596,700 (10.6%). This Carer group (2,596,700 (10.6%)) comprises Primary Carer: 861,600 (3.5%) and Not a primary carer: 1,736,500 (7.1%). This Primary Carer group (861,600 (3.5%)) comprises those With disability: 322,600 (1.3%) and those Without disability: 537,600 (2.2%). This Not a primary carer group (1,736,500 (7.1%)) comprises those With disability: 518,600 (2.1%) and those Without disability: 1,217,000 (5.0%). 
   

Note:

• estimates have been rounded to the nearest one hundred persons 
• due to rounding the sum of subtotals may not equal totals 
• derived from Table 30.1
   

1. 'Living in households’ comprises all private dwellings 
2. In this survey, a person aged under 15 years cannot be considered a primary carer. For a complete definition of primary carers, refer to the Carers appendix associated with this publication.

In this survey, limitations relate to core activities while restrictions refer to schooling and employment. The limitations or restrictions are divided into activities and each activity is broken into tasks.

To identify whether a person has a particular type of limitation or restriction, the survey collects information on their:

• need for assistance
• difficulty experienced and
• use of aids or equipment
   

to perform selected tasks.

This table shows the tasks associated with each type of limitation and restriction.

Disabilities can be broadly grouped depending on whether they relate to functioning of the mind or the senses, or to anatomy or physiology. Disability groups may refer to a single disability or a number of broadly similar disabilities. The SDAC module relating to disability groups was designed to identify six separate groups based on the particular type of disability identified.

These groups are:

• loss of sight (not corrected by glasses or contact lenses)
• loss of hearing where communication is restricted or an aid is used
• speech difficulties
   

• difficulty learning or understanding things
   

• shortness of breath or breathing difficulties that restrict everyday activities
• blackouts, seizures or loss of consciousness
• chronic or recurrent pain or discomfort that restricts everyday activities
• incomplete use of arms or fingers
• difficulty gripping or holding things
• incomplete use of feet or legs
• restriction in physical activities or in doing physical work
• disfigurement or deformity
   

• nervous or emotional condition that restricts everyday activities
• mental illness or condition requiring help or supervision
• memory problems or periods of confusion that restrict everyday activities
• social or behavioural difficulties that restrict everyday activities
   

• head injury, stroke or other acquired brain injury with long-term effects that restrict everyday activities
   

• receiving treatment or medication for any other long-term conditions or ailments and still restricted in everyday activities
• any other long-term conditions resulting in a restriction in everyday activities
   

In the disability groups module people could be counted more than once if they had disabilities from more than one disability group. For example, a person with hearing loss and speech difficulties would only be counted once, in the sensory disability group. However, a person with hearing loss and a physical deformity would be counted twice; once in the sensory disability group and once in the physical disability group. This means that the sum of the components of data from the disability groups module does not add to the total persons with disability.

Each of the disability types listed above is a separate module in the SDAC questionnaire. The questionnaire has more detail on how conditions have been classified.

A carer is a person who provides any informal assistance (help or supervision) to people with disability or older people (aged 65 years and over). The assistance must be ongoing, or likely to be ongoing, for at least six months.

Where the carer lives in the same household as the person they care for, the assistance is for one or more of the following activities:

Core activities:

• Mobility
• Self-care
• Communication.
   

Non-core activities:

• Health care
• Cognitive or emotional tasks
• Household chores
• Property maintenance
• Meal preparation
• Reading or writing
• Transport.
   

Carers do not have to live in the same household as the person they care for. Assistance to a person living in a different household to the carer relates to everyday activities, without specific information on the type of activity.

If a person provides formal assistance (on a regular paid basis, usually associated with an organisation) they are not considered to be carers in this survey.

Informal assistance is unpaid, with the following exceptions:

• small amounts of money, or payments for expenses incurred, can be paid to the carer by the person they care for
• any assistance received from family or friends living in the same household is considered to be informal care, whether or not the carer is paid
• if the carer is receiving a carer payment or other allowances, they are still regarded as providing informal care.
   

People who care for young children are only considered carers if their assistance is needed because of a long-term health condition or disability, not because of the child's age.

If there are multiple people caring for the same person, the survey distinguishes between primary and other carers. A person can be both a primary carer and an other carer. There is more information on types of carers below.

If a person cares for someone with a long term health condition only (who does not have a disability and is under 65) they are not considered to be a carer.

The survey has a series of screening questions. A carer can be identified by:

• any responsible adult who answers broad questions about household members in the disability identification section 
• the person receiving care in their personal interview.
   

In this survey a primary carer is a person who:

• is aged 15 years or over; and 
• provides the most informal assistance to a person with one or more disabilities, with one or more of the core activities of mobility, self-care or communication.
   

 Primary carers and the people they care for may live in different households, but information about primary carers was only collected if they lived in households in the SDAC sample.

 Where carers and the people they care for lived in the same household the survey collected information from both. Occasionally carers and the person they cared for gave inconsistent responses. For example some carers considered themselves a primary carer but the person they cared for indicated that they did not require a primary carer as they did not have a core activity limitation. This inconsistency means that in a small number of cases, some primary carers will be reported as providing support to a person with non-core limitations only.  

An unconfirmed primary carer is a person:

• identified as a carer by any responsible adult or the person they care for 
• whose primary carer status could not be confirmed as they were unavailable for a personal interview.
   

An ‘other carer’ is a carer who meets any of these conditions. They:

• are aged under 15 years; or 
• provide informal assistance with one or more of the core activity tasks but not the most assistance; or 
• only assist with non-core activities.
   

 This includes unconfirmed primary carers.

A fall-back carer is someone the primary carer identifies as being able to take over their care responsibilities if the primary carer is unavailable. A fall-back carer cannot be a formal provider.

This term has not been used since the 2003 survey. Previously, a principal carer was only identified by the person receiving care, as being the person who provided them with the most care, and not by the initially responding responsible adult. These carers were not asked to confirm their carer status. From 2009, personal interviews were conducted to confirm whether they were a primary carer or not. 

This table shows the differences between primary and other types of carers. 

The survey asked respondents about their two main formal providers of assistance for ten broad areas of activity:

• Core activities
   
  • Mobility
  • Self-care
  • Communication
     
• Non-core activities
   
  • Health care
  • Cognitive or emotional tasks
  • Household chores
  • Property maintenance
  • Meal preparation
  • Reading or writing
  • Transport
     

Respondents were provided with a pick list of assistance providers, which differed depending on the activity. Some care providers were not listed for particular activities as it would not be common for them to assist with those activities. The table below shows which formal providers are available for each broad activity.

If the respondent reported an assistance provider that was not a category on the relevant pick list, it was coded to 'Other formal provider'. Where there was a large number of a certain type of provider listed as 'Other formal provider' for a particular activity area, these were grouped together and an output category was created.

For example, when a respondent reported that a nurse was their provider of assistance for Mobility, this was coded as 'Nurse' (which is an available category on the pick list for Mobility). However, if a respondent reported that a Nurse assisted them with Cognitive or emotional tasks, this was coded as 'Other formal provider', as it was not a category for Cognitive or emotional tasks.

Respondents could nominate a maximum of two providers of care for each of the 10 broad areas of activity. If a person received assistance from three or more different formal providers, they were asked to pick the two main providers.

These collection methods need to be considered when analysing data on formal assistance providers for the ten broad areas of activity. Care should then be taken when analysing all activities in which a type of assistance provider might be involved.

1 Data cubes 2018 SDAC SA2 modelled estimates and 2018 SDAC LGA modelled estimates contain modelled estimates of disability and carers for small areas based on data from the 2018 Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers (SDAC), 2016 Australian Census of Population and Housing, the Estimated Resident Population (ERP) as at 30 June 2018, and aggregated administrative data sourced from the Public Health Information Development Unit (PHIDU), February 2020 release. The ABS has released the following series of interactive maps based on these 2018 modelled estimates, by Statistical Area Level 2 (SA2): Persons with Disability and Unpaid Carers.

2 These modelled estimates of characteristics associated with disability and carers at a small area level for the Australian population were produced by the ABS. This core set of tables was also produced for the 2015 SDAC and is similar to consultancies that the ABS undertook in 2015 (based on 2012 SDAC data) and 2010 (based on 2009 SDAC data), which produced a wider set of modelled small area estimates.

3 The modelled estimates for small areas can be interpreted as the expected value for a typical area in Australia with the same characteristics. There will be differences between the disability or carer characteristic prediction and the actual number of people with that characteristic not accounted for in the measure of accuracy. One explanation for this is that significant local information about particular small areas exists, but has not been included in the model as it is not available to the ABS. It is important to consider local area knowledge, such as information on disability or carer related facilities and businesses in the area, when interpreting the modelled estimates for that region.

4 Used in conjunction with an understanding of local area characteristics and their reliability limitations, modelled estimates for small areas can assist in making decisions on issues, such as the requirement for services, relevant to disability and carer populations at the small area level. Care needs to be taken to ensure decisions are not based on inaccurate estimates. It is recommended that the provided modelled estimates for small areas are aggregated to larger regions (such as regional planning regions) as this will improve the accuracy of the estimates upon which decisions may be based.

5 The modelled estimates for small areas are applicable to private dwellings in scope of the SDAC 2018 private dwellings collection. Data for special dwellings (approximately 17.7% of the total 2018 SDAC sample) was excluded. Please refer to the Notes tab within each spreadsheet for the population group each table of data relates to.

6 Modelled estimates for small areas have been produced at the Statistical Area Level 2 (SA2) and Local Government Area (LGA) level for all jurisdictions.

7 SA2s are defined within the main structure of the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS). They are medium-sized general purpose areas built up from whole Statistical Areas Level 1 (SA1s). Their purpose is to represent a community that interacts together socially and economically.

8 LGAs are not defined or maintained within the main structure of the ASGS. They are an ABS approximation of gazetted local government boundaries as defined by each State and Territory Local Government Department. For more detailed information, the 2018 SDAC Small Area Estimates Explanatory Notes are available on request from disability.statistics@abs.gov.au.

9 To produce accurate and detailed estimates of disability and carer characteristics at the small area level, models are created using detailed SDAC data, in conjunction with Census data, and ERP data to produce modelled estimates for small areas. The modelling method assumes that the relationships observed at the higher geographic level (as available in SDAC) between the characteristics of interest and known characteristics also hold at the small area level.

10 The errors associated with the modelled estimates for small areas fall into four categories. Sampling error, non-sampling error, modelling error, and prediction error. The relative root mean squared error (RRMSE) provides an indication of the deviation of the modelled estimate from the true value. The RRMSE is primarily a measure of prediction error, but in its calculation it also inherits some aspects of modelling and sampling error.

11 Estimates have been confidentialised to ensure they meet ABS requirements for confidentiality.

12 Because SDAC population benchmarks have been used in the modelling process, the modelled estimates provided here can also be considered perturbed. Users should note that due to perturbation, the summing, or aggregation, of the modelled estimates to derive a total (e.g. at state level) will not necessarily give the same result as the published total. In these cases, the difference between the sum of modelled estimates for small areas and the published total will be small and will not impact the overall information value of the aggregate total or any individual component.

13 Aggregation of the modelled estimates of small areas to capital city or state/territory level is not recommended. If you require capital city or state/territory level data for the characteristics of disability and carers provided here at small area level, the appropriate source is published survey data (and/or use of the TableBuilder product).

14 The tables of modelled estimates include a 'population' count created solely for analysis of the small area data; these are not official ABS population statistics.

15 Detailed Explanatory Notes are available for the 2018 SDAC Modelled Estimates for Small Areas Explanatory Notes. These can be obtained on request from disability.statistics@abs.gov.au. We recommend reading the full content of these explanatory notes to ensure the best and most appropriate usage of the data.

Refers to whether a person has someone outside their household that would be prepared to provide support in a time of crisis. Support could be in the form of emotional, physical or financial help. Potential sources of support could be family members, friends, neighbours, work colleagues and various community, government and professional organisations.

A carer is said to accompany their recipient of care when they attend an activity together. This excludes occasions when the recipient of care is only driven to or from the activity by the carer.

An activity comprises one or more tasks. See Limitations and Restrictions (Appendix) for a summary table of restrictions, activities and tasks. In this survey, tasks have been grouped into the following ten activities:

• cognition or emotion
• communication
• health care
• household chores
• meal preparation
• mobility
• property maintenance
• reading or writing
• self-care
• transport
   

The Address Register is a comprehensive list of all physical addresses in Australia. The basis of the AR is the quarterly Geo-coded National Address File (G-NAF) provided by PSMA Australia, which is supplemented with information from other available address data sources such as Google Earth and Street view and field work by ABS Officers, including ABS canvassing officers.

The age of a person on their last birthday.

An age standardised rate is calculated to remove the effects of different age structures when comparing populations over time. A standard age composition is used, in this case the age composition of the estimated resident population of Australia at 30 June 2001. An age standardised rate is that which would have prevailed if the actual population had the standard age composition. Age-specific disability rates are multiplied by the standard population for each age group. The results are added and the sum calculated as a percentage of the standard population total to give the age standardised percentage rate.

Refers to any aids, equipment or other devices used by a person with one or more disabilities to assist them with performing tasks, but does not include help provided by another person or an organisation.

The Any Responsible Adult (ARA), or proxy, method of interviewing is used in a number of ABS household surveys as an alternative to personal interviewing. This involves obtaining information about all the persons in a selected household who are in scope of the survey, from the first responsible adult with whom the interviewer makes contact (rather than speaking to each individual personally). The method is only used for collecting information on topics where other members of the household are likely to be able to answer the question. If the ARA is unable to supply all of the details for another individual in the household, a personal interview is conducted with that particular individual.

Includes help that is being received, as well as help that may be needed, but not being received, in common activities of daily life such as showering or dressing, moving around, housework and gardening, or using transport. The help or assistance must be because of the person's disability, long-term health condition or old age.

Includes applications that can turn a smart phone or tablet into a communication aid to help with any of the following:

• Hearing: by enabling a phone to be used as a hearing aid
• Speech: by creating speech for a person who is unable to speak
• Vision: by audibly stating what can be seen through the camera on a device
   

A person is considered to have attended a sporting event as a spectator if they have deliberately been to watch a sporting match or competition in Australia, or overseas, regardless of whether they paid to do so. This excludes attendances that were incidental, such as visiting a park or school without knowing a sporting event was underway.

The ASCED is a national standard classification which includes all sectors of the Australian education system, that is, schools, vocational education and training, and higher education. From 2001, ASCED replaced a number of classifications used in administrative and statistical systems, including the ABS Classification of Qualifications (ABSCQ). The ASCED comprises of two classifications: Level of education and Field of education. See Australian Standard Classification of Education (ASCED), 2001 (cat. no. 1272.0).

Not going or staying away from people or places because of one's disability. Includes all persons with disability, whether they believed they had been discriminated against or not.

See Activity.

Capital city refers to the Greater Capital City Statistical Area for each state or territory. All other regions within each state or territory are classified as 'balance of state'.

Refers to accommodation within health establishments, such as hospitals, nursing homes, aged care hostels, cared components of retirement villages, psychiatric institutions, and other 'homes', such as group homes for people with disability. The accommodation must include all meals for its occupants and provide 24-hour access to assistance for personal and/or medical needs. To be included in this survey a person must have been a resident, or expected to be a resident, of the cared-accommodation establishment for three months or more.

See Carers (Appendix).

Carer Allowance is a supplementary payment for individuals providing additional daily care or attention for an adult or child with a disability or medical condition, or for an adult who is frail, that can be paid in addition to wages or other income support payments such as Age Pension or Carer Payment.

Carer Payment provides income support if an individual is unable to support themselves through substantial paid employment, while providing care to a person with a severe disability or severe medical condition.

A person of any age who is a natural, step or foster son or daughter of a couple or lone parent, usually resident in the same household, and who does not have a child or partner of his/her own usually resident in the household.

This activity comprises the following tasks:

• making friendships, maintaining relationships, or interacting with others
• coping with feelings or emotions
• decision making or thinking through problems
• managing own behaviour
   

This activity comprises the following tasks:

• understanding family or friends
• being understood by family or friends
• understanding strangers
• being understood by strangers
   

Care that is ongoing, or likely to be ongoing, for at least six months.

A person who works without pay in an economic enterprise operated by a relative.

Core activities are communication, mobility and self-care.

Four levels of core activity limitation are determined based on whether a person needs help, has difficulty, or uses aids or equipment with any of the core activities (mobility, self-care and communication). A person's overall level of core activity limitation is determined by their highest level of limitation in these activities.

The four levels of limitation are:

• profound - the person is unable to do, or always needs help with, a core activity task
• severe - the person:
  • sometimes needs help with a core activity task, and/or
  • has difficulty understanding or being understood by family or friends, or
  • can communicate more easily using sign language or other non-spoken forms of communication
     
• moderate - the person needs no help, but has difficulty with a core activity task
• mild - the person needs no help and has no difficulty with any of the core activity tasks, but:
  • uses aids or equipment for core tasks, or has one or more of the following limitations
  • cannot easily walk 200 metres
  • cannot walk up and down stairs without a handrail
  • cannot easily bend to pick up an object from the floor
  • cannot use public transport
  • can use public transport, but needs help or supervision
  • needs no help or supervision, but has difficulty using public transport
     

Country of birth is classified to the Standard Australian Classification of Countries (SACC), 2016 (cat. no. 1269.0).

Groupings that result from ranking all households or people in the population in ascending order according to some characteristic, such as their household income, and then dividing the population into ten equal groups, each comprising of approximately 10% of the estimated population.

A specialist in the field of oral hygiene. This includes dentists, dental hygienists and dental specialists such as periodontists, orthodontists, and oral maxillofacial surgeons.

All persons aged under 15 years; and people aged 15-24 years who are full-time students, have a parent in the household and do not have a partner or child of their own in the household.

The difficulty a respondent experiences in undertaking or completing an activity or task is up to their own interpretation. A person might consider themselves to have difficulty with an activity or task if it takes them longer to complete than other people of the same age, causes pain or discomfort, or is harder for them to do because of their disability or old age.

In the context of health experience, the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) defines disability as an umbrella term for impairments, activity limitations and participation restrictions. It denotes the negative aspects of the interaction between an individual (with a health condition) and that individual's contextual factors (environment and personal factors).

In this survey, a person has a disability if they report they have a limitation, restriction or impairment, which has lasted, or is likely to last, for at least six months and restricts everyday activities. This includes:

• loss of sight (not corrected by glasses or contact lenses)
• loss of hearing where communication is restricted, or an aid to assist with, or substitute for, hearing is used
• speech difficulties
• shortness of breath or breathing difficulties causing restriction
• chronic or recurrent pain or discomfort causing restriction
• blackouts, seizures, or loss of consciousness
• difficulty learning or understanding
• incomplete use of arms or fingers
• difficulty gripping or holding things
• incomplete use of feet or legs
• nervous or emotional condition causing restriction
• restriction in physical activities or in doing physical work
• disfigurement or deformity
• mental illness or condition requiring help or supervision
• memory problems or periods of confusion causing restriction
• social or behavioural difficulties causing restriction
• long-term effects of head injury, stroke or other acquired brain injury causing restriction
• receiving treatment or medication for any other long-term conditions or ailments and still being restricted
• any other long-term conditions resulting in a restriction
   

See Disability groups (Appendix).

The proportion of people with reported disability, in any given population or sub-population (e.g. age group).

Any application that can enable a smart phone or tablet to be used as a mobility aid. For example, an 'app' that assists people plan journeys by providing information about buildings without ramps or traffic signals without audible signals. Navigation apps such as Google Maps are excluded.

The level of specific limitation or restriction experienced by persons with disability. This is determined by the amount of difficulty experienced, the level of assistance needed from another person, or the use of an aid to undertake a particular core activity and/or to participate in education or employment activities.

Refers to persons who felt they had been unfairly considered or treated due to their disability.

Includes physical assistance for dressing or undressing activities, such as doing up buttons or zips, putting on socks and shoes, tying shoelaces, etc., including before or after showering or bathing. It also includes advising on appropriate clothing.

Includes aids that are used to assist in the dressing process such as zip pullers, button hooks and tongs for pulling on clothes.

This includes the physical aspects of eating, as well as supervising to ensure the food is eaten and nothing harmful is placed in the mouth (e.g. bones) and any washing or clothing adjustments that are needed after eating or feeding. The physical aspects of eating include being seated at the table, serving food, cutting food into pieces and feeding.

Includes any special crockery or cutlery that facilitates eating.

People who reported that they had worked in a job, business or farm during the reference week (the full week prior to the date of interview); or that they had a job in the reference week, but were not at work.

A person who works for a public or private employer and receives remuneration in wages, salary, a retainer fee from their employer while working on a commission basis, tips, piece rates, or payment in kind, or a person who operates their own incorporated enterprise with or without hiring employees. In this publication, employee relates to his/her main job.

A person who operates his or her own unincorporated economic enterprise or engages independently in a profession or trade, and hires one or more employees.

An employment restriction is determined for persons with one or more disabilities if, because of their disability, they meet one or more of the following:

• are permanently unable to work
• are restricted in the type of work they can or could do
• need or would need at least one day a week off work on average
• are restricted in the number of hours they can or could work
• require or would require an employer to provide special equipment, modify the work environment or make special arrangements
• require assistance from a disability job placement program or agency
• need or would need to be given ongoing assistance or supervision
• would find it difficult to change jobs or get a better job

This information was collected for persons aged 15 years or more with one or more disabilities, living in households.

Refers to care that is only provided during episodes where the condition of the main/only recipient deteriorates, that is, for conditions where the main/only recipient suffers attacks or relapses at intervals (e.g. episodes of schizophrenia, epilepsy, etc.). During these episodes the care provided might be continuous; however, the type of care is classified as episodic as it is not provided on an ongoing basis.

There are economic advantages associated with living with others, because household resources, especially housing, can be shared. Equivalising adjusts actual income to take into account the different size and composition of households. Adjustments are made using an equivalence scale. The scale used to calculate equivalised income is the 'modified OECD' equivalence scale. A factor is built up by allocating points to each person in a household. Taking the first adult in the household as having a weight of 1 point, each additional person who is 15 years or older is allocated 0.5 points, and each child under the age of 15 is allocated 0.3 points. The equivalence factor is the sum of the equivalence points allocated to the household members. Equivalised household income can be derived by dividing total household income by the equivalence factor.

See cared-accommodation.

See Carers (Appendix).

A family is defined as two or more persons, one of whom is at least 15 years of age, who are related by blood, marriage (registered or de facto), adoption, step or fostering, and who are usually resident in the same household. The basis of a family is formed by identifying the presence of either a couple relationship, lone parent-child relationship or other blood relationship. Some households will contain more than one family.

How safe a person feels in various circumstances (i.e. when home alone during the day, when home alone after dark, or when walking alone through their local area after dark) was reported on a five point scale, from very safe to very unsafe. Never home alone or Never walked alone after dark were provided as possible response categories.

Assistance provided to help a person manage their money, including activities such as keeping track of expenses and paying bills.

Help provided to persons with disability or persons aged 65 years or over by:

• organisations or individuals representing organisations (whether profit making or non-profit making, government or private); or
• other persons (excluding family, friends or neighbours as described in Informal assistance/providers), on a regular, paid basis, who are not associated with any organisation
   

Employed persons who usually worked 35 hours or more a week (in all jobs) and those who, although usually working less than 35 hours a week, worked 35 hours or more during the reference week.

A government organisation is controlled by the Federal or state government or by a local authority, such as a council or shire. Any service provided by an employee of a government organisation, such as a public hospital, is considered to be government organised.

A household consisting of two or more unrelated people where all persons are aged 15 years and over. There is no reported couple relationships, parent-child relationships or other blood relationships in these households.

This activity comprises:

• foot care
• taking medication or administering injections
• dressing wounds
• using medical equipment and
• manipulating muscles or limbs
   

See Assistance.

This includes aids such as digitised or synthesised speech output systems, or 'apps' on mobile devices.

This includes aids such as talking word processors, special computer software and printout systems, or 'apps' on mobile devices.

Highest educational attainment identifies the highest achievement a person has attained in any area of study. It is a ranking of qualifications and other educational attainments regardless of the particular area of study or the type of institution at which the study was undertaken. Highest educational attainment is based on the Australian Standard Classification of Education (ASCED), 2001 (cat. no. 1272.0).

A hospital admission is the formal acceptance by a hospital or other in-patient health care facility of a patient who is to be provided with a room and continuous nursing service. This includes respondents who have been to a hospital emergency department and have also been admitted to hospital.

Any time a person went to an emergency department for their own health, whether it was within normal GP practising hours or after hours.

Hours worked was only collected for people who were employed during the reference period. It refers to the number of hours usually worked in all jobs.

A group of two or more related or unrelated people who usually reside in the same dwelling and who make common provision for food and other essentials for living; or a person living in a dwelling who makes provision for his or her own food and other essentials for living without combining with any other person. Thus a household may consist of:

• one person
• one family
• one family and related individual(s)
• related families with or without unrelated individual(s)
• unrelated families with or without unrelated individual(s)
• unrelated individuals

This comprises of people living in private dwellings and self-care retirement units in retirement villages.

This activity comprises of a single task 'household chores', examples of which are:

• laundry
• vacuuming
• dusting
   

In the context of health experience, an impairment is defined by the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) as a loss or abnormality in body structure or physiological function (including mental functions). Abnormality is used to refer to a significant variation from established statistical norms.

Examples of an impairment are loss of sight or loss of a limb, disfigurement or deformity, impairment of mood or emotion, impairments of speech, hallucinations, loss of consciousness, and any other lack of function of body organs.

Gross current usual (weekly equivalent) cash receipts that are of a regular and recurring nature, and accrue to individual household members at annual or more frequent intervals, from employment, own business, the lending of assets and transfers from Government, private organisations and other households.

One person or a group of related persons within a household, whose command over income is assumed to be shared. Income sharing is assumed to take place within married (registered or de facto) couples, and between parents and dependent children. Some households and families will contain more than one income unit.

Include items such as incontinence pads, urinary appliances, incontinence briefs, waterproof pants and specialised bed linen.

Industry has been classified according to the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC), 2006 (cat. no. 1292.0).

Unpaid help or supervision that is provided to persons with disability or persons aged 65 years and over. It only includes assistance that is provided because of a person's disability or because they are older. Informal assistance may be provided by family, friends or neighbours. For this survey, any assistance received from family or friends was considered to be informal assistance regardless of whether or not the provider was paid, such as through the Carer Payment or other allowances. It does not include providers whose care is privately organised (see Formal assistance/providers).

The K10 is a non-specific psychological distress scale consisting of 10 questions designed to measure levels of negative emotional states experienced by people in the four weeks prior to interview.

For any group, persons who are employed or unemployed, as defined.

A classification of the population aged 15 years or over into employed, unemployed or not in the labour force.

Four levels of communication limitation are determined based on whether a person needs help, has difficulty, or uses aids or equipment in communicating with others. A person's overall level of communication limitation is determined by their highest level of limitation in these activities.

The four levels of limitation are:

• profound - the person cannot understand or be understood at all. They always need help when communicating with family or friends and people they don't know.
• severe - the person:
  • communicates more easily with sign language or other non-spoken communication
  • sometimes needs help understanding or being understood by someone they don't know
  • sometimes needs help understanding or being understood by family or friends
  • doesn't need help, but has difficulty understanding or being understood by family or friends.
     
• moderate - the person doesn't need help, but has difficulty understanding or being understood by someone they don't know, or the interview was conducted in English with difficulty because of communication problems.
• mild - the person has no difficulty understanding or being understood by someone else, but uses a communication aid.
   

Four levels of employment restrictions are determined based on whether a person needs help, has difficulty, or uses aids or equipment in their employment. A person's overall level of employment restriction is determined by their highest level of limitation in these activities.

The four levels of restriction are:

• profound - the person's condition permanently prevents them from working
• severe - the person:
  • requires personal support
  • needs ongoing supervision or assistance
  • requires a special disability support person
  • receives assistance from a disability job placement program or agency
     
• moderate - the person is restricted in the type of job and/or the numbers of hours they can work or has difficulty in changing jobs
• mild - the person needs:
  • help from someone at work
  • special equipment
  • modifications to buildings or fittings
  • special arrangements for transport or parking
  • training
  • to be allocated different duties
     

Four levels of mobility limitation are determined based on whether a person needs help, has difficulty, or uses aids or equipment in moving around. A person's overall level of mobility limitation is determined by their highest level of limitation in these activities.

The four levels of limitation are:

• profound - the person:
  • does not get out of bed
  • does not move around the residence
  • does not leave home because of their condition
  • always needs help or supervision with:
    • moving around places away from their place of residence
    • moving about their place of residence
    • getting into or out of a bed or chair
       
• severe - the person sometimes needs help or supervision with:
  • moving around places away from their place of residence
  • moving about their place of residence
  • getting into or out of a bed or chair
     
• moderate - the person has difficulty, but doesn't need help with:
  • moving around places away from their place of residence
  • moving about their place of residence
  • getting into or out of a bed or chair
     
• mild - the person doesn't need any help and doesn't have any difficulty with moving around, but:
  • uses a mobility aid
  • cannot easily walk 200 metres or takes longer to do so than most people their age
  • cannot walk up or down stairs without using a handrail
  • cannot easily bend to pick something off the floor
  • cannot use public transport
  • can use public transport, but needs help or supervision
  • needs no help or supervision, but has difficulty using public transport
     

Three levels of non-school educational restrictions are determined based on whether a person needs help, has difficulty, or uses aids or equipment in their education. A person's overall level of non-school educational restriction is determined by their highest level of limitation in these activities.

The three levels of restriction are:

• severe - the person:
  • receives personal assistance
  • receives special tuition
  • receives assistance from a counsellor/disability support person
     
• moderate - the person:
  • often needs time off from school/institution
  • has difficulty at school/institution because of their condition(s)
  • has special assessment procedures
     
• mild - the person needs:
  • a special computer or other special equipment
  • special transport arrangements
  • special access arrangements
  • other special arrangements or support services
     

Four levels of schooling restrictions are determined based on whether a person needs help, has difficulty, or uses aids or equipment in their education. A person's overall level of schooling restriction is determined by their highest level of limitation in these activities.

The four levels of restriction are:

• profound - the person's condition prevents them from attending school
• severe - the person:
  • attends a special school or special classes
  • receives personal assistance
  • receives special tuition
  • receives assistance from a counsellor/disability support person
     
• moderate - the person:
  • often needs time off from school
  • has difficulty at school because of their condition(s)
  • has special assessment procedures
     
• mild - the person needs:
  • a special computer or other special equipment
  • special transport arrangements
  • special access arrangements
  • other special arrangements or support services
     

Four levels of self-care limitation are determined based on whether a person needs help, has difficulty, or uses aids or equipment in looking after themselves. A person's overall level of self-care limitation is determined by their highest level of limitation in these activities.

The four levels of limitation are:

• profound - the person always needs help or supervision with:
  • bathing or showering
  • dressing
  • eating
  • toileting
  • managing bladder or bowel control
     
• severe - the person sometimes needs help or supervision with:
  • bathing or showering
  • dressing
  • eating
  • toileting
  • managing bladder or bowel control
     
• moderate - the person has difficulty, but doesn't need help with:
  • bathing or showering
  • dressing
  • eating
  • toileting
  • managing bladder or bowel control
     
• mild - the person:
  • doesn't need any help and doesn't have any difficulty with self-care, but uses an aid
  • does not use the toilet, but does not have difficulty controlling their bladder or bowel
     

A person has a limitation if they have difficulty, need assistance from another person, or use an aid or equipment, to do a particular core activity. See Limitations and Restrictions (Appendix) for more detail.

A person is included in the 'Living in households' population if they are part of a household and reside in a private dwelling or self-care retirement village. A person living in cared-accommodation is excluded from the 'Living in households' population.

A disease or disorder that has lasted, or is likely to last, for six months or more and is current at the time of the survey. The exception to this is a periodic or episodic condition (e.g. asthma, epilepsy or schizophrenia, where people suffer attacks or relapses at irregular intervals) where the attack or relapse has occurred in the last 12 months. Conditions that had not occurred in the last 12 months because they had been controlled by medication were also included. Long-term health conditions were coded to a classification based on the World Health Organisation's International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision (ICD-10).

Non-electronic aids such as picture boards, symbol boards or large print books.

Non-electronic aids such as picture boards, symbol boards or letter/word boards.

A long-term health condition identified by a person as the one causing the most problems. Where only one long-term health condition is reported, this is recorded as the main long-term health condition.

The job in which a person usually works the most hours.

The main language spoken by a person in his/her home, on a regular basis, to communicate with other residents of the home and regular visitors to the home.

Where a primary carer is caring for more than one person, the main recipient of care is the one receiving the most help or supervision. A sole recipient is also classed as a main recipient. The assistance has to be ongoing, or likely to be ongoing, for at least six months and be provided for one or more of the core activities of communication, mobility and self-care.

Includes preparing ingredients and cooking food.

Includes items such as cutting aids, opening aids and cooking aids.

That value which divides the population into two equal parts, one half having values lower and one half having values higher than the median.

This includes items such as home ventilators or respirators, parenteral or enteral feeding devices, oxygen concentrators, heart pumps, suction pumps, apnoea monitors, nebulisers, positive airways pressure devices, insulin pumps, phototherapy equipment, blood glucose monitors, and blood pressure monitors.

Medical specialists provide services which are covered, at least in part, by Medicare (e.g. dermatologists, cardiologists, neurologists and gynaecologists). When respondents were asked if they had seen a medical specialist, this also included whether they had seen a specialist due to obtaining a referral from another specialist, as well as ongoing referrals.

See Core activity limitation.

This activity comprises the following tasks:

• getting into or out of a bed or chair
• moving about the usual place of residence
• going to or getting around a place away from the usual residence
• walking 200 metres
• walking up and down stairs without a handrail
• bending and picking up an object from the floor
• using public transport
   

See Core activity limitation.

There are a number of data items that contain multiple responses, which means that the person being interviewed was able to select one or more response categories for these items. Multiple response items are indicated on the Data Item List.

National Disability Insurance Scheme. Further information can be found here: http://www.ndis.gov.au/

A person with one or more disabilities, or aged 65 years and over, is identified as having a need for assistance with an activity if, because of their disability or age, they report that they need help or supervision with at least one of the specified tasks constituting that activity. Need is not identified if the help or supervision is required because the person has not learned, or has not been accustomed to performing that activity. The person is considered to need assistance whether or not assistance is actually received.

These include cognitive or emotional tasks, health care, meal preparation, reading or writing, household chores, property maintenance and transport.

A restriction in employment and/or schooling.

These include meal preparation, reading or writing, household chores, property maintenance and transport.

This refers to assistance relating to non-personal activities.

Non-school qualifications are awarded for educational attainments other than those of pre-primary, primary or secondary education. They include qualifications at the Post Graduate Degree level, Master Degree level, Graduate Diploma and Graduate Certificate level, Bachelor Degree level, Advanced Diploma and Diploma level, and Certificates I, II, III and IV levels. Non-school qualifications may be attained concurrently with school qualifications.

Persons who were not employed or unemployed.

Classified according to the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO), 2013 (cat. no. 1220.0).

In this survey, older person refers to a person aged 65 years and over. Information on health and well-being, internet use, social and community participation, feelings of safety and the need for and receipt of assistance for household chores, property maintenance, meal preparation, reading and writing tasks, and transport activities is available from the survey for persons aged 65 years and over, regardless of whether they have a disability or not.

Anybody with a formal structure. It may be as large as a national charity or as small as a local book club. Informal and temporary gatherings of people do not constitute an organisation or group, in this survey.

See Carers (Appendix).

This includes aids such as hearing dogs, light signals, or a teletypewriter (TTY) phone or loop.

A person who operates his or her own unincorporated economic enterprise or engages independently in a profession or trade and hires no employees.

Employed persons who usually worked less than 35 hours a week (in all jobs) and either did so during the reference week, or were not at work during the reference week.

In the context of labour force statistics, the participation rate for any group is the number of persons in the labour force (i.e. employed persons plus unemployed persons) expressed as a percentage of the population aged 15 years and over in the same group. In this publication, the population is restricted to persons aged 15 to 64 years.

A person in a couple relationship with another person usually resident in the same household. The couple relationship may be in either a registered or de facto marriage and includes same-sex couples.

These include mobility, self-care, communication, health care and cognitive or emotional tasks.

This refers to the undertaking of a physical task or action for the purpose of sport, exercise or recreation. Excludes incidental activities to get from place to place, walking or cycling out of necessity, gardening and household chores, shopping, physical activity that was done as part of work duties, and compulsory physical activity organised by a school.

See Carers (Appendix).

There are 31 PHNs which each represent a geographical area. The PHNs are independent organisations with regions closely aligned with state and territory Local Hospital Networks or equivalent. The PHNs are designed to integrate and coordinate health services and have the overarching objectives of increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of medical services and improve coordination of care. The PHNs began operation on 1 July 2015 replacing the 61 Medicare Local regions.

Any commercial business or self-employed person who provides goods or services at a market rate, in order to achieve a profit. People using the services of these organisations may be entitled to monetary assistance from a government source, such as through a rebate or concession. In these cases, we still consider that the service has been provided by a private commercial organisation.

Houses, flats, home units, garages, tents and other structures used as private places of residence at the time of the survey.

Any organisation where the business does not operate for the profit or gain of its individual members. A non-profit organisation can still make a profit, but this profit must be used to carry out its purposes and must not be distributed to owners, members or other private people. These organisations are still considered private in nature, even if they receive funding from a government source.

A self assessment by persons who speak a language other than English at home, of whether they speak English very well, well, not well, or not at all.

See Core activity limitation.

This activity includes light maintenance and gardening tasks, such as:

• changing light bulbs, tap washers
• making minor home repairs
• mowing lawns, watering, pruning shrubs, light weeding, planting
• removing rubbish
   

A proxy is a person aged 15 years and over who answers the survey questions on behalf of someone who has been selected for interview. A proxy interview may be conducted:

• when the selected person is less than 15 years of age, or
• when the selected person is aged 15-17 years and parental consent to interview them personally has not been provided, or
• due to the selected person's illness, injury or language difficulties
   

Any public dental service that is partly or fully funded by the government, including public dental services provided at a private dental clinic.

Formal certification, issued by a relevant approved body, in recognition that a person has achieved learning outcomes or competencies relevant to identified individual, professional, industry or community needs. Statements of attainment awarded for partial completion of a course of study at a particular level are excluded.

Groupings that result from ranking all households or people in the population in ascending order according to some characteristic such as their household income and then dividing the population into five equal groups, each comprising of approximately 20% of the estimated population.

This activity includes tasks such as:

• checking bills or bank statements
• writing letters
• filling in forms
   

Applicable to persons with one or more disabilities, or aged 65 years and over, who needed help or supervision with at least one of the specified tasks comprising an activity. The source of assistance may be informal or formal, but does not include assistance from the use of aids or equipment.

Person who receives help or supervision with everyday activities because of their age or disability.

Whether a person has, or has had, a registered marriage with another person. Accordingly, people are classified as either 'never married', 'married', 'widowed' or 'divorced'.

The ABS has defined Remoteness within the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS). Remoteness Areas (RAs) divide Australia into broad geographic regions that share common characteristics of remoteness for statistical purposes. There are six classes of RA in the Remoteness Structure: Major Cities of Australia, Inner Regional Australia, Outer Regional Australia, Remote Australia, Very Remote Australia and Migratory.

RAs are based on the Accessibility and Remoteness Index of Australia (ARIA) produced by the Hugo Centre for Migration and Population Research at the University of Adelaide. The Remoteness Structure is explained in detail in the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) Remoteness Structure.

A service which gives carers a short-term break by providing alternative care arrangements for elderly people, or people with disability. Respite care may be provided at home or away from home, during the day, overnight, or for longer periods of time.

A person has an education or employment restriction if he/she has difficulty participating, needs assistance from another person or uses an aid or equipment in schooling or employment. See Limitation and Restrictions (Appendix) for more detail.

A person's satisfaction is left up to their own interpretation. A person can choose from the options of: satisfied; neither satisfied or dissatisfied; or dissatisfied.

A schooling restriction is determined for persons aged 5 to 20 years who have one or more disabilities if, because of their disability, they:

• are unable to attend school
• attend a special school
• attend special classes at an ordinary school
• need at least one day a week off school on average
• have difficulty at school
   

This geographical classification aggregates Urban Centre/Localities (UCLs) on the basis of population ranges i.e. all UCLs in a State/Territory within a particular population range are combined into a single SOS. The SOS categories comprise Major Urban (represents a combination of all Urban Centres with a population of 100,000 or more), Other Urban (represents a combination of all Urban Centres with a population between 1,000 and 99,999), Bounded Locality (a combination of all Bounded Localities) and Rural Balance (the remainder of State/Territory). For more information, refer to Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS): Volume 4 - Significant Urban Areas, Urban Centres and Localities, Section of State, July 2016 (cat. no. 1270.0.55.004).

This activity comprises the following tasks:

• showering or bathing
• dressing
• eating
• toileting
• bladder or bowel control
   

Independent living units in retirement villages. Excludes aged care facilities such as nursing homes and components of retirement villages where residents do not live independently.

This includes both cases where the person didn't receive any hours and where they received some hours, but not as many as were required from the service.

See Core activity limitation.

Showering or bathing is defined as getting in and out of the shower or bath, turning on/off taps in the shower or bath, washing, drying and having a bed-bath. It excludes dressing and undressing. 

This includes items such as shower chairs, hoists, shower or bath rails and special shower fittings.

This includes all recognised sign languages. Two sign languages used in Australia are Auslan, used by people with hearing difficulties and Makaton, used by people with speech, language or learning difficulties.

The relationship status of an individual in terms of whether she or he forms a couple relationship with another person living in the same usual residence, and the nature of that relationship. A marriage exists when two people live together as husband and wife, or partners, regardless of whether the marriage is formalised through registration. Individuals are, therefore, regarded as married if they are in a de facto marriage, or if they are living with the person to whom they are registered as married. Note: married de facto also includes persons who report de facto, partner, common law husband/wife/spouse, lover, girlfriend or boyfriend.

The term 'not married', as used in this classification, means neither a registered nor a de facto marriage. This includes persons who live alone, with other family members, and those in shared accommodation.

SEIFA is a product developed especially for those interested in the assessment of the welfare of Australian communities. The ABS has developed four indexes to allow ranking of regions/areas, providing a method of determining the level of social and economic well-being in each region.

Each of the indexes summarise different aspects of the socio-economic status of the people living in those areas. The index refers to the attributes of the area (Statistical Area Level 1) in which a person lives, not to the socio-economic situation of a particular individual. The index used in this publication was compiled following the 2016 Census. For further information about the SEIFAs, see Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA) 2016 (cat. no. 2033.0.55.001).

The four indexes are:

• Index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage: includes attributes such as households with low incomes and people with a tertiary education.
• Index of relative socio-economic disadvantage: includes attributes such as low income, low educational attainment and high unemployment.
• Index of economic resources: includes attributes such as income and housing expenditure.
• Index of education and occupation: includes attributes relating to the educational and occupational characteristics of communities, like the proportion of people with a higher qualification or those employed in a skilled occupation
   

Classes held only for children with disability, which are conducted within a conventional school. This may include classes for deaf students, or for children with specific learning difficulties.

A group which is focussed around an area of mutual interest to the participants.

Someone providing personal support within the workplace, which enables someone with disability to undertake their work. This support is generally beyond the level available to employees without disability and may include help with self-care, interpreting others, or providing intensive supervision.

Car aids or modifications include - extra support handles, extra fittings to support disabled passengers, modifications to accommodate wheelchairs, modifications to appropriately restrain a disabled passenger and modifications to accommodate disabled drivers.

A limitation in core activities, or a restriction in schooling or employment. This corresponds with the concept of 'handicap' used in previous ABS publications on disability. See Limitations and Restrictions (Appendix).

Differences between population estimates are said to be statistically significant when it can be stated with 95% confidence that there is a real difference between the populations. See Technical Note - Reliability of estimates for more information.

Places where people can participate in supervised activities such as craft work, or programs that simply provide a place where people can meet others in similar situations, or just to allow them to spend some time away from home in a safe, supervised environment. These programs do not provide work, education or training.

Some examples of supervised activity programs include:

• day care programs for frail older people, often held at senior citizen clubs
• early intervention programs for children with developmental disabilities
• special activity programs for young people with disability
   

Includes being watched over or directed during a task because of a person's disability or old age. For example, people with an intellectual disability may need supervision in dressing to ensure they dress correctly, rather than help with the physical aspects of dressing.

A task is a component of an activity and represents the specific level at which information was collected.

The source of the legal right of a person to occupy a dwelling. Type of tenure may be:

• owner without a mortgage
• owner with a mortgage
• Life tenure scheme
• participant of rent/buy (or shared equity) scheme
• renter
• assists with expenses
• rent-free
• other
   

Includes the use of aids such as commodes, toilet frames, toilet chairs and any other aids, such as bedpans and urine bottles, used by people who find it difficult to move to the toilet.

Any aspect of moving in and out of the toilet, including adjusting clothes and washing hands. It also includes any aspect of using a toileting aid, such as bedpans, urine bottles, and other toileting aids.

A single task activity referring to private transport, including going to places away from the usual place of residence. Need for assistance and difficulty are defined for this activity as the need to be driven and difficulty going to places without help or supervision.

This includes people who didn't know how to arrange help and those who were unable to communicate their need for assistance.

See Carers (Appendix).

A person is considered underemployed if they:

• are employed,
• usually work 34 hours or less per week,
• would like a job with more hours, and
• are available to start work with more hours if offered a job in the next four weeks
   

In this survey, the definition of 'underemployed' excludes persons employed full-time who worked only part-time hours in the reference week for economic reasons (e.g. through being stood down or due to insufficient work available).

Persons aged 15 years and over who were not employed during the reference week, and:

• had actively looked for full-time or part-time work at any time in the four weeks up to the end of the reference week
• were available for work in the reference week
   

The unemployment rate for any group is the number of unemployed persons in that group expressed as a percentage of the labour force (i.e. employed persons plus unemployed persons) in the same group.

A person's need for assistance is unmet if they do not receive assistance, or require more assistance than is currently being received, for one or more of the activities where assistance is needed.

The term urgent was left to the respondent's interpretation. If the respondent sought clarification, interviewers were instructed to include health issues that arose suddenly and were serious (e.g. fever, headache, vomiting, unexplained rash).

The provision of unpaid help willingly undertaken in the form of time, service or skills, to an organisation or group, excluding work done overseas. Some forms of unpaid work, such as student placements or work under a Community Service Order, that were not strictly voluntary have been excluded.

For information on the institutional environment of the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), including the legislative obligations of the ABS, financing and governance arrangements, and mechanisms for scrutiny of ABS operations, please see ABS Institutional Environment.

The 2018 Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers (SDAC) collected information in order to:

• measure the prevalence of disability in Australia
• measure the need for support of older people and those with disability
• estimate the number of and provide information about people who provide care to older people and people with disabilities
• provide a demographic and socio-economic profile of people with disabilities, older people, and carers compared with the general population

For detailed information about the data items collected refer to the Data Item List on the Data downloads section.

Information from the SDAC will be used by a wide range of public and private sector agencies, in particular the Department of Health, Department of Social Services, Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, National Disability Insurance Agency, the Productivity Commission and state and territory government departments with responsibility for planning support services for older people, people with disability, and carers.

The 2018 SDAC is the ninth national survey, following similar surveys in 1981, 1988, 1993, 1998, 2003, 2009, 2012 and 2015. The SDAC was conducted in two parts: the cared-accommodation component, which ran from June to August 2018, and the household component, which ran from July 2018 to March 2019.

A summary of findings, including a broad set of tables in spreadsheet format was available on the ABS website on 24 October 2019.

Subject to standard error and confidentiality constraints, a series of tables in spreadsheet format will be produced for each state and territory and will be released in early 2020.

For individuals who wish to undertake more detailed analysis of the SDAC data, detailed microdata was released on 24 October 2019. A basic Confidentialised Unit Record File (CURF) and TableBuilder product will be released, subject to the approval of the Australian Statistician.

The 2018 SDAC was designed to provide reliable estimates at the national level and at the state level for each of the funding states (New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia).

The sample for the household component was selected at random using a multi-stage area sample of addresses from the ABS's Address Register. The sample for the cared-accommodation component was selected from in-scope health establishments from the Address Register. The sample consisted of approximately 31,000 private dwellings and 1,200 health establishments. After sample loss and non-response, the final sample achieved included approximately 21,900 private dwellings and 1,100 health establishments.

Estimates in this publication are subject to both sampling and non-sampling errors. Sampling error is the error associated with taking a sample of dwellings rather than going to all dwellings in Australia. In this publication the sampling error is measured by the relative standard error (RSE), which is the standard error expressed as a percentage of the estimate, and the margin of error (MoE), which describes the distance from the population value that the sample estimate is likely to be within for a given level of confidence. Non-sampling errors can occur in any data collection, whether based on a sample or a full count such as a census. Sources of non-sampling error include:

• non-response
• errors in reporting by respondents or recording answers by interviewers
• errors in coding or processing of data.

Every effort is made to reduce the non-sampling error by careful design and testing of questions, training interviewers, follow-up of respondents and extensive editing and quality control procedures at all stages of data processing.

Estimates, RSEs and MOEs in this publication have been assessed to ensure the confidentiality of individuals and dwellings contributing to the survey. Estimates in this publication have been randomly adjusted using the statistical process of perturbation to ensure confidentiality of respondents. In most cases, perturbation will have only a small impact on the estimate, while ensuring the information value of the published data as a whole is not impaired.

Results from the five previous household surveys on this topic were published in:

Disability, Ageing and Carers, Australia: Summary of Findings, 2015 (cat. no. 4430.0)
Disability, Ageing and Carers, Australia: Summary of Findings, 2012 (cat. no. 4430.0)
Disability, Ageing and Carers, Australia: Summary of Findings, 2009 (cat. no. 4430.0)
Disability, Ageing and Carers, Australia: Summary of Findings, 2003 (cat. no. 4430.0)
Disability, Ageing and Carers, Australia: Summary of Findings, 1998 (cat. no. 4430.0)

Data from the first three disability surveys (1981, 1988 and 1993) can be obtained by contacting the National Information and Referral Service on 1300 135 070.

Most of the content of the nine disability surveys conducted by the ABS is comparable. There are differences, however, as more recent surveys have tried to get better coverage of disability and of specific tasks and activities previously thought to be too sensitive for a population survey.

Only a small number of minor changes were made to the content between the 2018 and 2015 SDAC.

For further information on the comparability of data items between SDAC 2015 and 2018 and new 2018 data items see the 2018 SDAC Data Item List.

This publication contains tables and a summary of findings to assist with the interpretation of the results of the survey. Detailed Methodology, a Technical Note on Reliability of Estimates and a Glossary are also included, providing information on the terminology, classifications and other technical aspects associated with these statistics.

Estimates and associated RSEs and MoEs for proportions are available in Excel spreadsheets, which can be accessed from the Data downloads section. Subject to standard error and confidentiality constraints, a series of tables will be produced for each state and territory. These tables will be available from the ABS website in early 2020.

Detailed microdata was released on the ABS website on 24 October 2019. It is expected that a TableBuilder and a basic CURF will be produced from the SDAC, subject to the approval of the Australian Statistician. Organisations will be able to register for access to the basic CURF in early 2020. For further details, refer to the Microdata Entry Page on the ABS website.

Special tabulations of SDAC data are available on request for a fee. Tabulations can be produced from the survey subject to confidentiality and sampling variability constraints.