Disability, Ageing and Carers, Australia: Summary of Findings

Labour force participation for people with disability has remained stable since 2015, in contrast to an increase in the participation rate for people without disability.

In 2018, 2.1 million people with disability living in households were of working age (15-64 years). Of these:

• over half (53.4%) were in the labour force, compared with 84.1% of those without disability
• almost half (47.8%) were employed, compared with 80.3% of people without disability
• 46.6% were not in the labour force, compared with 15.9% of those without disability.
   

Labour force participation was higher among men with disability than women with disability:

• 56.1% of men with disability compared with 50.7% of women with disability
• 31.0% of men with a profound or severe limitation compared with 23.6% of women with a profound or severe limitation.
   

Labour force participation declined with the severity of limitation:

• 59.3% of those with a mild limitation
• 45.6% of those with a moderate limitation
• 27.2% of those with a profound or severe limitation.
   

The unemployment rate for people with disability has remained stable since 2015, in contrast to a decrease in the unemployment rate for people without disability (5.3% in 2015 to 4.6% in 2018). In 2018 the unemployment rate was:

• 10.3% for people with any type of disability (more than twice the rate for people without disability, 4.6%)
• 12.7% for people with a profound or severe limitation
• 11.8% for people with a moderate limitation
• 9.6% for people with a mild limitation.
   

In 2018, just over one-quarter (28.3%) of all people with disability of working age were employed full-time (similar to 2015), compared with more than half (54.8%) of those without disability (also similar to 2015). However, a higher proportion of people with a profound or severe disability were working full-time in 2018:

• 11.4%, compared with 7.9% in 2015, driven by an increase in women with a profound or severe disability working full-time (9.2% in 2018, up from 5.5% in 2015)
• 14.6% of men with a profound or severe disability worked full-time, though there was no statistically significant difference from 2015 (10.0%).
   

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 or a need for special equipment). In 2018, the following groups with disability had an employment restriction:

• almost half (47.8%) of those working full-time
• two-thirds (64.5%) of those working part-time
• almost three-quarters (73.7%) of those who were unemployed
• the majority of those not in the labour force (771,300 or 80.5%); and of these, 515,200 were permanently unable to work.

There have been some increases in education attainment for people with disability. In 2018, among all people with disability aged 15 years and over (living in households):

• one-third (33.4%) had completed year 12 or equivalent, up from 31.4% in 2015
• one in six (16.1%) had a Bachelor degree or above, up from 14.9% in 2015
• 9.2% had an advanced diploma or diploma, up from 8.2% in 2015.
   

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.

In 2018, the median gross personal income of people with disability was $505 per week, less than half (49.7%) that of people without disability ($1016 per week). In 2015, the median gross personal income of people with disability was $465 per week, less than half (48.9%) that of people without disability ($950 per week).

People with disability were more likely to live in households with a lower equivalised gross household income compared with people without disability. Among those whose household income was known:

• half (50.2%) lived in a household in the lowest two quintiles, more than twice that of people without disability (24.0%) 
• 13.5% lived in a household in the highest quintile, compared with 26.5% of people without disability.
   

In 2018, the most common main sources of income for people with disability were:

• government pension or allowance (37.9%, down from 41.9% in 2015)
• wages or salary (37.6%), no significant change from 2015 (36.5%).
   

In 2018, a government pension or allowance was the main source of income for:

• over half (58.6%) of people with a profound or severe limitation, down from 68.5% in 2015
• over one-third (37.2%) of people with a moderate or mild limitation, similar to 2015 (40.7%).
   

In 2018, of the 4.2 million Australians with disability (living in households), three in five (59.8% or 2.5 million people) needed assistance with at least one activity of daily life.

Assistance was most commonly needed with:

• health care (29.9%)
• property maintenance (27.1%)
• cognitive and emotional tasks (23.7%).
   

Among people with disability (living in households) with a profound limitation (613,100 people), the greatest need for assistance was with:

• mobility (87.1%)
• health care (73.0%)
• self-care (65.9%).
   

A person who needs assistance with an activity may or may not receive the help they require. Of the 2.5 million Australians with disability (living in households) who needed assistance:

• most (92.7%) received some help (formal and/or informal) with at least one of the activities they needed assistance with
• 59.7% had their needs fully met, down from 62.1% in 2015
• 37.7% had their needs partly met, up from 35.3% in 2015
• 2.7% did not have their needs for assistance met at all (the same as in 2015).
   

Less than half (48.1%) of those with a profound limitation had their needs fully met, compared with 68.4% of people with a mild limitation.

Among certain age groups there has been an increase in the proportion of people with disability whose assistance needs for certain activities were not fully met:

• one in eight (13.1%) people aged 0-64 years did not have their need for assistance with cognitive and emotional tasks met, up from 10.9% in 2015
• 7.1% of people aged 65 years and over did not have their need for assistance with household chores met, up from 5.9% in 2015.
   

People with disability may be supported by formal and/or informal providers of assistance including government or private organisations, as well as family and friends. They may seek assistance from different providers for their various care needs.

In 2018, of the 2.5 million people with disability (living in households) who needed assistance, 79.1% received assistance from informal providers. Of those receiving informal assistance:

• two in five (40.5%) received assistance from a partner, down from 44.2% in 2015
• over one-quarter (27.3%) received assistance from their child, similar to 2015 (29.3%)
• over one-quarter (27.0%) received assistance from their parent, up from 24.4% in 2015.
   

People with disability (living in households) needing assistance were most likely to receive informal assistance with:

• communication (88.1% of those needing help with this activity received informal help with this task)
• mobility (84.8% of those needing help with this activity received informal help with this task)
• reading or writing tasks (84.8% those needing help with this activity received informal help with this task).
   

Information about the frequency of informal care being provided helps our understanding of the extent to which people with disability rely on this informal assistance and can help with future service planning and carer supports. Among those who received informal assistance:

• just over half (53.2%) received daily assistance
• just over one quarter (27.2%) received assistance weekly.
   

Of the 2.5 million people with disability (living in households) who needed assistance, 58.0% received assistance from formal providers (such as private commercial organisations and government providers).

People with disability (living in households) needing assistance were most likely to receive formal assistance with:

• health care (54.5% of those needing help with this activity received formal assistance with this task)
• cognitive and emotional tasks (49.9% of those needing help with this activity received formal assistance with this task)
• communication (42.5% of those needing help with this activity received formal help with this task).
   

Among those who received formal assistance:

• two in five (40.9%) received formal help monthly
• over one-quarter (28.2%) received weekly formal assistance
• 17.9% received formal assistance on a yearly basis.
   

Of the 2.5 million people with disability (living in households) who needed assistance, the proportion who received assistance, and whether that assistance was formal or informal, varied across activities. The following graph provides a comparison of the different activities for which formal and informal assistance were most commonly received by those who needed it.

People aged 15 years and over who received formal assistance in the 6 months prior to the survey were asked how satisfied they were with both the quality of service and the range of services available. 

In 2018, among those who received formal assistance with at least one activity, people aged 15-64 years were less likely to be satisfied with the quality of service (59.2%) compared with those aged 65 years and over (72.8%).

Satisfaction varied depending on the type of activity for which the assistance was received as well as by age.

Among those who needed formal assistance with at least one activity:

• 44.9% of people aged 15-64 years were satisfied with the range of services available compared with 61.2% of those aged 65 years and over 
• regardless of age, people were most satisfied with the range of health care services available (58.3% of 15-64 year olds and 72.1% of people aged 65 years and over).
   

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 2018, of the 4.4 million Australians with disability, over half (53.1% or 2.3 million) used aids or equipment because of their condition. Use of aids varied according to a person’s living arrangements. Amongst all those with disability:

• 58.3% of those who lived alone used aids
• 49.3% of those who lived with others used aids
• 94.8% of those who lived in cared-accommodation used aids.
   

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 2018:

• 29.4% of people with disability used communication aids, with 18.4% using a hearing aid
• 17.1% used aids for mobility tasks.
   

For certain activities, people who lived alone were almost twice as likely to use aids or equipment:

• 19.3% used aids or equipment for self-care, compared with 11.3% of those who lived with others
• 20.9% used aids for mobility tasks, compared with 12.3% of those who lived with others.
   

Of the 4.2 million people with disability living in households, 12.2% (or 511,400) had made home modifications:

• 8.1% had handgrab rails
• 5.8% had bathroom, toilet or laundry modifications
• 2.6% had ramps installed.
   

Participating in community activities can contribute to a person’s sense of wellbeing and help build social support networks.

In 2018, of the 4.1 million people aged 5 years and over with disability (living in households) three-quarters (76.2%) had participated in social activities away from home in the previous 12 months. Overall, participation in social activities away from home decreased with age. In the previous 12 months:

• nine out of ten (89.8%) children (aged 5-14 years) with disability participated in social activities
• eight in ten (80.8%) people aged 15-64 years with disability participated in social activities
• just over two thirds (68.5%) of people aged 65 years and over with disability participated in social activities.
   

When looking at social and community participation in the previous three months, the most commonly reported activities across all ages and disability levels were:

• visiting or going out with family and friends
• participating in physical activity for exercise or recreation.

Public transport can play a critical role in social and economic life, but may be difficult for those with disability. Of the 4.1 million people aged 5 years and over with disability (living in households):

• 40.9% used public transport
• over three-quarters (78.4%) could use all forms of public transport, most with no difficulty (65.6%)
• 6.3% could use some but not all forms of public transport
• one in seven (14.3%) could not use any form of public transport.
   

The more severe a person’s disability, the less likely they were to be able to use public transport:

• one in five (20.7%) people with a profound limitation used public transport, compared with 43.7% of those with a mild limitation
• almost half (47.0%) of people with a profound limitation could not use public transport at all, compared with 8.9% of those with a mild limitation.
   

Among people who reported a difficulty or inability to use public transport due to their condition, the most common reasons reported were:

• issues getting in or out of the vehicle because of steps (42.4%)
• getting to stops or stations (30.6%)
• fear or anxiety (23.0%)
• lack of seating or difficulty standing (21.3%).

Disability discrimination occurs when people with disability are treated less fairly than others because of their disability. Among people with disability aged 15 years and over (living in households):

• one in ten (9.6%) had experienced discrimination, up from 8.6% in 2015
• one in ten (10.3%) women experienced discrimination, up from 8.9% in 2015
• one in eleven (8.8%) men experienced discrimination, similar to 2015 (8.3%)
• almost one in five young people aged 15-24 years (18.9%) and 25-34 years (18.2%) experienced discrimination, compared with 3.2% of those aged 65 years and over.
   

There have been statistically significant increases in the experience of discrimination among some age groups:

• around one in eight (12.9%) people aged 55-64 years, up from 9.4% in 2015
• 3.2% of people aged 65 years and over, up from 2.1% in 2015.
   

Experience of discrimination varied by severity of limitation:

• almost one in five (18.0%) people with a profound or severe limitation experienced discrimination, up from 12.7% in 2015
• 7.8% of people with a moderate or mild limitation experienced discrimination, similar to 2015 (7.6%).
   

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

• service and hospitality staff (36.3%)
• family and friends (21.0%)
• their employer (20.7%).
   

These rates were similar to 2015.

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

• their employer (40.4%)
• work colleagues (34.5%).
   

In 2018, of the 3.3 million people with disability aged 15 years and over (living in households) almost one-third (33.1%) avoided situations because of their disability in the previous 12 months:

• three in ten (30.8%) men, increasing from 28.1% in 2015
• over one-third (35.3%) of women, the same as in 2015
• over half (51.0%) of people aged 15-24 years, compared with 21.2% of people 65 years and over
• over half (52.4%) of people with a profound or severe limitation, compared with 28.1% of those with a moderate or mild limitation
• two-thirds (67.0%) of people with psychosocial disability, higher than any other disability group.
   

Of those with disability who avoided situations because of their disability, the most common situations avoided were:

• visiting family and friends (39.2%)
• going to shops, banks etc. (34.3%)
• visiting restaurants, cafes or bars (31.8%).
   

Results relating to 2015 data can be found in the 2015 Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers (ABS cat. no. 4430.0).

Australians needing support may seek assistance from formal and/or informal providers for their various care needs. In 2018, of the 1.3 million older people living in households who needed assistance with everyday activities, the most common informal providers of help were their:

• spouse/partner (33.8%)
• daughter (21.4%) or son (17.2%).
   

The most common formal providers of assistance for older people living in households were:

• private commercial organisations (37.5%)
• government organisations (27.3%).
   

Older Australians (living in households) needing assistance were most likely to receive informal help from family or friends with:

• communication (90.9% of those needing help with this activity received help with this task from family or friends)
• reading or writing (85.6% of those needing help with this activity received help with this task from family or friends).
   

Those receiving formal assistance from a government service or other organisation were most likely to receive help with:

• health care (formal assistance received by 65.0% of those needing help with this activity)
• household chores (formal assistance received by 51.6% of those needing help with this activity).
   

Older Australians who need assistance may not always receive the help they require. Of the 1.3 million older Australians living at home who needed assistance:

• most (92.3%) received some help (formal and/or informal) with at least one of the activities they needed assistance with
• almost two-thirds (65.9%) said their need for assistance was fully met, down from 69.2% in 2015
• 31.0% said their need was partly met, up from 27.7% in 2015
• 3.1% said their need was not met at all, the same as in 2015.
   

For older Australians (living in households) needing assistance, the tasks most likely to have been fully met were:

• reading or writing tasks (91.8%)
• meal preparation (90.2%)
• communication (89.6%).
   

Assistance needs most likely not met at all were:

• property maintenance (9.5%)
• cognitive or emotional tasks (6.4%).
   

Overall, the assistance needs of older men and women were equally likely to have been fully met (66.8% of men compared with 65.0% of women). However, when looking at the assistance received across specific activities, older women were:

• more likely to have their needs for communication assistance fully met (91.2% of older women compared with 79.4% of older men)
• less likely to have their needs fully met for reading or writing tasks (87.6% of older women compared with 93.7% of older men) and household chores (76.9% of older women compared with 83.9% of older men).

Of the 3.9 million older Australians in 2018, almost nine in ten (86.5%) reported having one or more long-term health condition (the same as 2015). The likelihood of having at least one long-term health condition generally increased with age, with:

• around four in every five (81.2%) people aged 65 to 74 years having at least one long term health condition
• almost all (98.1%) of those aged 85 years and over having at least one long term health condition.
   

In 2018, the most common main long-term health conditions among older people were:

• arthritis and related conditions (15.6%), more common amongst older women (19.5%) than older men (11.2%)
• hypertension (9.1%)
• back problems (8.7%).
   

In 2018, the proportion of older Australians with a mental or behavioural condition, as a main long-term health condition, increased with age. This was largely due to rates of Dementia or Alzheimer’s increasing with age. This pattern was similar to 2015:

• 0.7% of people aged 65 to 74 had Dementia/Alzheimer’s as their main condition (similar to 0.6% in 2015)
• 3.6% of people aged 75 to 84 had Dementia/Alzheimer’s as their main condition (similar to 3.2% in 2015)
• 12.6% of people aged 85 years or more had Dementia/Alzheimer’s as their main condition (similar to 11.6% in 2015).
   

Many older people have accumulated assets, such as their own home, to support their retirement. In 2018, for all older Australians living in households:

• almost three-quarters (72.3%) owned their homes outright, similar to 2015 (71.7%)
• one in ten (10.3%) had a mortgage, similar to 2015 (9.5%)
• 12.0% rented their home, similar to 2015 (12.5%)
• the remaining 5.4% lived rent free or had other housing arrangements, such as life tenure and shared equity schemes, similar to 2015 (6.3%).
   

In 2018, the main source of income for older Australians was:

• government pension or allowance (56.9%), decreasing from 62.9% in 2015
• superannuation, an annuity or private pension (20.6% ), increasing from 17.6% in 2015
• wages or salary (8.2%), increasing from 6.9% in 2015.
   

Older people with disability were more likely to receive a government pension (68.3%) than older people without disability (46.6%).

In 2018, the median gross personal income of older people was $454 per week, increasing 6.8% from $425 in 2015. In comparison, the median gross income of people aged 15-64 years increased by 11.4% over this same time period (from $863 to $961).

Of those older Australians who reported their income:

• two-thirds (68.1%) lived in a low income household (a household earning less than $756 per week), similar to 2015 (67.4%)
• just 6.7% lived in a high income household (a household earning more than $1,680 per week).
   

In 2018, almost all older Australians (living in households) had participated in social activities at home (97.4%) or outside their home (94.4%) in the previous 3 months. Common activities included:

• telephone calls (92.2%) or visits (89.7%) from family or friends
• visiting (86.8%) or going out (74.1%) with family or friends
• sport or recreation with others (32.5%)
• holidaying with others (27.9%).
   

Although older women were more likely to socialise in their home (98.2% compared with 96.4% of men), older men and women were equally likely to socialise away from home (94.6% and 93.9%).

Of all older Australians (living in households) nearly half (48.8%) participated in physical activities for exercise or recreation in the previous 12 months, similar to 2015 (49.2%).

• around one-quarter (21.7%) of men participated in sport, similar to 2015 (23.4%)
• women's participation in sport remained stable (13.2% compared with 13.1% in 2015)
• almost one-quarter of older Australians (23.3%) attended a sporting event as a spectator
• men were more likely be a spectator at a sporting event than women (29.0% compared with 18.1%).
   

In 2018, around three-quarters (76.6%) of all older people (living in households) had participated in one or more cultural activity in the previous 12 months, similar to 2015 (76.8%):

• around half (49.2%) went to the movies, a concert, the theatre or a performing arts event
• around one-quarter (24.2%) had been to a museum or art gallery.
   

In 2018, around one in six (17.8%) older Australians (living in households) had volunteered in the community in the previous 3 months, similar to 2015 (18.6%).

Results relating to 2015 data can be found in the 2015 Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers (ABS cat. no. 4430.0). 

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) who were living in households and whose income was reported.

In 2018, the median gross personal income of all carers was $800 per week, increasing from $700 in 2015. In comparison the median gross income for non-carers was $997 (up from $900 in 2015).

Primary carers were more likely to live in households with a lower equivalised gross household income. Of primary carers who reported their income:

• half (50.2%) lived in a household in the lowest two quintiles, twice that of non-carers (25.6%)
• 13.2% lived in a household in the highest quintile, compared with 25.8% of non-carers.
   

In 2018, the main source of income for carers was:

• wages or salary (56.1%, increasing from 53.0% in 2015)
• government pension or allowance (24.1%).
   

Primary carers were more than twice as likely to receive a government pension or allowance (38.4%) than other carers (17.2%) and non-carers (9.2%).

In 2018, almost all (93.4%) primary carers had participated in one or more social activity away from home, similar to 2015 (94.2%). Three-quarters (76.6%) of primary carers had participated in social activities away from home without the person for whom they provided care, also similar to 2015 (76.0%).

The more hours of care provided, the less likely a primary carer was to participate in social activities away from home:

• of those who provided 40 hours or more care per week, two-thirds (65.7%) participated in social activities away from home
• of those who provided 20-39 hours of care, 76.1% participated in social activities away from home
• of those who spent less than 20 hours caring per week, 87.6% participated in social activities away from home.
   

Primary carer participation in cultural or physical activities away from the home gradually decreased with age with:

• 68.4% of primary carers aged 15-34 years participating in these activities
• 57.1% of primary carers aged 65 years and over participating in these activities.
   

Results relating to 2015 data can be found in the 2015 Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers (ABS cat. no. 4430.0).

1. National Autistic Society, reviewed at https://www.autism.org.uk/about/what-is.aspx
2. Autism Spectrum Australia, reviewed at https://www.autismspectrum.org.au/content/what-autism
3. Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (2018). Reviewed at https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/facts.html
4. Kulage, K.M., Goldberg, J., Usseglio, J., Romero, D., Bain, J.M. and Smaldone, A.M. (2019). How has the DSM-5 Affected Autism Diagnosis? A 5-Year Follow-Up Systematic Literature Review and Meta-analysis. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. doi:10.1007/s10803-019-03967-5.
5. Hwang, Y.I., Srasuebkul, P., Foley, K., Arnold, S. and Trollor, J.N. (2019). Mortality and cause of death of Australians on the autism spectrum. Autism Research, 12:806-815. Doi:10.1002/aur.2086

Intellectual disability was the most common disability group affecting children in 2018. Around one in twenty two children had intellectual disability (4.5% or 208,800), followed by sensory and speech disability (3.1% or 146,800) and psychosocial disability (2.7% or 127,200). 

The groups of disability that affected children varied somewhat with age and sex. It is important to note, however, that the diagnosis of mental disorders in younger children can be very complex. Often children do not receive a formal diagnosis until they reach school age.

Boys aged 0 to 14 years were twice as likely as girls of the same age to report sensory and speech disability (4.2% or 101,100 compared with 2.1% or 47,300) and almost twice as likely to report intellectual disability (5.8% or 137,800 compared with 3.1% or 70,600).

Older children were more likely than younger children to report intellectual and psychosocial disabilities. In 2018, 6.1% (189,200) of children aged 5-14 years with disability had an intellectual disability, over five times the proportion of children aged 0-4 years (1.1% or 17,800).

Similarly, 3.7% of children aged 5-14 years (115,900) reported psychosocial disability, over four times the proportion of the 0-4 year age group (0.8% or 12,600).

Physical disabilities were also more commonly reported by older children aged 5-14 (2.1% or 65,300) than younger children aged 0-4 (1.0% or 15,100).

Children may experience a variety of long-term health conditions, including multiple conditions coexisting, though only some of these conditions will have a disabling impact. In 2018, three quarters (74.0% or 264,700) of children under 15 with disability reported a mental and behavioural disorder, and just over half reported a physical condition (52.7% or 188,400). 

Of all children with disability, boys were more likely than girls to report mental and behavioural disorders (77.0% or 177,200 boys compared with 68.3% or 87,900 girls) while girls were more likely to report physical conditions (59.0% or 75,900 girls compared with 48.2% or 110,800 boys). 

The long-term health conditions most commonly reported amongst children with disability were autism and related disorders which affected one quarter of all children with disability (26.8% or 95,800), asthma (16.5% or 59,100) and attention deficit disorder/hyperactivity which both affected around one in six children with disability (15% or 53,800). The proportion of children with disability who reported phobic and anxiety disorders increased from 9.4% (30,900) in 2015 to 13.7% (49,000) in 2018. Overall, there were no other significant changes in the proportion of children reporting selected conditions between 2015 and 2018.

In 2018, three quarters of children with disability had a need for assistance with at least one activity (73.9% or 264,300). Children with disability were most likely to need assistance with cognitive or emotional activities (59.3% or 212,000), followed by communication (38.2% or 136,700), mobility (36.1% or 128,900), self-care (32.0% or 114,300) and health care (27.9% or 99,800).

Overall, boys were more likely than girls to need assistance with self-care activities (35.1% or 80,700 compared with 25.2% or 32,400) and cognitive or emotional activities (64.9% or 149,400 compared with 49.0% or 63,100).

Of the 264,300 children aged 0-14 with disability who needed assistance with at least one activity, almost all were receiving some form of assistance (97.2% or 256,800).

Children with disability who needed assistance were most likely to receive help with cognitive or emotional tasks (77.4% or 204,700) while almost half received assistance with communication (48.1% or 127,200) and mobility (45.3% or 119,600)
 

Regardless of where their education is received, children with disability have a right to the same educational opportunities as all Australian children. In 2018, among school aged children (5 to 14 years) with disability, almost all (95.8% or 285,500) attended school. Of these, nearly one third attended special classes or special schools (31.2% or 89,000).

Four out of every five children with disability attending school (aged 5-14 years) had an educational restriction (83.0% or 151,700 compared with 76.4% or 79,500).

Two thirds of children with disability and attending school experienced difficulties at school (66.5% or 190,000). Nearly half reported learning difficulties (48.7% or 138,900) and over one third had difficulties fitting in socially (38.8% or 110,900). Boys were more likely than girls to have communication difficulties (35.2% or 64,400 compared with 21.1% or 21,900).

There are a range of different support and assistance options available for school children with disability. In 2018, over half of all children with disability who attended school accessed a support or special arrangement (58.6% or 167,400). Around one third accessed special tuition (36.8% or 105,200) while around one quarter accessed a counsellor or special support person (23.2% or 66,100).

Of those children who received support or special arrangements, over one third (36.1% or 60,500) reported that they needed more support.

In 2018, there were 136,000 primary carers who were caring for their own child aged 0 to 14 years with a profound or severe core activity limitation. While there are a range of organised services available to assist a person in their caring role, the satisfaction with these services varied among carers, as did the impact of the many costs and effects of their caring role on the whole family.

One in five parent primary carers were dissatisfied with the range of organised services available to assist them with caring for their child (19.1% or 26,000) while 32.9% (44,800) were satisfied and a further 22.8% were neither satisfied or dissatisfied (31,000).

Nearly three in five (57.4% or 78,100) parent primary carers reported that they needed an improvement or more support to assist them in their caring role, an increase from 46.4% (54,700) in 2015.

Among parent primary carers, the effect of their caring role on family relationships varied:

• around one in four with a spouse or partner reported their relationship with them was unaffected (24.2% or 25,900), while 21.1% (22,600) reported relationship strain
• around one in four reported a lack of alone time together with their spouse (23.2% or 24,900).
• one quarter reported their relationships with other co-resident family members were unaffected (25.2% or 34,300), while one third reported the main effect of their caring role was having less time to spend with other co-resident family members (34.0% or 46,200).
   

One third of parent primary carers reported that the main financial impact of their caring role was a decreased income (37.7% or 51,300) and another one third reported an increase in their expenses (35.3% or 48,000).

Almost half of parent primary carers who were employed (45.5% or 35,800) said they had reduced the weekly hours they worked in all jobs since commencing the caring role.

Results relating to 2015 data can be found in the 2015 Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers (ABS cat. No. 4430.0)

10/05/2023 – An amendment was made to dot point 2 in the Carers subsection to remove the reference to people aged 15 years and over and reflect the correct denominator for the population (all persons).

11/06/2021 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with disability: This article uses results from the 2018 Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers (SDAC) to present analysis of disability prevalence among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people within the scope of the survey. Commentary includes analysis of severity and type of disability, assistance needed and received due to disability, education, employment, income, and discrimination. Along with the commentary, this release includes a data cube.

28/09/20 - Psychosocial disability: the psychological disability data cube on the data downloads page of the Psychosocial disability article was updated to include an additional footnote (Tables 5 and 6), and to correct an error in the data (Table 5 row 13).

25/09/2020-Psychosocial disability: This article uses results from the 2018 Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers (SDAC) to present analysis on the prevalence of psychosocial disability in Australia including information around demographic characteristics, need for and receipt of assistance, education, employment, income and experience of discrimination. Along with the commentary, this release includes two data cubes - one containing psychosocial disability data and the other psychological disability data (for time series purposes).

10/09/2020 Small area estimates: Two data cubes containing modelled small area estimates for persons with disability and carers by age and sex for Statistical Areas Level 2 (SA2) of usual residence and Local Government Areas have been added to the Data downloads section. A section in the Methodology has also been added, providing summary information about how these small area estimates were modelled. For full details email disability.statistics@abs.gov.au for a copy of the 2018 SDAC Small Area Estimates Explanatory Notes PDF.

31/07/2020 - Dementia: This article uses results from the 2018 Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers (SDAC), to present an analysis on people living with dementia in Australia. Commentary includes analysis of prevalence and severity of dementia, and assistance needed and received for dementia. Along with the commentary, this release includes a data cube.

24/07/2020 - Disability and the Labour Force: This article uses results from the 2018 Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers (SDAC), to present an analysis on labour force participation of people with disability. Commentary includes participation by disability severity and group, employment restrictions and experiences of discrimination in the workplace. Along with the commentary, this release includes a data cube.

21/07/2020 - Use of technology by people with disability, older people and primary carers: This article uses 2018 Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers (SDAC) data to present analysis of the use of information technology by these three groups, including use of the Internet, SMS/text message, email and social networking/chat rooms, as well as reasons they were not used. Along with the commentary, this release includes a data cube which is available from the Data downloads section.

05/02/2020 - State and Territory data cubes are available from the Data downloads section.

10/12/2019 - Children with Disability: This article uses results from the 2018 Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers (SDAC), to present an analysis on children with disability including the prevalence of disability among children aged 0-14 years, and the types of disability most common among children. Along with the analysis, this release includes a data cube which is available from the Data downloads section.

29/11/2019 - Autism in Australia: This article uses results from the 2018 Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers (SDAC), to present an updated analysis of the prevalence of autism in Australia, and the impact the condition has on those living with Autism. Along with the analysis, this release includes a data cube which is available from the Data downloads section.

04/11/2019 - The Data Item List has been replaced to correct a column label in the 'Transport - Private' tab. A link in the Quality Declaration has been updated.