Trend indicator key: 
Favourable
Unfavourable
No change
No trend data
No data
Severe or profound activity limitations
There is no clear trend for this indicator In 2003, 6.3% of the population had a disability that severely or profoundly limited their core activities of daily living (such as communication, mobility and self-care). This equates to about 1.2 million people in Australia who needed personal assistance or supervision with core activities.
For both males and females, proportions of people with disability increased with age. For the most part, rates of disability are similar in males and females, but after the age of 70, females start to have higher rates of disability than males.
Arthritis is a main contributor to disability and is considered the main disabling condition of just over 14% of people with a disability.
Understanding and reporting on disability and its impact on the community is important as it means appropriate services can be planned and delivered.