Overview
Disability prevalence data for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples were available for the first time through the 2002 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey (NATSISS). Based on these data, it is estimated that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have disability rates 2.4 times those of other Australians.
Indigenous clients of disability services
In 2004-05, a total of 6,285 users of Commonwealth and State/Territory Disability Agreement (CSTDA) services reported that they were of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander background, representing 3.1% of all CSTDA service users. This proportion is higher than the representation of Indigenous people in the total Australian population (2.3%), and is indicative of the higher rates of disability experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people generally.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander users of CSTDA services were more likely to be aged 0-19 years old than were non-Indigenous service users. They were also less likely to be aged 40 years and over compared to the non-Indigenous service users. The median age for Indigenous service users was 23.9 years in 2004-05, 6.5 years lower than for non-Indigenous service users, whose median age was 30.4 years. This is consistent with the younger age profile of Indigenous people compared to the total Australian population.
Indigenous service users were most likely to report intellectual (34%) and physical (14%) disabilities, which was similar to the non-Indigenous service users. However, Indigenous service users reported a higher proportion of developmental delay as their primary disability, and a lower proportion of psychiatric conditions as their primary disability, compared to non-Indigenous service users. Respite (4.0%), community support (3.9%) and accommodation support (3.4%) services were the most common CSTDA services accessed by Indigenous people.
Further Information
For more general information on disability services, see Functioning and disability.