A total of 6,174 agencies and organisations were funded to
provide disability support services under the Commonwealth/State
Disability Agreement (CSDA) in 1998, according to a report released
today.
The report, by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare
(AIHW), shows that non-government agencies provided 74% of these
services (up 5% from the previous year), with the remainder being
government-provided.
The services were of five main types:
- 41% were accommodation support services, covering 20,149
recipients living in institutional settings and community settings,
such as group homes and family homes
- 14% were employment support services, covering open labour
market services and supported employment services
- 22% were community support services, which include speech
therapy, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, early childhood
intervention, counselling and recreation programs
- 14% were community access services, mainly covering
educational, social and daily living activities
- 8% were respite services, which provide short-term breaks from
caring activities to carers of people with a disability.
Services provided under the CSDA are designed for people who
need ongoing support in everyday life activity areas.
- Nearly 82% of recipients needed support in the areas of
self-care, mobility or communication.
- The Disability Support Pension was the main income source for
most service recipients aged 16 years or more (83%).
Of people receiving services in 1998:
- 52% were aged between 15 and 39 years
- 58% were men
- 64% were reported to have intellectual disability as the
primary disability type
- 51% were reported to have more than one significant disability
type; and
- 48% were reported to have multiple disabilities.
The fourth national data collection also provides data on other
disabilities, country of birth, Indigenous origin, language, method
of communication, income source, living arrangements, State
distribution, service funding, staff hours, operating times and
CSDA performance indicators.
4 November 1999
Further information: Ken Black, ph. 02 6244
1178 or 04 1929 6053.
For media copies of the report: Publications
Officer, ph. 02 6244 1032.
Availability: Check the AIHW Publications
Catalogue for details.