On a 'snapshot' day in 2001, 64,000 people were receiving over
77,000 different services funded under the Commonwealth/State
Disability Agreement, according to a report released today by the
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.
The services, for people who need ongoing support with everyday
life activities, were provided by 7,700 service outlets
nationwide.
Disability support services 2001: national data on services
provided under the CSDA shows that the most commonly used
services on the snapshot day were accommodation support services
(used by 34% of service consumers), followed by employment services
(28%), community support (27%), community access (25%) and respite
services (4%).
Of the 64,000 people using disability services:
- 58% were male.
- 2.6% were of Indigenous origin.
- Nearly half reported having more than one disability.
- 59% reported intellectual disability as their primary
disability, while 12% specified physical disability.
Around 84% of consumers aged 16 or over said that the Disability
Support Pension (DSP) was their main income source.
Report co-author Dr Phil Anderson said that trend data for
1999-2001 showed that the median ages for consumers of
accommodation support, employment and respite services continue to
rise, in line with the overall ageing of the Australian
community.
'The proportion of disability support service recipients living
with family members and/or spouses also continues to rise-from 40%
in 1997 to 45% in 2001. Meanwhile the proportion living in
institutions (including aged care homes and hospitals) fell from
16% to 10% over the same time period.'
Dr Anderson said that for the first time the report, which is
produced every year, contains data on the geographic location of
consumers of disability support services.
'What we're seeing in these initial figures is that people
living in rural areas (but not remote areas) are more likely than
their counterparts in the cities to be users of disability
services.
'There were 3.1 consumers per 1,000 Australians aged under 65
living in rural areas compared with 2.8 per 1,000 in urban areas
and 1.2 per 1,000 in remote areas (for State/Territory funded
services).'
Information in this report relies on data collected by each
State and Territory and the Commonwealth.
14 June 2002
Further information: Phil Anderson, AIHW, tel.
02 6244 1125, or 0407 915 851
Media copies of the report: Publications Officer,
phone: 02 6244 1032
Availability: Check the AIHW Publications
Catalogue for details.