On a 'snapshot' day in 2002, 65,000 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 more than 8,000 service outlets
nationwide.
Disability support services 2002: 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 community access
(29%), employment services (28%), community support (20%), and
respite services (5%).
Of the 65,000 people using disability services:
- 57% were male.
- 2.5% were of Indigenous origin.
- More than half (53%) reported having more than one
disability.
- 61% reported intellectual disability as their primary
disability, while 12% specified physical disability.
- Almost 80% of consumers needed support in activities of daily
living, while about 90% needed assistance to help them live
independently, and 91% needed support in activities related to
work, education or other community living.
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 recent trends 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.
'We also now know that almost half of consumers receiving these
services live with family (47%), about 40% with other people, and
just 12% live alone.'
'More than half live in private residences (58%), with 18% in
supported accommodation facilities and 17% in domestic supported
accommodation.'
Dr Anderson said that the report also contained data on the
geographic location of users of disability support services.
'People living outside major cities but not in remote areas are
more likely to be users of disability services.
'There were 4.5 users per 1,000 Australians aged under 65 living
in inner regional areas compared with 3.7 per 1,000 in our major
cities and 1.9 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.
20 June 2003
Further information: Phil Anderson, AIHW, tel.
02 6244 1125, 0407 915 851
For media copies of the report: Publications
Officer, AIHW, tel. 02 6244 1032
Availability: Check the AIHW
Publications Catalogue for details.