The new International Classification of Functioning, Disability
and Health (ICF) opens the door for improved information on people
with disabilities and related difficulties in everyday life.
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare today released
the new Australian ICF User Guide to promote its use in
Australia.
Professor Trevor Parmenter, Director of the Centre for
Developmental Disability Studies at the University of Sydney, and
chair of the AIHW disability data advisory group, said the ICF and
the Australian guide could change the way disability was reported
on in public policy arenas.
'The classification recognises that participation in society,
and the role that environmental factors play in disability, are
important.'
Contributor to the User Guide, and another member of ACAIDD,
PriceWaterhouseCoopers' John Walsh, said that the new
classification could provide much needed improvements in the field
of accident compensation.
'The current process of assessment and compensation is
arbitrary, unstructured, litigious and focused on monetary
compensation rather than helping to recover function.'
The ICF is already being used in the development of a new system
of classification for disability athletics, and this application is
also documented in the Australian guide.
Research Fellow in Physical Activity and Disability at the
University of Queensland, Sean Tweedy, said that in disability
athletics, classification is used to provide an equitable starting
point for competition by placing athletes into classes according to
how much their disability affects their sporting performance.
'The current disability athletics system is based on outdated
concepts, and the development of the new ICF-based system will help
address this problem.'
'The project has the approval of the International Paralympic
Committee (IPC) and, if adopted, has the potential to foster
participation among people with disabilities-so that Paralympic
competition is as fair and equitable as possible.'
Head of the AIHW's Functioning and Disability Unit, Ros Madden,
said there was potential for gains in data and policies in a wide
range of disciplines. These include disability advocates; health
and allied health educators; practitioners and researchers in the
fields of rehabilitation, human movement, social security or
employment; and people designing surveys, clinical studies or
assessment methods.
AIHW is a Collaborating Centre for the WHO family of
international classifications, and contributed to ICF development
during the 1990s. A number of other Collaborating Centres have
sought permission to translate and adapt the Australian User Guide
for use in other countries.
10 October 2003
Further information: Trevor Parmenter,
University of Sydney, tel. 02 8878 0500
John Walsh, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, tel. 02 8266 3205
Sean Tweedy, University of Queensland, tel. 07 3365 6638
Samantha Bricknell, AIHW, tel. 02 6244 1138
Ros Madden, AIHW, tel. 0409 767 266
Media copies of the report: Publications Officer,
AIHW, tel. 02 6244 1032
Availability: Check the AIHW
Publications Catalogue for details.