A report released today by the Australian Institute of Health
and Welfare shows a diverse range of people with varied needs use
Commonwealth State/Territory Disability Agreement (CSTDA) funded
services, but that many of those people also receive care from
unpaid relatives.
The report, Disability support services 2004-05: national
data on services provided under the Commonwealth State/Territory
Disability Agreement, was compiled using information from the
2004-05 CSTDA National Minimum Data Set collection, and includes
information about the characteristics of people accessing
CSTDA-funded services and the services they receive.
Mr Tim Beard of the Institute's Functioning and Disability Unit
said there were just over 200,000 people from a wide range of
disability groups accessing disability support services in
2004-05.
'Over 40% of service users reported intellectual disability as
one of their disability groups, 25% reported a physical disability
and an additional 15% reported a neurological disability.
'Significant numbers reported always needing help with life
activities-ranging from mobility (14%) to working (24%),' Mr Beard
said.
The report noted wide use of CSTDA-funded services, with
community support services (such as therapy, early intervention,
counselling, and case management) being the most widely accessed.
Employment services and community access (including day programs
and recreation) were also commonly used.
Nearly 30% of service users accessed multiple services during
the year, and the most commonly combined services were for
accommodation support and community access.
'The report found that while many needs were addressed through
disability support services, much of the help people received still
came in the form of unpaid care from family or friends.
'Most of those carers were mothers (68%) followed by fathers
(7%) and other female relatives (6%),' Mr Beard said.
Almost three quarters of service users under 15 years of age had
an informal carer, and one in eight carers were aged over 65
years.
31 August 2006
Further information: Mr Tim Beard, AIHW, tel.
02 6244 1270, or mob. 0418 271 395
For media copies of the report: Publications
Officer, AIHW, tel. 61 2 6244 1032.
Availability: Check the AIHW Publications
Catalogue for availability of the Disability support
services 2004-05: national data on services provided under the
Commonwealth State/Territory Disability Agreement report.