The last 15 years have seen increasing prosperity, but it is
important to ask whether this has been shared and whether life has
actually become better for most Australians, says a flagship report
released today by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare
(AIHW).
The report, Australia's welfare 2007, marks 15 years
since the AIHW began reporting on the nation's welfare.
It shows that median weekly disposable household income rose by
34% in the 10 years from 1995-96.
'This does not automatically translate into a guarantee of
wellbeing for all members of society', said AIHW Director Dr Penny
Allbon.
'Australia is a very diverse society, from diverse backgrounds
and with diverse needs, as our report shows.'
'There are some universal needs such as having a home. It has
important social, emotional, and health benefits, as well as
economic benefits for everyone. But housing stress is becoming more
common and it is now harder to own a home-outright home ownership
levels are down, and it takes longer to pay off home
mortgages.'
'For as many as 100,000 people in Australia, homelessness is a
problem. The most common reason given by homeless people seeking
assistance is interpersonal relationships, including domestic
violence and relationship breakdown and conflict, and the need for
time-out from family', Dr Allbon said.
Indigenous Australians in particular suffer from higher levels
of sub-standard housing, overcrowding and homelessness.
Dr Allbon said that the Australia's Welfare report described the
wellbeing of Indigenous people wherever possible.
'It is important to note there have been improvements in recent
years-for example in school enrolments, mainstream employment, and
the number of Indigenous home owners and mortgagees.
'But retention rates for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
students (40%) were just over half that of non-Indigenous students
(76%) in 2006. And Indigenous students were also substantially less
likely to meet national benchmarks in reading, writing and
numeracy.'
Labour force participation among the Indigenous population is
59% compared with 78% for the non-Indigenous population, and
Indigenous children are over-represented in child protection
arrangements or juvenile justice supervision.
Dr Diane Gibson, Head of the AIHW's Welfare and Housing Group,
said that families and children (covered in the report) are
increasingly being recognised by governments as a core policy area.
The fertility rate may now be rising after many years of falls, and
children under 15 comprise 20% of the population.
'But a considerable number of children are subject to violence
and abuse', Dr Gibson said. 'Between 2002 and 2006 the number of
children on care and protection orders rose by 32%, from 20,557 to
27,188.
'Some of this can be explained by greater community awareness of
child abuse and neglect, and the cumulative effect of children who
enter the system at a young age and remain there for some years.
But it's not the entire explanation.'
'There have been many changes to the family environment in the
last 15 years. With most parents working or studying almost half of
children under 12 use some form of child care, and 84% of
4-year-olds either used formal child care or were attending
preschools in 2005', she said.
At the other end of the population spectrum are Australians 65
years and older-13% of the population in 2006.
Australia's Welfare reports that most older people (94%) live in
their own homes, and only 6% live in non-private dwellings such as
nursing homes and hospitals. In 2006, there were 145,000 older
people in residential aged care.
The report shows that older people's levels of social and
community participation are important for good quality of life, and
that community-based services and care have an important role in
providing social support and companionship.
'With the ageing of the Australian population, more people are
living more years with a disability, and the number of people with
severe or profound activity limitations is projected to grow
significantly in the years ahead,' Dr Gibson said.
Another segment of the population examined in Australia's
welfare 2007 is 'younger' people with disability-people aged
under 65 years.
There are around 1.2 million people with disability in Australia
who need help or supervision with self-care, mobility or
communication-and 678,000 of them are aged under 65. Approximately
27,500 of these under-65s with a severe or profound disability had
unmet or under-met demands for accommodation, respite services, or
community access services.
6 December 2007
Further information: Dr Diane Gibson, AIHW,
tel. 02 6244 1190, mob. 0409 466 058
To arrange interviews:
- Nigel Harding, Media and Communications, mob. 0409 307 671
- Belinda Hellyer, Media and Communications, mob. 0418 271
395
For media copies of the report: Publications
Officer, AIHW, tel. 02 6244 1032.
Availability: Check the AIHW Publications
Catalogue for availability of Australia's welfare
2007.
Note:
Disadvantage and
Diversity, the Australia's welfare 2007 one-day
conference, is being held on Thursday 6 December at the Marque
Hotel, 102 Northbourne Avenue, Canberra. All media welcome. Further
enquiries: Belinda Hellyer, AIHW, tel. 02 6244 1026, mob. 0418 271
395.