Functioning and Disability Unit

The Functioning and Disability Unit develops, collates and reports on data related to functioning and disability in Australia. The Unit manages two national data collections on government-funded disability services: the Commonwealth State/Territory Disability Agreement National Minimum Data Set and the Younger People with Disability in Residential Aged Care Program minimum data set. We analyse and report on these data in AIHW publications and contribute information about disability services to the Productivity Commission Report on Government Services. Functioning and Disability Unit also analyses population data collected by the Australian Bureau of Statistics and other data sources to inform discussion about disability issues, for example, the nature and extent of disability in Australia and disability-related need for assistance. Data development is an important element of the Unit's work.