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Undergraduate participation

What is being tracked?

Measure: Proportion of undergraduate higher education students with disability

This measure is part of the Participation in tertiary education priority of the Strategy. This priority is about supporting people with disability participate in and complete additional education after high school.

The desired outcome is that more students with disability enrol in higher education.

Last updated:

Outcome area: Education and learning Priority: Participation in tertiary education

  • Baseline value

    10%in 2021

  • Latest value

    10%in 2021

Status not known yet more data from after the Strategy started are needed

View the data source

Trends

Has the proportion of undergraduate higher education students with disability increased over time?

The data in the graph and the table below show the proportion of undergraduate higher education students with disability (aged 15 and over). Data from 2011 to 2021 are used. In 2021, 10% of undergraduate higher education students had disability, compared with 5.0% in 2011.

Source: Higher Education Statistics Collection (HESC) | Data source overview

State and territory

Does the proportion of undergraduate higher education students with disability vary between states and territories?

The data in the graph and the table below show the proportion of undergraduate higher education students with disability (aged 15 and over), grouped by Australian states and territories. In 2021, in South Australia, 13% of undergraduate higher education students had disability, compared with 9.2% in Western Australia.

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Source: Higher Education Statistics Collection (HESC) | Data source overview

Population groups

How this measure varies by…

  • Does the proportion of undergraduate higher education students with disability vary for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and non-Indigenous Australians?

    The data in the graph and the table below show the proportion of undergraduate higher education students with disability (aged 15 and over), by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander status. In 2021, 17% of Indigenous undergraduate higher education students had disability, compared with 10% of non-Indigenous students.

    Source: Higher Education Statistics Collection (HESC) | Data source overview

  • Does the proportion of undergraduate higher education students with disability vary by gender?

    The data in the graph and the table below show the proportion of undergraduate higher education students with disability (aged 15 and over), grouped by gender. In 2021, 8.4% of male undergraduate higher education students had disability, compared with 11% of females and 41% of students whose gender was recorded as ‘Indeterminate/ Intersex/ Unspecified’.

    Source: Higher Education Statistics Collection (HESC) | Data source overview

  • Does the proportion of undergraduate higher education students with disability vary by age?

    The data in the graph and the table below show the proportion of undergraduate higher education students with disability (aged 15 and over), grouped by age. In 2021, 19% of undergraduate higher education students aged 65 and over had disability, compared with 9.3% in the 15–24 age group.

    Source: Higher Education Statistics Collection (HESC) | Data source overview

  • Does the proportion of undergraduate higher education students with disability vary by language background?

    The data in the graph and the table below show the proportion of undergraduate higher education students with disability (aged 15 and over), by language background. In 2021, 10% of undergraduate higher education students from an English-speaking background (ESB) had disability, compared with 4.3% among the non-English-speaking (NESB) group.

    Source: Higher Education Statistics Collection (HESC) | Data source overview

  • Does the proportion of undergraduate higher education students with disability vary by remoteness?

    The data in the graph and the table below show the proportion of undergraduate higher education students with disability (aged 15 and over), grouped by remoteness. In 2021, in inner regional areas, 11% of undergraduate higher education students had disability, compared with 8.3% in very remote areas.

    Source: Higher Education Statistics Collection (HESC) | Data source overview

  • What type(s) of disability do undergraduate higher education students with disability have?

    The data in the graph and the table below show the proportion of students with specific disability types among the undergraduate higher education students with disability (aged 15 and over). In 2021, of undergraduate higher education students with disability, 39% had a mental health condition, while 1.5% had an acquired brain injury group (please note that for a high proportion of students, the disability information was collected as 'other' (30%) or 'medical condition' (30%)).

    Source: Higher Education Statistics Collection (HESC) | Data source overview

Where did these data come from?

Data on undergraduate participation come from administrative data collected by the Australian Government Department of Education.

Learn more about these data
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