Accessing buildings and facilities

Population groups

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander status

  Does the proportion of people with disability who can access buildings or facilities without difficulty 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 people with disability and communication or mobility limitations (aged 5 and over) who had no difficulty accessing buildings or facilities in the last 12 months, by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander status. In 2018, 74% of Indigenous Australians with disability had no difficulty accessing buildings or facilities and 69% of non-Indigenous Australians.

  More detailed data by age group are shown in the table.

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  Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander status	% of people with disability who have no difficulty accessing buildings and facilities	95% Confidence Interval
  Aged 5–64
  Indigenous	77%	(68.4%-85.4%)
  Non-Indigenous	73%	(71.3%-75.7%)
  All persons	74%	(71.5%-75.8%)
  Aged 65 and over
  Indigenous	*63%	(41.4%-84.0%)
  Non-Indigenous	63%	(60.4%-65.8%)
  All persons	63%	(60.4%-65.8%)
  Aged 5 and over
  Indigenous	74%	(65.9%-82.5%)
  Non-Indigenous	69%	(67.0%-70.8%)
  All persons	69%	(67.3%-70.9%)

  Notes:

  • * Should be used with caution: proportion has a Margin of Error (MoE) >10 percentage points or proportion ± MoE is <0% or >100%.

  1. Restricted to people with disability aged 5 and over living in households who need assistance or have difficulty with communication or mobility and who leave home.
  2. Data source does not cover very remote areas and discrete Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

  Source: ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) 2019. Microdata: Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers, Australia, 2018, ABS cat. no. 4430.0.30.002, ABS, AIHW analysis of detailed microdata in DataLab, accessed 29 September 2022.

  Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics – Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers (SDAC) | Data source overview
  

• Sex and gender

  Does the proportion of people with disability who can access buildings or facilities without difficulty vary by sex?

  The data in the graph and the table below show the proportion of people with disability and communication or mobility limitations (aged 5 and over) who had no difficulty accessing buildings or facilities in the last 12 months, for males and females. In 2018, 72% of males with disability had no difficulty accessing buildings or facilities, compared with 66% of females.

  More detailed data by age group are shown in the table.

  Graph Table Notes

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  Sex	% of people with disability who have no difficulty accessing buildings and facilities	95% Confidence Interval
  Aged 5–64
  Males	76%	(73.1%-78.9%)
  Females	71%	(68.4%-74.0%)
  All persons	74%	(71.5%-75.8%)
  Aged 65 and over
  Males	66%	(62.3%-70.5%)
  Females	61%	(57.4%-64.4%)
  All persons	63%	(60.4%-65.8%)
  Aged 5 and over
  Males	72%	(70.0%-74.7%)
  Females	66%	(63.7%-68.8%)
  All persons	69%	(67.3%-70.9%)

  Note: Restricted to people with disability aged 5 and over living in households who need assistance or have difficulty with communication or mobility and who leave home.

  Source: ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) 2019. Microdata: Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers, Australia, 2018, ABS cat. no. 4430.0.30.002, ABS, AIHW analysis of detailed microdata in DataLab, accessed 20 May 2022.

  Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics – Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers (SDAC) | Data source overview
  

• Age group

  Does the proportion of people with disability who can access buildings or facilities without difficulty vary by age?

  The data in the graph and the table below show the proportion of people with disability and communication or mobility limitations (aged 5 and over) who had no difficulty accessing buildings or facilities in the last 12 months, grouped by age. In 2018, 90% of people with disability aged 5–14 had no difficulty accessing buildings or facilities, compared with 63% of those aged 65 and over.

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  Age group	% of people with disability who have no difficulty accessing buildings and facilities	95% Confidence Interval
  5–14	90%	(86.1%-93.1%)
  15–24	80%	(73.0%-86.6%)
  25–44	70%	(64.4%-75.1%)
  45–64	67%	(64.0%-70.7%)
  65 and over	63%	(60.4%-65.8%)
  All ages	69%	(67.3%-70.9%)

  Note: Restricted to people with disability aged 5 and over living in households who need assistance or have difficulty with communication or mobility and who leave home.

  Source: ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) 2019. Microdata: Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers, Australia, 2018, ABS cat. no. 4430.0.30.002, ABS, AIHW analysis of detailed microdata in DataLab, accessed 20 May 2022.

  Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics – Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers (SDAC) | Data source overview
  

• Cultural and linguistic diversity status

  Does the proportion of people with disability who can access buildings or facilities without difficulty vary by cultural and linguistic diversity background?

  The data in the graph and the table below show the proportion of people with disability and communication or mobility limitations (aged 5 and over) who had no difficulty accessing buildings or facilities in the last 12 months, by culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) status. In 2018, 66% of people from CALD backgrounds with disability had no difficulty accessing buildings or facilities, and 70% among the non-CALD group.

  More detailed data by age group are shown in the table.

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  Cultural and linguistic diversity status	% of people with disability who have no difficulty accessing buildings and facilities	95% Confidence Interval
  Aged 5–64
  CALD	71%	(62.3%-79.9%)
  CALD – low English proficiency	*66%	(48.5%-83.9%)
  CALD – high English proficiency	72%	(62.8%-81.5%)
  Non-CALD	74%	(71.7%-76.3%)
  All persons	74%	(71.5%-75.8%)
  Aged 65 and over
  CALD	62%	(56.4%-68.0%)
  CALD – low English proficiency	56%	(47.0%-64.5%)
  CALD – high English proficiency	66%	(58.9%-73.9%)
  Non-CALD	63%	(60.6%-66.2%)
  All persons	63%	(60.4%-65.8%)
  Aged 5 and over
  CALD	66%	(60.5%-70.8%)
  CALD – low English proficiency	58%	(50.8%-65.3%)
  CALD – high English proficiency	69%	(62.9%-75.2%)
  Non-CALD	70%	(68.1%-71.6%)
  All persons	69%	(67.3%-70.9%)

  Notes:

  • * Should be used with caution: proportion has a Margin of Error (MoE) >10 percentage points or proportion ± MoE is <0% or >100%.

  1. Restricted to people with disability aged 5 and over living in households who need assistance or have difficulty with communication or mobility and who leave home.
  2. Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) cohort includes people not born in a main English-speaking country and/or who mainly speak a language other than English at home.
  3. English proficiency is reported for people in the CALD cohort only. Low English proficiency group includes people who mainly speak a language other than English at home and say they speak English 'not well' or 'not at all'. High English proficiency group includes people who mainly speak English at home, and those who mainly speak a language other than English at home and say they speak English 'well' or 'very well'.

  Source: ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) 2019. Microdata: Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers, Australia, 2018, ABS cat. no. 4430.0.30.002, ABS, AIHW analysis of detailed microdata in DataLab, accessed 29 September 2022.

  Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics – Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers (SDAC) | Data source overview
  

• Remoteness

  Does the proportion of people with disability who can access buildings or facilities without difficulty vary by remoteness?

  The data in the graph and the table below show the proportion of people with disability and communication or mobility limitations (aged 5 and over) who had no difficulty accessing buildings or facilities in the last 12 months, grouped by remoteness. In 2018, 72% of people with disability in inner regional areas had no difficulty accessing buildings or facilities, and 68% of those in in major cities.

  More detailed data by age group are shown in the table.

  Graph Table Notes

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  Remoteness	% of people with disability who have no difficulty accessing buildings and facilities	95% Confidence Interval
  Aged 5–64
  Major cities	74%	(70.9%-76.3%)
  Inner regional	75%	(71.4%-79.3%)
  Outer regional and remote	70%	(62.4%-77.1%)
  All areas	74%	(71.5%-75.8%)
  Aged 65 and over
  Major cities	61%	(57.2%-64.0%)
  Inner regional	67%	(62.5%-72.4%)
  Outer regional and remote	70%	(61.6%-77.9%)
  All areas	63%	(60.4%-65.8%)
  Aged 5 and over
  Major cities	68%	(65.6%-70.3%)
  Inner regional	72%	(68.9%-75.0%)
  Outer regional and remote	70%	(64.2%-75.3%)
  All areas	69%	(67.3%-70.9%)

  Notes:

  1. Restricted to people with disability aged 5 and over living in households who need assistance or have difficulty with communication or mobility and who leave home.
  2. Remoteness is classified according to Accessibility and Remoteness Index of Australia. Data source does not cover very remote areas.

  Source: ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) 2019. Microdata: Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers, Australia, 2018, ABS cat. no. 4430.0.30.002, ABS, AIHW analysis of detailed microdata in DataLab, accessed 29 September 2022.

  Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics – Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers (SDAC) | Data source overview
  

• Disability group

  Does the proportion of people with disability who can access buildings or facilities without difficulty vary by disability group?

  The data in the graph and the table below show the proportion of people with disability and communication or mobility limitations (aged 5 and over) who had no difficulty accessing buildings or facilities in the last 12 months, by disability group. In 2018, 73% of people with intellectual disability had no difficulty accessing buildings or facilities, compared with 60% of people with head injury, stroke or acquired brain injury.

  More detailed data by age group are shown in the table.

  Graph Table Notes

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  Disability group	% of people with disability who have no difficulty accessing buildings and facilities	95% Confidence Interval
  Aged 5–64
  Sensory and speech	68%	(63.2%-71.9%)
  Intellectual	77%	(72.4%-80.8%)
  Physical restriction	65%	(62.4%-68.0%)
  Psychosocial	71%	(67.3%-74.2%)
  Head injury, stroke or acquired brain injury	62%	(52.9%-70.8%)
  Other	66%	(63.0%-69.6%)
  All with disability	74%	(71.5%-75.8%)
  Aged 65 and over
  Sensory and speech	61%	(56.7%-66.2%)
  Intellectual	58%	(52.0%-64.6%)
  Physical restriction	62%	(59.6%-64.7%)
  Psychosocial	56%	(51.3%-61.4%)
  Head injury, stroke or acquired brain injury	57%	(48.4%-65.8%)
  Other	58%	(54.5%-61.9%)
  All with disability	63%	(60.4%-65.8%)
  Aged 5 and over
  Sensory and speech	64%	(60.7%-67.7%)
  Intellectual	73%	(69.0%-76.8%)
  Physical restriction	64%	(61.6%-65.8%)
  Psychosocial	67%	(63.6%-69.7%)
  Head injury, stroke or acquired brain injury	60%	(53.1%-66.3%)
  Other	63%	(59.8%-65.2%)
  All with disability	69%	(67.3%-70.9%)

  Notes:

  1. Restricted to people with disability aged 5 and over living in households who need assistance or have difficulty with communication or mobility and who leave home.
  2. Components will not add to total as people may report impairments related to more than one disability group. In such cases, people are counted separately for each disability group but are only counted once in the aggregated total.

  Source: ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) 2019. Microdata: Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers, Australia, 2018, ABS cat. no. 4430.0.30.002, ABS, AIHW analysis of detailed microdata in DataLab, accessed 29 September 2022.

  Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics – Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers (SDAC) | Data source overview
  

• Severity of disability

  Does the proportion of people with disability who can access buildings or facilities without difficulty vary by severity of disability?

  The data in the graph and the table below show the proportion of people with disability and communication or mobility limitations (aged 5 and over) who had no difficulty accessing buildings or facilities in the last 12 months, grouped by disability severity. In 2018, the proportion of people with disability who had no difficulty accessing buildings or facilities was 66% for people with severe or profound disability and 79% for people with other disability status.

  More detailed data by age group are shown in the table.

  Graph Table Notes

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  Severity of disability	% of people with disability who have no difficulty accessing buildings and facilities	95% Confidence Interval
  Aged 5–64
  Severe or profound disability	71%	(68.6%-74.3%)
  Other disability status	80%	(76.7%-83.4%)
  All with disability	74%	(71.5%-75.8%)
  Aged 65 and over
  Severe or profound disability	58%	(55.1%-61.2%)
  Other disability status	78%	(74.1%-82.2%)
  All with disability	63%	(60.4%-65.8%)
  Aged 5 and over
  Severe or profound disability	66%	(63.3%-67.9%)
  Other disability status	79%	(76.9%-81.6%)
  All with disability	69%	(67.3%-70.9%)

  Notes:

  1. Restricted to people with disability aged 5 and over living in households who need assistance or have difficulty with communication or mobility and who leave home.
  2. Severe or profound disability means always or sometimes needing assistance or supervision with self-care, mobility, and/or communication.

  Source: ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) 2019. Microdata: Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers, Australia, 2018, ABS cat. no. 4430.0.30.002, ABS, AIHW analysis of detailed microdata in DataLab, accessed 29 September 2022.

  Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics – Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers (SDAC) | Data source overview