Access to government buildings

What is being tracked?

Measure: Proportion of people with disability who have difficulty accessing government buildings

This measure is part of the Built and natural environment accessibility priority of the Strategy. This priority is about making sure the buildings and facilities people with disability visit are accessible.

The desired outcome is that fewer people with disability have difficulty accessing government buildings.

From July 2024, data about Autistic people with disability have been added to this page (see Population groups – Disability group). This is to help track outcomes under the new National Autism Strategy.

Last updated:

Outcome area: Inclusive homes and communities Priority: The built and natural environment accessibility

  • Baseline value

    8.1%in 2018

  • Latest value

    5.2%in 2022

Improving the measure is moving in the direction the Strategy wants

View the data source

Has the proportion of people with disability who have difficulty accessing government buildings decreased over time?

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 difficulty accessing government buildings in the past 12 months. Data from 2015 to 2022 are used. In 2022, 5.2% of people with disability had difficulty accessing government buildings, compared with 7.6% in 2015. The baseline used to track change over time was 8.1% in 2018.

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

State and territory

Does the proportion of people with disability who have difficulty accessing government buildings vary between states and territories?

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 difficulty accessing government buildings in the past 12 months, grouped by Australian states and territories. In 2022, 13% of people with disability living in Tasmania and 4.2% in both Victoria and Queensland had difficulty accessing government buildings (please note that results for some jurisdictions were not published due to small sample numbers and to protect confidentiality).

# Should be used with caution: proportion has a Margin of Error (MoE) >10 percentage points and/or proportion ± MoE equals <0% or >100%.
n.p. (not published) Data have been suppressed to avoid identifying individual people.

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

Population groups

How this measure varies by…

  • Does the proportion of people with disability who have difficulty accessing government buildings vary for First Nations 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 difficulty accessing government buildings in the past 12 months, by Indigenous status. In 2022, 5.3% of non-Indigenous people had difficulty accessing government buildings. Data for First Nations people could not be published due to small sample numbers and to protect confidentiality.

    n.p. (not published) Data have been suppressed to avoid identifying individual people.

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

  • Does the proportion of people with disability who have difficulty accessing government buildings 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 difficulty accessing government buildings in the past 12 months, for males and females. In 2022, 4.2% of males with disability had difficulty accessing government buildings, as were 6.2% of females with disability.

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

  • Does the proportion of people with disability who have difficulty accessing government buildings 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 difficulty accessing government buildings in the past 12 months, grouped by age. In 2022, 8.0% of people with disability aged 15–24 had difficulty accessing government buildings, compared with 3.1% of those aged 5–14.

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

  • Does the proportion of people with disability who have difficulty accessing government buildings 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 difficulty accessing government buildings in the past 12 months, by culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) status. In 2022, 4.3% of people from CALD backgrounds with disability had difficulty accessing government buildings, and 5.3% among the non-CALD group.

    n.p. (not published) Data have been suppressed to avoid identifying individual people.

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

  • Does the proportion of people with disability who have difficulty accessing government buildings 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 difficulty accessing government buildings in the past 12 months, grouped by remoteness. In 2022, 6.8% of people with disability living in inner regional areas had difficulty accessing government buildings, compared with 4.4% in major cities.

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

  • Does the proportion of people with disability who have difficulty accessing government buildings 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 difficulty accessing government buildings in the past 12 months, by disability group. In 2022, 7.3% of people with head injury, stroke or acquired brain injury had difficulty accessing government buildings, and 5.3% of people in the learning and understanding disability group.

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

    Does the proportion of people with disability who have difficulty accessing government buildings vary for Autistic and non-Autistic people?

    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 difficulty accessing government buildings in the past 12 months, by whether they have autism. In 2022, 3.7% of Autistic people with disability had difficulty accessing government buildings and 5.3% of non-Autistic people with disability.

    Please note that, in this data source, not all Autistic people are considered to have disability. Autistic people who do not report significant limitations, impairments or restrictions are considered to not have disability; these people are not reported on in this graph and table.

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

  • Does the proportion of people with disability who have difficulty accessing government buildings 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 difficulty accessing government buildings in the past 12 months, grouped by disability severity. In 2022, 6.2% of people with severe or profound disability had difficulty accessing government buildings, compared with 2.0% for people with other disability status.

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

Where did these data come from?

Data on access to government buildings come from survey data collected by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Learn more about these data
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