Social participation

Population groups

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander status

  Does social participation of people 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 people with disability (aged 5 and over) who participated in a cultural, sport or social activity away from home in the past 12 months, by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander status. In 2018, 91% of Indigenous Australians with disability participated in a cultural, sport or social activity away from home, as did 95% of non-Indigenous Australians.

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  Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander status	% of people with disability who participate in social activities	95% Confidence Interval
  Indigenous	91%	(86.5%-95.5%)
  Non-Indigenous	95%	(94.5%-95.8%)
  All persons	95%	(94.5%-95.7%)

  Notes:

  1. Restricted to people with disability aged 5 and over living in households who leave home.
  2. Data source does not cover very remote areas and discrete Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
  3. Data have been randomly adjusted to avoid identifying individual people.

  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 31 March 2022.

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

• Sex and gender

  Does social participation of people with disability vary by sex?

  The data in the graph and the table below show the proportion of people with disability (aged 5 and over) who participated in a cultural, sport or social activity away from home in the past 12 months, for males and females. In 2018, 95% of both males and females with disability participated in a cultural, sport or social activity away from home.

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  Sex	% of people with disability who participate in social activities	95% Confidence Interval
  Males	95%	(94.1%-95.8%)
  Females	95%	(94.5%-95.8%)
  All persons	95%	(94.5%-95.7%)

  Notes:

  1. Restricted to people with disability aged 5 and over living in households who leave home.
  2. Data have been randomly adjusted to avoid identifying individual people.

  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 31 March 2022.

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

• Age group

  Does social participation of people with disability vary by age?

  The data in the graph and the table below show the proportion of people with disability (aged 5 and over) who participated in a cultural, sport or social activity away from home in the past 12 months, grouped by age. In 2018, 97% of people with disability aged 5–24 had participated in a cultural, sport or social activity away from home, compared with 94% for the 65 and over age group.

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  Age group	% of people with disability who participate in social activities	95% Confidence Interval
  5–24	97%	(95.7%-98.8%)
  25–44	96%	(94.1%-97.2%)
  45–64	95%	(94.6%-96.4%)
  65 and over	94%	(93.2%-94.9%)
  All ages	95%	(94.5%-95.7%)

  Notes:

  1. Restricted to people with disability aged 5 and over living in households who leave home.
  2. Data have been randomly adjusted to avoid identifying individual people.

  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 31 March 2022.

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

• Cultural and linguistic diversity status

  Does social participation of people with disability vary by cultural and linguistic diversity background?

  The data in the graph and the table below show the proportion of people with disability (aged 5 and over) who participated in a cultural, sport or social activity away from home in the past 12 months, by culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) status. In 2018, 93% of people from CALD backgrounds with disability participated in a cultural, sport or social activity away from home, as did 95% among the non-CALD group.

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  Cultural and linguistic diversity status	% of people with disability who participate in social activities	95% Confidence Interval
  CALD	93%	(91.5%-94.9%)
  CALD – low English proficiency	93%	(87.7%-98.1%)
  CALD – high English proficiency	93%	(91.6%-95.1%)
  Non-CALD	95%	(94.8%-96.1%)
  All persons	95%	(94.5%-95.7%)

  Notes:

  1. Restricted to people with disability aged 5 and over living in households 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'.
  4. Data have been randomly adjusted to avoid identifying individual people.

  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 31 March 2022.

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

• Remoteness

  Does social participation of people with disability vary by remoteness?

  The data in the graph and the table below show the proportion of people with disability (aged 5 and over) who participated in a cultural, sport or social activity away from home in the past 12 months, grouped by remoteness. In 2018, 95% of people with disability living in major cities and inner regional areas had participated in a cultural, sport or social activity away from home, compared with 93% of people with disability in outer regional and remote areas.

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  Remoteness	% of people with disability who participate in social activities	95% Confidence Interval
  Major cities	95%	(94.6%-96.1%)
  Inner regional	95%	(94.1%-96.7%)
  Outer regional and remote	93%	(91.4%-94.5%)
  All areas	95%	(94.5%-95.7%)

  Notes:

  1. Restricted to people with disability aged 5 and over living in households who leave home.
  2. Remoteness is classified according to Accessibility and Remoteness Index of Australia. Data source does not cover very remote areas.
  3. Data have been randomly adjusted to avoid identifying individual people.

  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 31 March 2022.

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

• Disability group

  Does social participation of people with disability vary by disability group?

  The data in the graph and the table below show the proportion of people with disability (aged 5 and over) who participated in a cultural, sport or social activity away from home in the past 12 months, by disability group. In 2018, 96% of people with sensory and speech disability had participated in a cultural, sport or social activity away from home, compared with 92% of people with psychosocial disability and of those with head injury, stroke or acquired brain injury.

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  Disability group	% of people with disability who participate in social activities	95% Confidence Interval
  Sensory and speech	96%	(94.6%-96.5%)
  Intellectual	94%	(92.3%-95.3%)
  Physical restriction	94%	(93.2%-94.8%)
  Psychosocial	92%	(90.1%-93.4%)
  Head injury, stroke or acquired brain injury	92%	(87.6%-95.7%)
  Other	93%	(91.8%-93.9%)
  All with disability	95%	(94.5%-95.7%)

  Notes:

  1. Restricted to people with disability aged 5 and over living in households 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.
  3. Data have been randomly adjusted to avoid identifying individual people.

  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 31 March 2022.

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

• Severity of disability

  Does social participation of people with disability vary by severity of disability?

  The data in the graph and the table below show the proportion of people with disability (aged 5 and over) who participated in a cultural, sport or social activity away from home in the past 12 months, grouped by disability severity. In 2018, the proportion of people with disability who participated in a cultural, sport or social activity away from home was 90% for people with severe or profound disability and 97% for people with other disability status.

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  Severity of disability	% of people with disability who participate in social activities	95% Confidence Interval
  Severe or profound disability	90%	(89.1%-91.9%)
  Other disability status	97%	(96.4%-97.4%)
  All with disability	95%	(94.5%-95.7%)

  Notes:

  1. Restricted to people with disability aged 5 and over living in households who leave home.
  2. Severe or profound disability means always or sometimes needing assistance or supervision with self-care, mobility, and/or communication.
  3. Data have been randomly adjusted to avoid identifying individual people.

  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 31 March 2022.

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