AUSTRALIA'S WELFARE 2005

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare is Australia's national health and welfare statistics and information agency. The Institute's mission is better health and well being for Australians through better health and welfare statistics and information.

Please note that as with all statistical reports there is the potential for minor revisions of data over its life. Please refer to the online version at,<www.aihw.gov.au>.

AUSTRALIA'S WELFARE 2005

The seventh biennial welfare report of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare

Canberra

AIHW Cat. No. AUS 65

Copyright Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2005

This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced without prior written permission from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Requests and enquiries concerning reproduction and rights should be directed to the Head, Media and Publishing Unit, Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, GPO Box 570, Canberra ACT 2601.

ISBN 1 74024 509 1

ISSN 1321-1455

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’s World Wide Web site can be found at <www.aihw.gov.au>.

Suggested citation Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2005. Australia’s welfare 2005. AIHW cat. no. AUS65. Canberra: AIHW.

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare

Board Chair

Hon. Peter Collins, AM, QC

Director

Dr Richard Madden

The Institute is Australia's national health and welfare statistics and information agency, and is part of the Australian Government's Health and Ageing portfolio. The Institute's mission is 'better health and wellbeing for Australians through better health and welfare statistics and information'.

Australian Government

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare

The Hon Tony Abbott MP

Minister for Health and Ageing

Parliament House

CANBERRA ACT 2600

Dear Minister

On behalf of the Board of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare I am pleased to present to you Australia's Welfare 2005, as required under Subsection 31 (1A) of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare Act 1987.

I commend this report to you as a significant contribution to national information on welfare services and assistance and to the development and evaluation of welfare policies and programs in Australia.

Yours sincerely

Hon. Peter Collins

Chairperson of the Board
14 November 2005

For health and welfare statistics and information
6A Traeger Court Fern Hill Park Bruce ACT

GPO Box 570 Canberra ACT 2601

Phone 02 6244 1000 Fax 02 6244 1299 http://www.aihw.gov.au

Contributors

Editorial team

Editors: Diane Gibson, Ruel Abello

Production manager: Joanne Maples

Authors

Chapter 1: Introduction

Diane Gibson

Chapter 2: Indicators of Australia's welfare

Samantha Bricknell, Kate Williams, Nicola Fortune, Ros Madden

Chapter 3: Children, youth and families

Chris Mason, Kerry Carrington, Ingrid Johnston, Susan Kelly, Deidre Penhaligon

Chapter 4: Ageing and aged care

Rosemary Karmel, Ann Peut, Stan Bennett, Rebecca Hogan

Chapter 5: Disability and disability services

Ros Madden, Tim Beard, Xingyan Wen

Chapter 6: Assistance for housing

David Wilson, Melinda Petrie, Kristy Raithel

Chapter 7: Services for people experiencing homelessness

Joan Reid, Justin Griffin, Felicity Murdoch

Chapter 8: Welfare services resources

Maneerat Pinyopusarerk, Tony Hynes, Serge Chrisopoulos, Glenice Taylor

Chapter 9: Data environment

Diane Gibson

Referees

The editorial team and authors wish to thank the following organisations and individuals who provided comments on various chapters in Australia's Welfare 2005. Their critical and constructive comments added to the quality and authority of this publication and their valuable contribution is gratefully acknowledged.

Australian Bureau of Statistics
Department of Family and Community Services (Australian Government)
Department of Health and Ageing (Australian Government)
Department of Veterans' Affairs (Australian Government)
Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (Australian Government)
Linda Apelt
Ken Baker
David Batten
Chris Chamberlain
Narelle Clay
Anne Coleman
Owen Donald
Maree Dyson
Heather Gardener
Len Gray
Alan Hayes
Anna Howe
Bette Kill
Trevor Parmenter
Jill Rechner
Ian Spicer
David Wright-Howie
Ian Winter

Other AIHW contributors

A number of AIHW staff made significant contributions to, or comments on, chapters in this edition.

Ruel Abello
Fadwa Al-Yaman
Phil Anderson
Tim Beard
Justine Boland
Evon Bowler
Peter Braun
Sam Bricknell
Meredith Bryant
Sally Bullock
Michael de Looper
Fatima Ghani Gonzalo
Anne Giovanetti
Diane Gibson
John Goss
Justin Griffin
Cathy Hotstone
Rosemary Karmel
Cynthia Kim
Renate Kreisfeld
Kate Leeds
Richard Madden
Ros Madden
Sonia Marcolin
Chris Mason
Janice Miller
Sergei Mitnik
Ann Peut
Indrani Pieris-Caldwell
Chrysanthe Psychogios
Lydia Ross
Qasim Shah
Ken Tallis
Graeme Vaughan
Hong-yang Wang
Xingyan Wen
Kate Williams

The contribution made by members of the Institute's Business and Information Management Division, in particular Ainsley Morrissey, Lauren Di Salvia, Cecilia Burke, Anna Stark, Nigel Harding and Ron Forrester, is also gratefully acknowledged.

Contents

Contributors
Preface 
Symbols

1 Introduction
2 Indicators of Australia's welfare
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Healthy living
2.3 Autonomy and participation
2.4 Social cohesion
2.5 Conclusion
3 Children, youth and families
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Australia's children and youth
3.3 Australian families
3.4 Adopted children
3.5 Transitions from early childhood to school entry
3.6 Pathways from education to employment
3.7 Risks associated with childhood and youth
3.8 Conclusion
4 Ageing and aged care
4.1 Introduction 
4.2 Ageing in Australia 
4.3 Support and care for older people
4.4 Use of community care
4.5 Use of residential care
4.6 Client profiles
4.7 Expenditure
4.8 Outcomes
4.9 Summary
5 Disability and disability services
5.1 Introduction 
5.2 Recent developments 
5.3 Disability in the Australian population
5.4 Services and assistance
5.5 Outcomes
5.6 Summary and conclusion 
6 Assistance for housing
6.1 Overview
6.2 Housing affordability
6.3 Demographic and social background 
6.4 Housing assistance to low-income renters 
6.5 Assistance to home owners and purchasers 
6.6 Data development 
6.7 Conclusion
7 Services for people experiencing homelessness
7.1 Introduction 
7.2 Who counts as homeless?
7.3 Another approach to defining the homeless
7.4 Homelessness within SAAP
7.5 Iterative homelessness in the client groups
7.6 SAAP data from 1.99.6-9.7 to 2.00.3-0.4 
7.7 Australian Government initiatives
7.8 State and territory government initiatives
7.9 Summary 
8 Welfare services resources
8.1 Introduction 
8.2 Total resources for welfare services 
8.3 Expenditure on welfare services 
8.4 Funding for welfare services
8.5 Welfare-related social expenditure
8.6 Human resources in community services
9 Data environment
9.1 The national information infrastructure
9.2 Sector-specific and cross-cutting data development activities 
9.3 Conclusion

Appendix tables

Technical appendix on the ABS 2003 Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers

Abbreviations

Glossary

Population tables

Preface

As the Director of the AIHW, it gives me great pleasure to introduce the 2005 edition of Australia's Welfare. This is the seventh edition of this publication, and the last to be produced during my term as Director.

The publication has become increasingly comprehensive. It includes indicators of overall wellbeing and measures of resources (both human and financial) to provide a more general overview, and endeavours to describe the interactions between different welfare sectors. Australia's Welfare 2005 provides the best available guide to how the Australian welfare system affects large groups of Australians.

Improving the understanding that Australians have about welfare services and housing assistance is an important focus for the Institute. Chapters in Australia's Welfare 2005 provide a wealth of reference information and statistics on children, youth and families, older people, people with a disability, homelessness and housing.

Not all these services and assistance are provided through government agencies, nongovernment organisations or private providers. Family members and volunteers provide substantial support and assistance to other Australians. They form an intrinsic and invaluable part of the welfare 'sector'.

Australians are fortunate indeed to have the array of services available from so many committed, skilled people, both paid and unpaid. As well as their immediate value, these services allow many people to participate more fully in their families and the community and provide a strong measure of social cohesion for the community as a whole.

I am particularly pleased in the breadth of information available in this edition in the chapter on children, youth and families. Children and youth are the focus of several current inter-governmental undertakings and partnerships, and the chapter provides a valuable resource to those working in this critical area of social policy, whether as policy makers, policy analysts or service providers.

Many people have worked willingly and with considerable expertise to produce this edition. Their efforts have produced a reliable reference for all readers. My thanks go to them. I feel sure they would join me in wishing that Australia's Welfare 2005 meets more than the Institute's legislative requirement. This seventh edition should make an important contribution to the current and ongoing debate about social policy in Australia.

Richard Madden

Director

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare

Symbols

N number
m million
b billion
$ Australian dollars, unless another country is specified
% per cent
nec not elsewhere classified
'000 thousands
n.p. when used in a table - not published by the data source
n.a. when used in a table - not available
nfd not further defined
. . when used in a table - not applicable
- when used in a table - nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)
* when used in front of a numerical value in a table - estimate has a relative standard error of 25% to 50% and should be used with caution
** when used in front of a numerical value in a table - estimate has a relative standard error greater than 50% and is considered too unreliable for general use