Disability services

People using specialist disability services in Australia had a mortality rate 4.7 times as high as the general population. Among service users, the rates and causes of death varied by type of disability, age and sex. The rate of potentially avoidable deaths was 3.6 times as high for service users compared with the general population, with coronary heart disease and suicide being the leading causes of deaths deemed potentially avoidable.

In 2018–19, about 230,000 people used disability support services funded under the National Disability Agreement (NDA). Of these, 68% used the Australian Government’s open employment services. During the year, about 29,200 NDA service users transitioned to the National Disability Insurance Scheme, many of whom (65%)  had an intellectual or learning primary disability.