Australia’s Disability Strategy 2021–2031 Outcomes Framework: 4th annual report

Why is this outcome area important?

The Strategy focuses on physical aspects of health and wellbeing as well as improving mental health outcomes for people with disability. Good health and wellbeing are critical determinants of a person’s quality of life. People with disability:

• generally report poorer health and higher levels of psychological distress than people without disability (AIHW 2024a)
• may also experience disadvantage or inequality in social, cultural and economic determinants of health (AIHW 2024b). 

Addressing these determinants of health and wellbeing is important in improving overall health outcomes.

Policy priorities

1. Health and wellbeing (3 measures): Supporting the health of people with disability by improving their experience when they need to access health services. 
2. Prevention and early intervention (3 measures): Improving access to health care for people with disability. 
3. Mental health (4 measures): Supporting the mental health of people with disability and improving their experience of mental health care. 
4. Emergency responses (2 measures): Improving emergency service responses for people with disability.

2025 Summary

Data are available for 10 of 12 measures. In 2025:

• 3 measures were updated (Table 7.1)
• 3 measures had data available for the first time (Table 7.2)
• 4 measures were not updated.

Of the 3 updated measures:

• 1 showed no change
• 2 showed improvement.

 Overall, this Outcome Area is showing improvement since 2021.

• Two of the 3 measures for Health and wellbeing showed no change and the progress for 1 measure is not known yet.
• Two of the 3 measures for Prevention and early intervention showed improvement and the progress for 1 measure is not known yet.
• Two of the 3 measures for Mental health showed improvement and 1 measure showed no change.
• Progress for the only measure for Emergency responses is not known yet.

Key findings

• In 2020–21, there were 228 potentially avoidable deaths per 100,000 people with disability, and 33 deaths per 100,000 people without disability. In 2021–22, this increased to 238 potentially avoidable deaths per 100,000 people with disability, while the number for people without disability remained the same. Since baseline, the gap between the number of potentially avoidable deaths per 100,000 people with disability has increased by 10 per 100,000 people, denoting little change (Figure 7.1).
• In 2020–21, there were just under 18,300 GP-type emergency department presentations per 100,000 people with disability. This decreased by 653 per 100,000 to about 17,600 emergency presentations per 100,000 people with disability in 2021–22, indicating that the measure is improving (Figure 7.2).
• In 2020–21, there were about 2,000 involuntary hospital admissions per 100,000 people with disability. This dropped to about 1,800 hospital admissions per 100,000 people with disability in 2021–22, decreasing by 172 per 100,000, indicating that the measure is improving (Figure 7.3).

Information on each measure below includes the latest update, baseline and progress status, key demographic insights, and a chart showing the direction of the change since baseline.

GP – general practitioner; pp – percentage points.