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

A person’s mental health is a major determinant of general health and wellbeing and affects the ability to lead a productive and fulfilling life. Poor mental health can lead to lower levels of social and community engagement – and poorer education, employment and housing outcomes – which, in turn, can worsen mental health. Having appropriate, effective and accessible mental health supports and services that meet the needs of people with disability, and embedding a cross-sector approach to building mental health and wellbeing, are essential (Australia’s Disability Strategy 2021–2031).

High psychological distress

Psychological distress refers to a person’s overall level of psychological strain or pain. Self-reported psychological distress is an important indication of the overall mental health of a population (AIHW 2022).

Data for this measure are based on the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale-10 (K10). Questions in the K10 ask about negative emotional states experienced by the participant in the last 4 weeks (ABS 2019). Higher levels of psychological distress indicate that a person may have, or is at risk of developing, mental health issues (AIHW 2022).

The desired population outcome for this measure is to see an increase in people with disability experiencing good mental health.

Results at baseline: 2018

• In 2018, 31% of adults with disability aged 18 and over experienced a high or very high level of psychological distress.
• From 2015 to 2018, there was no real change in the proportion of adults with disability who experienced a high or very high level of psychological distress (30.1% and 30.7%, respectively) (Figure 7.5).
• In 2018, a higher proportion of adult females than adult males with disability reported high or very high levels of psychological distress (33% and 28%, respectively).
• People with disability aged 18–24 had a higher proportion of those experiencing high or very high levels of psychological distress (49%) than people with disability in older age groups – 45–64 years (40%) and 65 years and over (19%).
• People with disability aged 65 and over had the lowest proportion of those experiencing high or very high levels of psychological distress (19%) of all other age groups.
• A significantly higher proportion of people with severe or profound disability experienced high or very high levels of psychological distress (50%) than people with other disability (25%).

Latest results

Updated data are not yet available for this measure. New data from the 2022 ABS SDAC are expected to be available in the first half of 2024 and included in the 2024 annual report.

Things to consider when interpreting results

• While data for this measure were originally intended to be sourced from the ABS NHS, the ABS SDAC was used because it has greater coverage of people with disability.
• Data are restricted to people with disability aged 18 and over living in households, excluding those who were not asked the psychological stress questions, or instances where it was not possible to determine score.

For the latest data and breakdowns of the data, see Australia’s Disability Strategy Outcomes Framework | High psychological distress.

NDIS participants life satisfaction

Life satisfaction measures how people evaluate their life as a whole rather than their current feelings. Measuring life satisfaction can be helpful for understanding happiness and subjective wellbeing (OECD 2022).

The desired population outcome for this measure is to see an increase in people with disability reporting that they are happy with the life they live. Data for this measure are from the NDIS Long Form Outcomes Framework questionnaire, and include participants who responded ‘Delighted’, ‘Pleased’ or ‘Mostly satisfied’ to the question ‘Thinking about my life in general now and in the future, I feel’.

Results at baseline: 2020–21

• In 2020–21, less than half (46%) of NDIS participants, aged 15–64 reported feeling satisfied about their life in general now and in the future.
• There is no consistent trend for the period leading up to and including the baseline (2016–17 to 2020–21). The proportion increased between 2016–17 and 2018–19, before falling in 2019–20 (to 44%) and then rising again in 2020–21 (to 46%).
• In 2020–21, a higher proportion of male than female participants reported feeling satisfied about their life in general now and in the future (48% and 43%, respectively).
• There was some variation by age group for this measure. Among NDIS participants aged 25–64, 47% reported feeling satisfied compared with 42% of participants aged 15–24.

Latest results: 2021–22

• In 2021–22, 47.3% of NDIS participants aged 15–64 reported feeling satisfied about their life in general now and in the future. This was 1.6 percentage points higher than at baseline (2020–21) (45.7%), indicating progress since the Strategy began. However, care should be taken when looking at reported progress for this measure as there is some uncertainty in the data see Things to consider when interpreting results.
• The observed increase (1.6 percentage points) in 2021–22 was a little larger than the observed year–to-year increase in 2020–21 (1.3 percentage points), and within the range of changes observed in the historical data.

Things to consider when interpreting results

• Data for this measure come from the NDIS Long Form Questionnaire, and are collected from a voluntary, non-probability sample of NDIS participants over a 3‑month period (September through November). In 2021–22, the sample for the age range 15–64 was around 2,800 NDIS participants.
• The data collection has been established for NDIS longitudinal reporting, rather than the cross-sectional reporting used here. The nature of the sampling methods means that results may not be representative of the whole NDIS population. For this reason, care should be taken when looking at reported progress for this measure as there is some uncertainty in the data.
• Time series analysis for the NDIS data presented here provide a series of data points, each representing a snapshot of NDIS participants at a given point in time. This is different from the longitudinal approach taken in NDIS reporting.

For the latest data and breakdowns of the data, see Australia’s Disability Strategy Outcomes Framework | NDIS participants’ life satisfaction.