Health of people with disability

Disability and health have a complex relationship – long-term health conditions might cause disability, and disability can contribute to health problems. The nature and extent of a person’s disability can also influence their health experiences. For example, it may limit their access to, and participation in, social and physical activities. Social, cultural and economic determinants of health can be of particular importance for people with disability (see Social determinants of health and What are determinants of health?).

In general, people with disability report poorer physical and mental health than people without disability. They also have higher rates of some modifiable health risk factors and behaviours, such as poor diet and tobacco smoking, than people without disability.

This page looks at the health of people with disability, their health risk factors and health service use.

How many people have disability

The disability population is diverse. It encompasses people across all parts of Australian society. Knowing how many Australians have disability, and their characteristics, can help us to plan and provide the supports, services and communities that enable people with disability to participate fully in everyday life.

The number of people with disability in Australia in 2022 was estimated at 5.5 million. This is an increase from an estimated 4.4 million in 2018. The estimated disability rate has also increased, from 17.7% in 2018 to 21.4% in 2022 (ABS 2024a).

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS 2024a) notes that several factors may have contributed to the rise in reported disability rate, including:

• a growing awareness of disability in Australia
• a general increase in prevalence of some long-term health conditions
• changes in data collection methods
• an ageing population.

While each of these factors may have played a role in the increase of the rate and number of people with disability, it is not possible to determine how much impact they may have had (ABS 2024a).

Types of disability

Disability can affect functioning of different parts of the body or mind. The SDAC broadly groups different types of disability into 6 disability groups. A person can have disability that causes restrictions and limitations in one or more of these groups. 

In 2022:

• 14.5% of people in Australia (3.7 million, or 68% of people with disability) had physical disability
• 7.5% (1.9 million, or 35% of people with disability) had sensory or speech disability, that is disability related to vision or hearing loss, or speech difficulties
• 6.5% (1.7 million, or 30% of people with disability) had psychosocial disability, that is disability related to nervous or emotional condition, mental illness or condition, memory problems or periods of confusion, or social or behavioural difficulties 
• 4.4% (1.1 million, or 21% of people with disability) had learning and understanding disability (AIHW analysis of ABS 2024b; Figure 1).

For more information on the characteristics of disability, including changes over time or how it varies depending on the person’s age and sex, see People with disability in Australia, Disability population and characteristics of disability. For information about life expectancy with and without disability, see People with disability in Australia, Disability-free life expectancy.

Health status of people with disability

People with disability are more likely to report poorer general health. In 2022:

• 32% of adults with disability (aged 18 and over, and living in the community) said their health was very good or excellent, compared with 69% of those without disability
• 33% of adults with disability said their health was fair or poor, compared with 5.6% of those without disability (AIHW analysis of ABS 2023; Figure 2).

People with disability are more likely to experience severe bodily pain than people without disability. In 2022:

• 87% of adults with disability (living in the community) had experienced bodily pain within the last 4 weeks, compared with 62% of those without disability
• adults with disability are 8 times as likely (17%) to have experienced severe or very severe bodily pain as adults without disability (2.1%) (AIHW analysis of ABS 2023; Figure 2).

Adults with disability are more likely to experience high or very high levels of psychological distress than adults without disability. In 2022:

• 27% of adults with disability (living in the community) experienced high or very high levels of psychological distress, compared with 6.7% of those without disability (AIHW analysis of ABS 2023; Figure 2).

For more information on the measures of overall health, and health status of sub-groups of people with disability, see People with disability in Australia, Health status.

Health conditions of people with disability

People with disability may have one or more long-term health conditions (conditions that have lasted, or are expected to last, for 6 months or more). The most common types of long-term health conditions for people with disability in 2022 were:

• diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue – 53% of all people with disability had one or more of these conditions
• mental and behavioural health conditions – 46%
• diseases of the circulatory system – 37%
• endocrine, nutritional and metabolic disorders – 30%
• diseases of the ear and mastoid process – 29% (AIHW analysis of ABS 2024c).

Most people with disability (65%) had 3 or more long-term health conditions in 2022 (AIHW analysis of ABS 2024c).

For 3 in 4 (75%) Australians with disability in 2022, their main health condition (the one causing the most problems) was physical. Musculoskeletal disorders were the most common physical disorders reported as a main condition (28%). Among musculoskeletal disorders, the most commonly reported main conditions were arthritis and related disorders (12%) and back problems (12%) (ABS 2024a).

Mental or behavioural disorders were reported as the main condition by one-quarter (25%) of people with disability. The most common mental or behavioural disorders were anxiety disorders (7.4%), and psychological development conditions such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or dyslexia (9.4%) (ABS 2024a).

For more information about long-term health conditions people with disability have, and on the prevalence of disability within specific health conditions, see People with disability in Australia chapters Long-term health conditions of people with disability and Chronic conditions and disability.

Health risk factors for people with disability

People with disability generally have higher rates of some modifiable health risk factors and behaviours than people without disability. There can be particular challenges for people with disability in modifying some risk factors; for example, where extra assistance is needed to achieve a physically active lifestyle, or where medication increases appetite.

The 2022 NHS shows that, among adults aged 18 and over (and living in the community):

• 53% of people with disability do not eat enough fruit and vegetables (according to national guidelines). This is similar for people without disability (54%).
• Most people do not meet guidelines for physical activity, regardless of whether they have disability. About 3 in 4 (77% of people with disability and 74% without disability) did not do enough physical activity for their age (including at work). At the same time, people with disability are more than twice as likely to report having no (zero minutes) physical activity in the last week (19%, compared with 8.0% for people without disability).
• People with disability are more likely to be living with overweight or obesity, with waist circumference measurement indicative of substantially increased risk of health problems (58% compared with 41%), or a Body Mass Index over 25 (72% compared with 62%) (ABS 2022).
• People with disability are more likely to have uncontrolled high blood pressure (29% compared with 20%).
• People with disability are more likely to report current daily smoking (14% compared with 8.7%) or having ever smoked (51% compared with 37%). While smoking rates have fallen over the last decade, the decrease in daily smoking was larger for adults without disability (from 15% in 2011–12 to 8.7% in 2022) than for adults with disability (from 18% in 2011–12 to 14% in 2022).
• People with and without disability have similar rates of alcohol consumption, with about 1 in 4 (27% in each group) exceeding the alcohol intake guidelines (AIHW analysis of ABS 2023; Figure 3).

For more information about health risk factors for sub-groups of people with disability, see People with disability in Australia, Health risk factors and behaviours.

Use of medicines by people with disability

Medicines can help manage health conditions, ease pain, reduce symptoms and support daily activities. They can also help prevent complications from existing conditions, improve quality of life or delay onset of disease (see Medicines in the health system).

Paracetamol and ibuprofen are commonly used over-the-counter medicines. They are typically recommended for mild health problems such as pain and fever but can also help manage long-term health conditions. People with disability are more likely to use paracetamol and ibuprofen than people without disability, which may reflect higher levels of pain among people with disability. 

In the 2 weeks before the 2022 NHS interview:

• 16% of adults with disability (living in the community) used paracetamol daily, compared with 3.3% of adults without disability; 57% of adults with disability and 42% of those without disability used paracetamol at least once
• 26% of adults with disability used ibuprofen at least once, and 3.4% used it daily, compared with 21% and 1.2% respectively for those without disability (AIHW analysis of ABS 2023).

The Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) provides subsidised prescription medicines to the Australian population. PBS data was linked to the NHS 2022 survey and provides information on PBS medications dispensed to NHS survey participants in the 6 months before and after their NHS interview. Adults with disability are more likely to be dispensed PBS medications and often receive a higher number of different PBS medication types compared with those without disability:

• almost 9 in 10 (87%) adults with disability (living in the community) were dispensed at least one PBS medication in the 6 months before or after their NHS interview compared with 2 in 3 (66%) adults without disability
• around half (46%) of adults with disability were dispensed 5 or more types of PBS medications, compared with 15% of adults without disability (AIHW analysis of ABS 2023).

In 2022, the most commonly dispensed PBS medication types among adults with disability were:

• medicines for the cardiovascular system, such as blood pressure and cholesterol-lowering medicines (49% of adults with disability living in the community were dispensed this type of medication)
• medicines for the nervous system, such as pain relief and medications used for mental health (48%)
• antiinfectives for systemic use, such as bacterial antibiotics and antivirals (47%)
• medicines for the alimentary tract and metabolism, such as anti-nausea and diabetic medications (38%)
• medicines for the musculoskeletal system, such as non-steroid based anti-inflammatory medications (27%) (AIHW analysis of ABS 2023; Figure 4).

Use of health services by people with disability

People with disability often need a range of health services to manage their conditions. Access to these services can be affected by factors such as cost, service availability, access barriers, and past negative experiences, such as discrimination by health professionals. When services are not available or suitable, unmet health needs can occur. This can lead to poorer health outcomes.

Most people with disability living in the community accessed health services for their own health in the last 12 months prior to their SDAC 2022 interview (Figure 5). Almost all (93%) people with disability reported they saw a GP at least once, around 2 in 3 (63%) saw a medical specialist, and half (51%) saw a dental professional. GP visits for urgent medical care were less common (17%) than hospital admissions or hospital emergency department visits (25% each). More than 2 in 5 (43%) used telehealth services, suggesting telehealth plays an important role in improving access (AIHW analysis of ABS 2024b).

Not all people with disability receive healthcare services when needed. In the 12 months prior to their 2022 SDAC interview:

• 1 in 5 (20%) people with disability (living in the community) at least once needed to see a GP but did not go; of these 43% said long waiting time or service unavailability were the main reasons
• 1 in 5 (19%) at least once needed to see a dental professional but did not, of these 46% said cost was the main reason
• 1 in 7 (14%) at least once needed to see a medical specialist but did not
• 3.7% at least once needed to go to hospital but did not (AIHW analysis of ABS 2024b; Figure 6).

Health outcomes for recipients of government disability payments and services

To date, reporting on outcomes for people with disability using non-disability specific services was patchy due to inconsistent identification of disability across administrative (government) data sources. Recently, there have been significant efforts to link different administrative data together to identify records of disability service users in systems such as health care. Much of this effort has occurred as part of the National Disability Data Asset initiative.

In 2025, as part of reporting against Australia’s Disability Strategy 2021–2031, some health outcomes for people using disability-related government payments and services were able to be reported for the first time. In 2021–22:

• people using disability-related government payments and services were 7 times as likely as others to experience a potentially avoidable death in hospital
• there were around 1,800 involuntary hospital admissions per 100,000 people using disability services
• there were around 17,600 GP-type emergency presentations per 100,000 disability service users.

Perceptions and attitudes to disability in the healthcare sector

As part of Australia’s Disability Strategy, the Australian Government has set up Australia’s Disability Strategy Survey (ADS Survey). The goal of the survey is to gather information about disability awareness and attitudes in the community and across key service sectors, and the confidence of workers in the key service sectors to assist and treat people with disability. ADS Survey also asks people with disability about attitudes they have experienced when accessing services or being in the community.

Health care is the most commonly used service by people with disability. Almost 9 in 10 (88%) people with disability reported using healthcare services in the last year, and half (50%) of healthcare workers said they often or very often interacted with people with disability in their job (AIHW 2025).

Most (9 in 10) healthcare workers were certain they behave in a positive way towards people with disability. Likewise, more than 9 in 10 people with disability thought they were treated with respect by healthcare workers, and that things were explained clearly to them. While most people with disability did not think their disability affected how they were treated by the health workers, about 15% thought they would have been treated better if they did not have disability (AIHW 2025).

Health workers were most confident in assisting or treating people with physical disability, and had lower levels of confidence where disability was not physical. Workers were also less likely to think that a person with intellectual, psychosocial or neurological disability should be able to make their own decisions about treatment, or have access to the same range of family planning services. As service users, people with intellectual or psychosocial disability reported worse experiences when interacting with healthcare services (AIHW 2025).

Where do I go for more information?

For more information on the health of people with disability, see:

• People with disability in Australia
• ABS Disability, Ageing and Carers, Australia: summary of findings, 2022
• ABS National Health Survey, 2022
• Reporting on Australia’s Disability Strategy 2021–2031
• Australia’s Disability Strategy Survey Wave 2 report.

For more on this topic, see Disability.