Dementia in Australia

The data presented in this chapter are from the 2022 Australian Bureau of Statistics’ Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers (SDAC) which provides detailed information on Australians who belong to one or more of the following groups:

• people with disability
• older people (those aged 65 years and over)
• unpaid carers of people with disability or a long-term health condition, or older people.

The 2022 SDAC was conducted from June 2022 to February 2023. Data was collected from around 13,700 households and 1,100 establishments that provide cared accommodation (ABS 2022). We refer to people living in these 2 distinct groups as those living in:

• the community: includes people living in private dwellings and self-care retirement villages. This is referred to as ‘households’ in the SDAC.
• cared accommodation: includes people living in a cared accommodation facility for a minimum of 3 months where there is 24-hour access to assistance for personal and/or medical needs, and all meals are provided. This includes hospitals, residential aged care homes, hostels, cared components of retirement villages and other ‘homes’, such as group homes for people with disability. The vast majority (97%) of people with dementia in cared accommodation in the SDAC were living in residential aged care homes (government-subsidised and non-government-subsidised facilities) (Table S5.14).

The SDAC is a sample survey. All sample surveys are subject to sampling and non-sampling error (ABS 2022). Indications for the level of sampling error are given by the relative standard error. In this web report, there are several SDAC estimates where the relative standard errors are between 25% and 50%. These estimates are noted in the figures and should be used with caution.

Data from people residing in very remote areas, discrete Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and short stay accommodation are not captured in the SDAC (ABS 2022). These exclusions, along with small sample sizes, limit the survey’s ability to capture comprehensive data for small geographic areas and specific population groups, such as First Nations people and those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.

The SDAC is likely to underestimate the number of people with dementia because:

• it relies on self-reported information about a respondent’s health status for those living in the community. This may be a particular issue for people with dementia who are living in the community as they either have not yet been formally diagnosed with dementia, are not aware they have it or are unwilling to disclose it.
• there may also be a higher proportion of missing or unknown information among those in cared accommodation and the community who had a proxy respondent or establishment complete the survey on their behalf. It is likely dementia has a higher rate of proxy responses than other groups of people with disability.
• dementia may not be identified in those who do not have a carer and are unable to respond to the survey.

The SDAC is also limited in its ability to provide a comprehensive picture of carers of people living with dementia (primary and otherwise) as information was only collected if the carers of people with dementia lived in households in the SDAC sample.

Better supporting dementia carers is one of the eight key aims of the National Dementia Action Plan which is being monitored through the National Dementia Action Plan indicators dashboard. Improving data for carers of people with dementia is also part of National Dementia Data Improvement Plan 2023–2034, see 13: Informal carers of people with dementia.