People with disability in Australia 2026

Introduction

Like everyone, people with disability have health care needs, access health services to meet them, and have varying health-related experiences. They use a range of mainstream health services, such as general practitioners (GPs), medical specialists, dentists, and hospitals. Their care may require coordination between different health professionals.

People with disability may also rely on informal care, such as that provided by family and friends, to meet or supplement their health care needs.

Assistance with health care activities

About 30% (an estimated 1.6 million) of people with disability living in households need assistance with health care activities. Of those:

• 56% (or an estimated 877,000) receive assistance from formal services
• 44% (or 689,000) receive informal assistance
• 18% (or 275,000) do not receive any assistance (ABS 2022).

Older people with disability are more likely to need assistance with health care activities. Among those aged 65 and over, 42% (or 898,000) needed assistance with health care activities, compared with 21% (or 669,000) of those aged under 65 (ABS 2022).

For 6.5% (or 347,000) people with disability, their needs for assistance with health care activities were not fully met (ABS 2022).

Use of mainstream health services

In 2022, most people with disability living in households reported using health services in the last 12 months:

• most (93% or 4.9 million) saw a GP for their own health
• 1 in 6 (17% or 916,000) saw a GP for urgent medical care
• 2 in 3 (63% or 3.3 million) saw a medical specialist
• half (51% or 2.7 million) saw a dental professional
• 1 in 4 (25% or 1.3 million) visited a hospital emergency department
• 1 in 4 (25% or 1.3 million) were admitted to hospital
• 2 in 5 (39% or 2.1 million) saw 3 or more health professionals for the same condition
• 2 in 5 (43% or 2.3 million) had a telehealth consultation (Figure ACCESS.1).

Notes:

1. Data are restricted to use of selected health services for own health in the last 12 months by people with disability living in households.
2. Numbers are rounded and randomly adjusted to protect confidentiality. Because of this, components may not add up to totals.

The use of health services by people with disability varied by age. People aged 65 and over were more likely to:

• see a GP (97% or 2.1 million) within the last year, compared with those aged under 25 (85% or 801,000), or those aged 25–64 (92% or 2.1 million)
• see a medical specialist (69% or 1.5 million), compared with those aged under 25 (55% or 517,000), or those aged 25–64 (60% or 1.3 million)
• be admitted to hospital (33% or 690,000), compared with those aged under 25 (15% or 140,000), or those aged 25–64 (22% or 484,000) (Figure ACCESS.1).

Use of dental health services and telehealth is higher in the younger age groups. People aged under 25 with disability were most likely to see a dental professional within the last year (58% or 546,000). This compares with 47% (or 1.1 million) among those aged 25–64, or 51% (or 1.1 million) among those aged 65 and over. People aged 25–64 with disability were the most likely to have a telehealth consultation (47% or 1.1 million). This compares with 36% (or 342,000) for those aged under 25 and 41% (or 877,000) among those aged 65 and over (Figure ACCESS.1).

Females tend to have higher rates of GP, dental professional, and telehealth use compared with males. The largest difference occurs in the use of telehealth consultations. Half (49% or 1.3 million) of females with disability had a telehealth consultation in the last 12 months, compared with just over 1 in 3 (36% or 935,000) males (Figure ACCESS.1).

People with severe or profound disability have higher rates of health services use. In 2022, people with severe or profound disability were more likely than those with other disability status to:

• visit a medical specialist (68% or 1.3 million compared with 59% or 2.0 million)
• see a GP for urgent medical care (23% or 420,000 compared with 14% or 497,000)
• visit a hospital emergency department (31% or 574,000 compared with 22% or 756,000)
• be admitted to hospital (30% or 561,000 compared with 22% or 752,000)
• see 3 or more health professionals for the same condition (47% or 875,000) than those with other disability status (35% or 1.2 million) (Figure ACCESS.1).

However, people with severe or profound disability were slightly less likely than others to see a dental professional (47% or 873,000 compared with 53% or 1.8 million) (Figure ACCESS.1).

There are also some differences in the use of health services by disability group. People with head injury, stroke or acquired brain injury were more likely to see a GP for urgent medical care or visit a hospital emergency department, and less likely to use dental services than people with disability overall:

• 29% (or 94,000) of those with head injury, stroke or acquired brain injury saw a GP for urgent medical care (17% or 916,000 of all people with disability)
• 37% (or 120,000) visited a hospital emergency department (25% or 1.3 million of all people with disability)
• 43% (or 139,000) visited a dental professional (51% or 2.7 million of all people with disability) (Figure ACCESS.1).

People with physical disability, psychosocial disability, or head injury, stroke or acquired brain injury were more likely to see 3 or more specialists for the same condition:

• among people with these disabilities, 44% saw 3 or more health professionals for the same condition, compared with 39% for all people with disability (Figure ACCESS.1).

People with sensory or speech disability, and those with learning and understanding disability were less likely to have had a telehealth consultation:

• 39% (or 701,000) of people with sensory disability and 38% (or 395,000) of those with learning and understanding disability had a telehealth consultation in the past year. This compares with 43% (or 2.3 million) of all people with disability (Figure ACCESS.1).

People with disability living in Major cities were more likely to see a medical specialist, visit a dentist or have a telehealth consultation:

• 64% (or 2.2 million) of people in Major cities saw a medical specialist in the last year, compared with 60% (or 711,000) in Inner regional areas and 57% (or 377,000) in Outer regional and remote areas
• 52% (or 1.8 million) of people in Major cities saw a dentist in the last year, compared with 49% (583,000) in Inner regional areas and 44% (290,000) in Outer regional and remote areas
• 45% (or 1.6 million) of people in Major cities had a telehealth consultation, compared with 40% (or 472,000) in Inner regional areas and 36% (or 236,000) in Outer regional and remote areas (Figure ACCESS.1).

At the same time, people with disability living in Outer regional and remote areas were more likely to visit a hospital emergency department:

• 30% (or 200,000) of people in Outer regional and remote areas had visited a hospital emergency department in the last year, compared with 24% (or 840,000) in Major cities and 25% (or 291,000) in Inner regional areas (Figure ACCESS.1).

These patterns suggest that people in Outer regional and remote areas have a higher reliance on the hospital system to have their health needs met (AIHW 2025a).

Use of health services differed for First Nations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) and non-Indigenous people with disability (Figure ACCESS.1). First Nations people with disability were less likely to see medical specialists, dental health professionals, and use telehealth, and more likely to visit hospital emergency departments. These patterns mirror findings based on remoteness. However, the numbers in Figure ACCESS.1 do not include First Nations people living in very remote areas, or in discrete communities. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (First Nations) people section below provides information about health services use for First Nations Australians based on a more complete geographic coverage.

Difficulties accessing health services

Access to services depends on many factors. Some people with disability face barriers to accessing health care or receiving quality care. These barriers include:

• long waiting times or service not being available
• cost
• inaccessible buildings
• discrimination by health professionals.

Note: Restricted to patient experience in the last 12 months for people with disability living in households.

Many people with disability experience unmet need for health services – needing to see a medical professional or to use a health service but not being able to do so. In 2022:

• 1 in 5 (20% or 1.1 million) people with disability (living in households) at least once needed to see a GP in the past 12 months but did not
• 1 in 7 (14% or 736,000) at least once needed to see a medical specialist but did not
• 1 in 5 (19% or 1.0 million) at least once needed to see a dental professional but did not
• 3.7% (or 198,000) at least once needed to go to hospital but did not go (Figure ACCESS.2, AIHW analysis of ABS 2024a).

Cost is a major factor in accessing health care. It was the main reason of unmet need for:

• 8.8% (or 93,000) of those who did not see a GP when needed
• 24% (or 180,000) of those who did not see a medical specialist when needed
• 46% (or 468,000) of those who did not see a dental professional when needed (Figure ACCESS.2).

Long waiting times or lack of service availability also often prevented timely access to health care:

• More than 2 in 5 (43% or 457,000) people with disability who did not see a GP when needed said the main reason was waiting time or service unavailability. This was also the main reason for 1 in 4 (26% or 188,000) people who had unmet need for medical specialist services, and 1 in 12 (8.5% or 86,000) people with unmet need for dental services (Figure ACCESS.2).
• Two in 5 (40% or 371,000) people who needed to see a GP for urgent medical care waited one or more days after making an appointment to be seen (AIHW analysis of ABS 2024a).

For people who need to see multiple specialists for the same condition, coordination of care can help achieve better health outcomes:

• Of people with disability who saw 3 or more specialists for the same condition, 64% (or 1.3 million) had a health professional help coordinate their care.
• Among those who received help with coordination of care, 53% (or 711,000) said it helped to a large extent, 41% (or 546,000) said it helped somewhat, and 3.6% (or 48,000) said it did not help at all (AIHW analysis of ABS 2024a).

People’s experience of health services is also affected by accessibility of services and attitudes of healthcare workers:

• 2.3% (or 94,000) of people with disability aged 15 and over experienced discrimination by health staff (GP, nurse, hospital staff) (AIHW analysis of ABS 2024b)
• 4.6% (or 186,000) of people with disability aged 15 and over avoided visiting medical facilities (GP, dentist, hospital) due to their disability (AIHW analysis of ABS 2024b)
• more than 1 in 10 (11% or 242,000) people with disability aged 5 and over who need assistance or have difficulty with communication or mobility had difficulty accessing medical facilities (GP, dentist, hospital) (AIHW analysis of ABS 2024b)
• while more than 9 in 10 people with disability aged 18 and over who had used health services in the past 12 months said they were treated with respect and that things were explained clearly to them, 5.2% felt they were not respected by health workers, and 8.0% did not receive clear explanations (AIHW 2025b)
• 15% of people with disability aged 18 and over who had used health services in the past 12 months felt they would have been treated better by health workers if they did not have disability (AIHW 2025b)
• half (50%) of healthcare workers say they often or very often advised, assisted, or treated a person with disability as part of their job in the last 12 months (AIHW 2025b)
• most (92%) healthcare workers feel confident they respond in a positive way to people with disability (AIHW 2025b).

Unmet need for health services for sub-groups of people with disability

Unmet need for health services among people with disability living in households varies by age, sex, disability characteristics, and other personal factors (Figure ACCESS.3).

Note: Restricted to patient experience in the last 12 months of people with disability living in households.

Unmet need for health services is highest among people with disability aged 25–44 and lowest for the 65 and over age group. Almost 2 in 5 (38% or 297,000) people aged 25–44 with disability reported unmet need for GP services in the last 12 months. This compares with 26% (or 385,000) of those aged 45–64, 15% (or 145,000) of those aged under 25, and 11% (or 232,000) of those aged 65 and over (Figure ACCESS.3).

Females have higher rates of unmet need for health services than males. Almost 1 in 4 (23% or 633,000) females with disability had unmet need for GP services compared with 16% (or 424,000) of males (Figure ACCESS.3).

People with severe or profound disability have similar rates of unmet need to people with other disability status, except when it comes to medical specialists. One in 6 (17% or 319,000) of people with severe or profound disability did not see a medical specialist when needed, compared with 12% (or 419,000) of people with other disability status (Figure ACCESS.3).

The rates of unmet need are lowest for people with sensory or speech disability, and highest for people with psychosocial disability. For example:

• 26% (or 395,000) of people with psychosocial disability had unmet need for GP services, compared with 16% (or 287,000) of people with sensory or speech disability
• 20% (or 306,000) of people with psychosocial disability had an unmet need for medical specialist services (12% or 211,000 for people with sensory or speech disability)
• 25% (or 379,000) of people with psychosocial disability had an unmet need for dental services (16% or 286,000 for people with sensory or speech disability) (Figure ACCESS.3).

Moreover, 7.0% (or 106,000) of people with psychosocial disability had, at least once in the preceding 12 months, needed to go to a hospital but did not go, compared with 3.7% (or 198,000) of all people with disability (AIHW analysis of ABS 2024a).

There are also some differences in unmet need depending on Indigenous or CALD status and remoteness, however these are less pronounced.

The groups that have higher rates of unmet need are more likely to name cost as the main reason for not using the health services (medical specialists or dental professionals) when needed:

• 40% (or 78,000) of people aged 25–44 with unmet need for medical specialist services said cost was the main reason, compared with 15% (or 26,000) of those aged 65 and over
• 29% (or 124,000) of females with unmet need for medical specialist services report cost as the main reason compared with 18% (or 56,000) of males 
• 59% (or 137,000) of those aged 25–44 who did not see dental professional when needed report cost as the main reason, compared with 36% (or 92,000) of those aged 65 and over
• 49% (or 281,000) of females with unmet need for dental services report cost as the main reason, compared with 42% (or 183,000) of males (AIHW analysis of ABS 2024a).

Use of medicines

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 (for more information, go to Medicines in the health system).

The 2022 NHS data show that people with disability are more likely to use paracetamol and ibuprofen than people without disability. This may reflect higher levels of pain among people with disability. 

Notes: Restricted to adults (aged 18 and over) living in households.

In the 2 weeks before their 2022 NHS interview:

• 16% of adults aged 18 and over with disability (living in the households) 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 2024c).

Older adults aged 65 and over with disability are more likely to use paracetamol daily, while younger adults aged 18–64 are more likely to use ibuprofen:

• 26% of people aged 65 and over with disability used paracetamol daily, compared with 10% of those aged 18–64
• 34% of people aged 18–64 with disability used ibuprofen in the last 2 weeks, compared with 11% of those aged 65 and over (AIHW analysis of ABS 2024c).

Women with disability are more likely to use paracetamol and ibuprofen than men:

• 20% of women aged 18 and over used paracetamol daily, compared with 12% of men
• 51% of men did not use any paracetamol in the last 2 weeks, compared with 35% women
• 30% of women used ibuprofen in the last 2 weeks, compared with 22% of men (AIHW analysis of ABS 2024c).

Adults with disability are more likely to be dispensed PBS medications and often receive a higher number of different PBS medication types than those without disability:

• almost 9 in 10 (87%) adults aged 18 and over with disability 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
• 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 2024c).

Older adults (aged 65 and over) with disability were dispensed more PBS medication types than younger adults (aged 18–64):

• almost all (98%) older adults were dispensed with at least one PBS medication, compared with 4 in 5 (81%) younger adults 
• older adults with disability were more than twice as likely (70%) to be dispensed 5 or more types of PBS medications than younger adults (32%) (AIHW analysis of ABS 2024c). 

Women with disability were dispensed more PBS medicine types than men:

• more than half (52%) of women with disability were dispensed 5 or more types of PBS medication compared with 2 in 5 (38%) men
• men were twice as likely to not be dispensed any PBS medications (17%) than women (8.7%) (AIHW analysis of ABS 2024c).

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 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 2024c).

Older adults aged 65 and over had higher dispensing rates for all types of PBS medication. This was the case for people with disability and for those without disability. For example, for people with disability:

• 83% of older adults were dispensed medicines for the cardiovascular medicine, compared with 30% of those aged 18–64
• 57% of older adults were dispensed medicines for the alimentary tract and metabolism, compared with 27%
• 30% of older adults were dispensed medicines for the blood and blood forming organs, compared with 8.5% (AIHW analysis of ABS 2024c).

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (First Nations) people

In 2022–23, 9 in 10 (90%) First Nations people with disability saw a GP or specialist in the last 12 months, almost half (45%) of those aged 2 and over saw a dentist or dental professional, and around 1 in 5 (22%) were admitted to hospital (AIHW analysis of ABS 2025). 

Not all First Nations people with disability were able to access health services when needed. In 2022–23:

• 1 in 4 (25%) had at least one occasion in the last 12 months when they needed to see a GP but did not. The most common reasons were long waiting time or service not being available when needed (45%), or being too busy with work, personal and family responsibilities (24%) (more than one reason could be given).
• Around 3 in 10 (29%) at least once did not see a dentist or dental professional when needed, of those 47% report cost as a reason and 28% dislike of dental services
• 1 in 10 (10%) were not admitted to hospital when needed (AIHW analysis of ABS 2025).

Transport, distance, or health service not being available in area can be barriers to accessing health services for First Nations people with disability:

• 20% of those with unmet need for GP services report transport, distance, or health service not being available in area as a reason for not receiving care when needed
• 17% of those with unmet need for dental services
• 23% of those with unmet need for hospital admission (AIHW analysis of ABS 2025).

Health expenses

In 2021, people aged 15–64 with disability were less likely (34%) to pay out-of-pocket for GP consultations than those without disability (40%). Older people with disability (aged 65 and over) were less likely (24%) to pay out-of-pocket than younger people (aged 15–64) (34%) (AIHW analysis of DSS and MIAESR 2022). Of those aged 15–64 with disability:

• people with severe or profound disability were less likely (20%) to have had out-of-pocket expenses than those with other disability status (35%)
• females (34%) were about as likely to have had out-of-pocket expenses as males (33%)
• those living in Major cities were less likely (31%) than those living in Inner regional areas (40%)
• people with physical disability (31%), sensory (30%), or psychosocial disability (30%) were more likely than those with intellectual disability (22%) (AIHW analysis of DSS and MIAESR 2022).

In 2021, people with disability aged 15–64 were less likely (42%) to have private health insurance than those without disability (56%). Older people with disability aged 65 and over were more likely (53%) to have private health insurance than those aged 15–64 (42%). Of people aged 15–64 with disability:

• those with severe or profound disability were less likely (34%) to have private health insurance than those with other disability status (43%) 
• females were more likely (46%) than males (38%)
• those living in Major cities were more likely (46%) than those living in Inner regional areas (34%)
• those with physical disability (40%), sensory disability (39%), or psychosocial disability (37%) were more likely than those with intellectual disability (28%) (AIHW analysis of DSS and MIAESR 2022).

Most (79%) people with disability aged 15–64 who have private health insurance have both hospital and extras cover. This is similar to those without disability (81%). Older people aged 65 and over with disability are more likely (14%) to have hospital cover only than those aged 15–64 (10%) (AIHW analysis of DSS and MIAESR 2022).

Health outcomes for recipients of government disability payments and services

To date, reporting on outcomes for people with disability using non-disability specific services has been patchy. This was mainly due to inconsistent identification of disability across administrative (government) data sources. Recently, there have been significant efforts to link different administrative data 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 1,841 involuntary hospital admissions per 100,000 people using disability services
• there were 17,608 GP-type emergency presentations per 100,000 disability service users.