Mobility and transport
Mobility limitations and difficulties using public or private transport can make it difficult for people with disability to get to places they need to go to. Accessible transport options, mobility aids and assistance are important to ensure people with disability can participate in society equally and independently.
Mobility limitations
What are mobility limitations?
Mobility is one of the 3 core activities considered by the SDAC and covers tasks such as:
- getting into or out of a bed or chair
- moving about usual place of residence
- moving about a place away from usual residence
- walking 200 metres
- walking up and down stairs without a handrail
- bending and picking up an object from the floor
- using public transport.
The SDAC collects data on whether people have difficulty, need assistance, or use aids or equipment to perform those tasks (ABS 2019a).
Most (98% or 4.2 million) people with disability aged 5 and over are able to leave their place of residence (home or cared accommodation). People with disability aged 65 and over are more likely (2.5% or 48,000) to not leave their place of residence than those aged 5–64 (0.9% or 22,000) (ABS 2019b).
Around one-quarter (26% or 1.1 million) of people with disability aged 5 and over who leave their place of residence, cannot walk 200 metres (18% of those aged 5–64 and 35% of those aged 65 and over). Another 1 in 7 (15% or 650,000) can walk 200 metres but take longer to do so than other people of the same age (ABS 2019b).
More than 2 in 5 (42% or 1.8 million) people with disability aged 5 and over who move about their residence, cannot walk up and down stairs without a handrail (31% of those aged 5–64 and 57% of those aged 65 and over). Another 1 in 9 (12% or 505,000) can walk up and down stairs without a handrail, but have difficulty doing so (ABS 2019b).
One in 8 (13% or 556,000) people, with disability aged 5 and over who leave their place of residence, always need assistance with mobility away from their place of residence (9.4% of those aged 5–64 and 17% of those aged 65 and over). Another 1 in 9 (11% or 467,000) sometimes need assistance with mobility and 4.5% (or 195,000) do not need assistance but have difficulty with mobility (ABS 2019b).
Use of mobility aids
What are mobility aids?
Mobility aids can help people with mobility limitations to move around and perform mobility tasks. Mobility aids include canes, crutches, walking frames, walking sticks, electric and manual wheelchairs, scooter or gopher, specially modified car or car aids, braces, belts, corsets, guide dog or other assistance animals, built-up shoes, orthoses or orthotics, electric operated lounge chairs and/or specialised seating, lifting machine or hoist, other mobility chairs, disability specific mobile apps and other mobility aids.
More than 1 in 7 (16% or 679,000) people with disability use mobility aids (7.7% of those aged 0–64 and 25% of those aged 65 and over). Those with severe or profound disability are almost 7 times as likely (37%) to use mobility aids as those with other disability status (5.4%).
More than 2 in 5 (42% or 78,000) of those aged 0–64 who use mobility aids use a walking stick, 25% use a walking frame, 22% use a manual wheelchair, 17% use crutches and 13% use canes. Almost 3 in 5 (58% or 284,000) of those aged 65 and over who use mobility aids use a walking frame, 40% (or 195,000) use a walking stick, 24% (or 119,000) use a manual wheelchair and 10% (or 52,000) use canes (ABS 2019b).
Around 1 in 25 (3.7% or 89,000) people with disability aged 0–64 use mobility aids for moving around their residence and other places (14% or 273,000 of those aged 65 and over). Another 3.6% (or 88,000) of those aged 0–64 use mobility aids only for moving around places other than their residence (8.6% or 166,000 of those aged 65 and over) (ABS 2019b).
Public transport
One in 7 (14% or 590,000) people, with disability aged 5 and over living in households who leave home, cannot use any form of public transport (12% of those aged 5–64 and 17% of those aged 65 and over). Another 1 in 9 (11% or 458,000) need help or supervision to use public transport and a further 1 in 14 (6.9% or 282,000) are able to use public transport without help or supervision but have difficulty (ABS 2019b).
People with disability may experience indirect discrimination in terms of environmental or structural elements that limit their access to, and ability to use public transport. See Disability discrimination for more information on difficulties people with disability experience when using public transport.
Private transport
Around one-quarter (24% or 884,000) of people with disability, aged 16 and over living in households who leave home need assistance with private transport to get to places away from home (19% of those aged 16–64 and 29% of those aged 65 and over). Females (26% or 509,000) are more likely to need assistance with private transport than males (21% or 372,000):
- 20% (or 206,000) of females aged 16–64 need assistance compared with 17% (or 169,000) of males
- 33% (or 303,000) of females aged 65 and over need assistance compared with 24% (or 205,000) of males (ABS 2019b).
Two in 3 (66% or 2.5 million) people with disability, aged 16 and over living in households who leave home do not have difficulty travelling by private transport without assistance (70% of those aged 16–64 and 61% of those aged 65 and over). A further:
- 15% (or 575,000) always need to be driven
- 8.2% (or 309,000) sometimes need to be driven
- 3.4% (or 126,000) do not need to be driven but have difficulty travelling without assistance
- 6.9% (or 258,000) need to be driven or have other difficulty (ABS 2019b).
More than 4 in 5 (82% or 2.9 million) people with disability, aged 17 and over living in households who leave home and know how to drive, are licensed (85% of those aged 17–64 and 78% of those aged 65 and over) (ABS 2019b).
Schooling and employment restrictions
What is an employment or schooling restriction?
Having a schooling or employment restriction means the person with disability experiences some level of difficulty, requires the assistance of another person, or needs aids or special equipment to participate in education or employment.
See ABS SDAC and Education and Employment for more information on people with schooling and employment restrictions.
People with disability may also have restrictions that specifically make it difficult to participate in schooling or employment. For example, of people with disability living in households, an estimated:
- 1 in 2 (48% or 2.0 million) aged 5 and over have a schooling or employment restriction (65% or 768,000 of those with severe or profound disability and 41% or 1.2 million of those with other disability status)
- 4 in 5 (80% or 305,000) aged 5–18 who attend school have specific restrictions related to their schooling (92% or 190,000 of those with severe or profound disability and 66% or 115,000 of those with other disability status)
- 1 in 2 (47% or 88,000) aged 15–64 studying for a non-school qualification have specific restrictions related to education (73% or 25,000 of those with severe or profound disability and 41% or 61,000 of those with other disability status)
- 2 in 3 (68% or 1.4 million) aged 15–64 have specific restrictions related to employment (91% or 457,000 of those with severe or profound disability and 60% or 936,000 of those with other disability status) (ABS 2019b).
Almost 9 in 10 (87% or 659,000) people aged 5–64 with psychosocial disability living in households have a schooling or employment restriction compared with:
- 85% (or 439,000) of those with intellectual disability
- 82% (or 140,000) of those with head injury, stroke or acquired brain injury
- 75% (or 1.0 million) of those with physical disability
- 67% (or 345,000) of those with sensory disability (ABS 2019b).