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In the 2012 SDAC, questions on need for assistance were asked of ten specific areas, including three which are considered to be core to everyday living – oral communication, mobility and self-care. The degree to which a person reported having difficulties in at least one of these core activity areas indicated the level of assistance they may require.

Two out of every five (42.0%) people with psychological disability had a profound core activity limitation, that is, at a minimum they reported having a limitation in one of the core activities of oral communication, mobility or self-care. A further one in five (19.8%) had a severe core activity limitation (for more information on activity limitations and restrictions please see the Prevalence section of this publication or the Disability, Ageing and Carers User Guide, 2009 (cat. no. 4431.0.55.001).

ASSISTANCE NEEDED

It is important to understand the type and amount of assistance people with disability need in order to be able to provide appropriate support. This information helps the planning and funding of services to support people with disability to be as independent as possible and to participate more fully in society.

The SDAC asks a series of questions about Australians needing assistance because of disability or the effects of old age. The questions about need for assistance related to whether or not the person needed help with one or more of ten specific activities (including the core activities of self-care, mobility and oral communication), the degree to which this help was needed, who provided the help and whether more help was needed than was currently being received.

In 2012, almost all people (742,900 or 96%) with psychological disability living in households reported needing assistance or experiencing difficulty in at least one of the broad activity areas. The three most common areas where people reported needing assistance were cognitive or emotional tasks (88.0%), mobility (58.6%) and health care (51.2%).

As expected, all those with psychological disability with a profound or severe core activity limitation reported needing assistance with at least one area of activity. This compared with 93.4% of those with a moderate or mild core activity limitation. Once again, given the high comorbidity of other disabling conditions for people with psychological disability, this need for assistance may not always be due to the person’s psychological disability alone.

ASSISTANCE RECEIVED

In 2012, the vast majority (82.6%) of people with psychological disability living in households reported receiving assistance with at least one area of activity. Approximately six out of every ten (63.1%) people with psychological disability received care from informal providers (that is, help from someone who was unpaid), and two in ten (22.9%) from formal providers (that is, help from someone who was paid). Four in ten (42.7%) people reported receiving care from both informal and formal care providers, showing the utilisation of both forms of support for people with psychological disability.

Partners and parents were the most commonly reported informal providers of care for people with psychological disability living in households (36.2% and 35.9% respectively). Parents of children with psychological disability were the most likely informal care providers of assistance with tasks such as oral communication (65.8%) and cognitive or emotional tasks (42.5%). Partners of people with psychological disability were the most likely informal care providers for most other tasks including household chores (47.6%), meal preparation (42.7%) and self-care (41.8%).

Of those people with psychological disability living in households who received formal assistance, 59.0% said they received assistance from a private commercial organisation, exactly half (50.0%) reported receiving assistance from a government organisation and one-quarter (25.0%) received assistance from a private non-profit organisation (note that a person could be receiving formal care from more than one provider).People with psychological disability who received assistance from formal providers were most likely to receive assistance with self-care from a private not-for-profit (48.8%), while assistance with mobility and oral communication were most commonly provided by a government organisation (51.6% and 54.1% respectively).

Of all people with psychological disability, around half (49.2%) felt their need for assistance was fully met, while the other half (49.3%) reported feeling their needs were only partly met. This left just 1.8% of all people with psychological disability who felt their needs were not met at all. These results varied with level of core activity limitation or restriction.