4436.0 - Caring in the Community, Australia, 2009  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 20/10/2011   
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GLOSSARY

Ability to get support in a time of crisis

Refers to whether there is someone outside the person's household that could be asked for support in a time of crisis. Support could be in the form of emotional, physical or financial help. Potential sources of support could be family members, friends, neighbours, work colleagues and various community, government and professional organisations.

Activity

An activity comprises one or more tasks. In this survey, tasks have been grouped into the following ten activities. See Appendix 1 for a summary table of restrictions, activities and tasks:

  • cognition/emotion
  • communication
  • health care
  • household chores
  • meal preparation
  • mobility
  • reading or writing
  • property maintenance
  • self care
  • transport.

Age standardised disability rate

An age standardised rate is calculated to remove the effects of different age structures when comparing populations between states and territories, or over time. A standard age composition is used, in this case the age composition of the estimated resident population of Australia at 30 June 2001. The standard rate is that which would have prevailed if the actual population had the standard age composition. Age-specific disability rates are multiplied by the standard population for each age group. The results are added and the sum calculated as a percentage of the standard population total to give the age standardised percentage rate.

Aids and equipment

Any device used by persons with one or more disabilities to assist them with performing tasks, but does not include help provided by another person or an organisation.

Australian Standard Classification of Education (ASCED)

The ASCED is a national standard classification which includes all sectors of the Australian education system, that is, schools, vocational education and training, and higher education. From 2001, ASCED replaced a number of classifications used in administrative and statistical systems, including the ABS Classification of Qualifications (ABSCQ). The ASCED comprises two classifications: Level of education and Field of education. See Australian Standard Classification of Education (ASCED), 2001 (cat. no. 1272.0).

Braces

Braces are applied to legs for extra support. This extra support may allow people to walk who otherwise are not able to. Braces can also be applied to other joints to provide extra support after injury.

Calipers

A specific type of brace that is applied to legs. It is constructed of side bars, with spurs fitting into a tube in the heel of an adapted shoe and straps around the leg to hold the splint in position.

Capital City/Balance of State

Capital City refers to the capital city Statistical Division for each State or Territory. All other regions within each State are classified as Balance of State.

Cared-accommodation

Hospitals, home for the aged such as nursing homes and aged care hostels, cared components of retirement villages, and other 'homes', such as children's homes.

Carer

A person of any age who provides any informal assistance, in terms of help or supervision, to persons with disabilities or long-term conditions or persons who are elderly (i.e. aged 60 years or over). This assistance has to be ongoing, or likely to be ongoing, for at least six months. Assistance to a person in a different household relates to 'everyday types of activities', without specific information on the activities. Where the care recipient lives in the same household, the assistance is for one or more of the following activities:
  • cognition/emotion
  • communication
  • health care
  • household chores
  • meal preparation
  • mobility
  • property maintenance
  • reading or writing
  • self care
  • transport.

Child

A person of any age who is a natural, step or foster son or daughter of a couple or lone parent, usually resident in the same household, and who does not have a child or partner of his/her own usually resident in the household.

Cognition/emotion

Cognition/emotion comprises the following tasks:
  • making friendships, maintaining relationships, or interacting with others
  • coping with feelings or emotions
  • decision making or thinking through problems.

Cognition/emotion was termed 'guidance' in earlier SDAC surveys.

Communication

This activity comprises the following tasks:
  • understanding family or friends
  • being understood by family or friends
  • understanding strangers
  • being understood by strangers.

Continuous care

Refers to care that is on-going, or likely to be on-going, for at least six months.

Contributing family worker

A person who works without pay in an economic enterprise operated by a relative.

Core activities

Core activities are communication, mobility and self care.

Core activity limitation

Four levels of core activity limitation are determined based on whether a person needs help, has difficulty, or uses aids or equipment with any of the core activities (communication, mobility or self-care). A person's overall level of core activity limitation is determined by their highest level of limitation in these activities.

The four levels of limitation are:
  • profound - the person is unable to do, or always needs help with, a core activity task
  • severe - the person:
      • sometimes needs help with a core activity task
      • has difficulty understanding or being understood by family or friends
      • can communicate more easily using sign language or other non-spoken forms of communication
  • moderate - the person needs no help, but has difficulty with a core activity task
  • mild - the person needs no help and has no difficulty with any of the core activity tasks, but:
      • uses aids and equipment
      • cannot easily walk 200 metres
      • cannot walk up and down stairs without a handrail
      • cannot easily bend to pick up an object from the floor
      • cannot use public transport
      • can use public transport, but needs help or supervision
      • needs no help or supervision, but has difficulty using public transport.

Disability

In the context of health experience, the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) defines disability as an umbrella term for impairments, activity limitations and participation restrictions. It denotes the negative aspects of the interaction between an individual (with a health condition) and that individual's contextual factors (environment and personal factors).

In this survey, a person has a disability if they have a limitation, restriction or impairment, which has lasted, or is likely to last, for at least six months and restricts everyday activities. This includes:
  • loss of sight (not corrected by glasses or contact lenses)
  • loss of hearing where communication is restricted, or an aid to assist with, or substitute for, hearing is used
  • speech difficulties
  • shortness of breath or breathing difficulties causing restriction
  • chronic or recurrent pain or discomfort causing restriction
  • blackouts, fits, or loss of consciousness
  • difficulty learning or understanding
  • incomplete use of arms or fingers
  • difficulty gripping or holding things
  • incomplete use of feet or legs
  • nervous or emotional condition causing restriction
  • restriction in physical activities or in doing physical work
  • disfigurement or deformity
  • mental illness or condition requiring help or supervision
  • long-term effects of head injury, stroke or other brain damage causing restriction
  • receiving treatment or medication for any other long-term conditions or ailments and still being restricted
  • any other long-term conditions resulting in a restriction.

For more information about groups of disabilities see Appendix 2.

Disability rate

The proportion of people with a reported disability, in any given population or sub-population (e.g. age group).

Dressing

Dressing includes physical assistance for dressing or undressing activities, such as doing up buttons or zips, putting on socks and shoes, tying shoe laces, etc. It also includes advice on appropriate clothing.

Dressing aids

Includes aids that are used to assist in the dressing process such as zip pullers, button hooks and tongs for pulling on clothes.

Eating

This includes the physical aspects of eating, as well as supervising to ensure the food is eaten and nothing harmful is placed in the mouth (e.g. bones) and any washing or clothing adjustments that are needed after eating/feeding. The physical aspects of eating include being seated at the table, serving food, cutting food into pieces and feeding.

Eating aids

Eating aids include any special crockery or cutlery that facilitate eating.

Ejector chair

A chair that mechanically 'lifts' the person into a standing position.

Employed

People who reported that they had worked in a job, business or farm during the reference week (the full week prior to the date of interview); or that they had a job in the reference week, but were not at work.

Employee

An person who works for a public or private employer and receives remuneration in wages, salary, a retainer fee while working on a commission basis, tips, piece-rates or payment-in-kind, or a person who operates his or her own incorporated enterprise with or without hiring employees. In this publication, employee relates to his/her main job.

Employer

A person who operates his or her own unincorporated economic enterprise or engages independently in a profession or trade, and hires one or more employees.

Employment restriction

An employment restriction is determined for persons with one or more disabilities if, because of their disability, they:
  • are permanently unable to work
  • are restricted in the type of work they can or could do
  • need or would need at least one day a week off work on average
  • are restricted in the number of hours they can or could work
  • require or would require an employer to provide special equipment, modify the work environment or make special arrangements
  • requires assistance from a disability job placement program or agency
  • need or would need to be given ongoing assistance or supervision
  • would find it difficult to change jobs or get a better job.

This information was collected for persons aged 15-64 years with one or more disabilities, living in households.

Episodic care

Refers to care that is only provided during episodes where the condition of the main/only recipient deteriorates, that is, for conditions where the main/only recipient suffers attacks or relapses at intervals (e.g. episodes of schizophrenia, epilepsy, etc.). During these episodes the care provided might be continuous; however, the type of care should be marked as episodic as it is not provided for an ongoing condition.

Equivalised household income

Equivalising adjusts actual income to take into account the different needs of households of different size and composition. There are economic advantages associated with living with others, because household resources, especially housing, can be shared. The equivalence scale used to obtain equivalised income is that used in studies by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and is referred to as the 'modified OECD scale'. The scale gives a weight of 1.0 to the first adult in the household, a weight of 0.5 for each additional adult (persons aged 15 years and over), and a weight of 0.3 for each child. For each household, the weights for household members are added together to form the household weight. Total household income is then divided by the household weight to give an income that a lone person household would need for a similar standard of living. Equivalised household income can be viewed as an indicator of the economic resources available to each member of the household.

Establishment

See Cared accommodation.

Fall-back carer

A person identified by the primary carer as being able to take responsibility for the care of the main recipient should the primary carer become unavailable. A fall-back carer cannot be a formal provider whose care is privately organised for profit.

Financial management

This includes activities such as keeping track of expenses and paying bills.

Formal assistance/providers

Help provided to persons with one or more disabilities by:
  • organisations or individuals representing organisations (whether profit making or non-profit making, government or private); or
  • other persons (excluding family, friends or neighbours as described in informal help) who provide assistance on a regular, paid basis and who were not associated with any organisation.

Full-time workers

Employed persons who usually worked 35 hours or more a week (in all jobs) and those who, although usually working less than 35 hours a week, worked 35 hours or more during the reference week.

Health care

This activity comprises two tasks:
  • foot care
  • other tasks, such as:
      • taking medication or administering injections
      • dressing wounds
      • using medical machinery
      • manipulating muscles or limbs.

High technology aids for speaking

This includes aids such as digitised or synthesised speech output systems.

High technology reading or writing aids

This includes aids such as audio tapes, talking word processors, specialised computer software and printout systems.

Highest educational attainment

Highest educational attainment identifies the highest achievement a person has attained in any area of study. It is a ranking of qualifications and other educational attainments regardless of the particular area of study or the type of institution at which the study was undertaken. Highest educational attainment is based on the Australian Standard Classification of Education (ASCED), 2001 (cat. no. 1272.0).

Hours worked

Hours worked was only calculated for people who were employed during the reference period. It refers to the number of hours usually worked in all jobs.

Household

A group of two or more related or unrelated people who usually reside in the same dwelling and who make common provision for food and other essentials for living; or a person living in a dwelling who makes provision for his or her own food and other essentials for living without combining with any other person. Thus a household may consist of:
  • one person
  • one family
  • one family and related individual(s)
  • related families with or without unrelated individual(s)
  • unrelated families with or without unrelated individual(s)
  • unrelated individuals.

Housework

This activity comprises a single task 'household chores', examples of which are:
  • washing
  • vacuuming
  • dusting.

Impairment

In the context of health experience, an impairment is defined by the ICF as a loss or abnormality in body structure or physiological function (including mental functions).

Examples of an impairment are loss of sight or of a limb, disfigurement or deformity, impairment of mood or emotion, impairments of speech, hallucinations, loss of consciousness and any other lack of function of body organs.

Income

See Total cash income.

Income unit

An income unit is one person or a group of related persons within a household, whose command over income is assumed to be shared. Income sharing is assumed to take place within married (registered or de facto) couples, and between parents and dependent children.

Incontinence aids

Incontinence aids include items such as incontinence pads, urinary appliances, incontinence briefs, waterproof pants and specialised bed linen.

Industry

For people who worked as a wage or salary earner, it was the industry of their employer in their main job. For those who worked in their own business, it was the industry of that business. Industry was classified according to the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC), 2006 (cat. no. 1292.0).

Informal assistance/providers

Informal assistance is unpaid help or supervision that is provided to persons with one or more disabilities or persons aged 60 years or over living in households. It only includes assistance that is provided because of a person's disability or because they are older. Informal assistance may be provided by family, friends or neighbours. For this survey, any assistance received from family or friends living in the same household was considered to be informal assistance regardless of whether or not the provider was paid. It does not include providers whose care is privately organised for profit (see formal assistance/providers).

Informal care in formal care establishments

Care or assistance with activities provided on a regular, unpaid informal basis to people who live in a cared-accommodation facility (e.g. nursing homes).

Labour force participation rate

In the context of labour force statistics, the participation rate for any group is the number of persons in the labour force (i.e. employed persons plus unemployed persons) expressed as a percentage of the population aged 15 years and over in the same group.

Labour force status

A classification of the population aged 15 years or over into employed, unemployed or not in the labour force.

Level of communication restrictions

Four levels of communication restrictions are determined based on whether a person needs help, has difficulty, or uses aids or equipment in communicating with others. A person's overall level of communication restriction is determined by their highest level of limitation in these activities.

The four levels of limitation are:
  • profound - the person cannot understand or be understood at all. They always need help when communicating with family or friends and people they don't know.
  • severe - the person:
      • communicates more easily with sign language or other non-spoken communication
      • sometimes needs help understanding or being understood by someone they don't know
      • sometimes needs help understanding or being understood by family or friends
      • has difficulty understanding or being understood by family or friends
  • moderate - the person has difficulty understanding or being understood by someone they don't know, or the interview was conducted in English with difficulty because of communication problems
  • mild - the person has no difficulty understanding or being understood by someone else, but uses a communication aid.

Level of mobility restrictions

Four levels of mobility restrictions are determined based on whether a person needs help, has difficulty, or uses aids or equipment in moving around. A person's overall level of mobility restriction is determined by their highest level of limitation in these activities.

The four levels of limitation are:
  • profound - the person:
      • does not get out of bed
      • does not move around the residence
      • does not leave home because of their condition
      • always needs help or supervision with:
          • moving around places away from their place of residence
          • moving about their place of residence
          • getting into or out of a bed or chair
  • severe - the person sometimes need help or supervision with:
      • moving around places away from their place of residence
      • moving about their place of residence
      • getting into or out of a bed or chair
  • moderate - the person has difficulty, but doesn't need help with:
      • moving around places away from their place of residence
      • moving about their place of residence
      • getting into or out of a bed or chair
  • mild - the person doesn't need any help and doesn't have any difficulty with moving around, but:
      • uses a mobility aid
      • cannot easily walk 200 metres or takes longer to do so than most people their age
      • cannot walk up or down stairs without using a handrail
      • cannot easily bend to pick something off the floor
      • cannot use all forms of public transport without experiencing some difficulty.

Level of non-school educational restriction

Three levels of non-school educational restrictions are determined based on whether a person needs help, has difficulty, or uses aids or equipment in their education. A person's overall level of non-school educational restriction is determined by their highest level of limitation in these activities.

The three levels of limitation are:
  • severe - the person:
      • receives personal assistance
      • has a signing interpreter
      • receives special tuition
      • receives assistance from a counsellor/disability support person
  • moderate - the person:
      • often needs time off from school/institution
      • has difficulty at school/institution because of their condition(s)
      • has special assessment procedures
  • mild - the person needs:
      • a special computer or other special equipment
      • special transport arrangements
      • special access arrangements
      • other special arrangements or support services.

Level of schooling restrictions

Four levels of schooling restrictions are determined based on whether a person needs help, has difficulty, or uses aids or equipment in their education. A person's overall level of schooling restriction is determined by their highest level of limitation in these activities.

The four levels of limitation are:
  • profound - the person's condition prevents them from attending school
  • severe - the person:
      • attends a special school or special classes
      • receives personal assistance
      • has a signing interpreter
      • receives special tuition
      • receives assistance from a counsellor/disability support person
  • moderate - the person:
      • often needs time off from school
      • has difficulty at school because of their condition(s)
      • has special assessment procedures
  • mild - the person needs:
      • a special computer or other special equipment
      • special transport arrangements
      • special access arrangements
      • other special arrangements or support services.

Level of self-care restrictions

Four levels of self-care restrictions are determined based on whether a person needs help, has difficulty, or uses aids or equipment in looking after themselves. A person's overall level of self-care restriction is determined by their highest level of limitation in these activities.

The four levels of limitation are:
  • profound - the person always needs help or supervision with:
      • bathing/showering
      • dressing
      • eating
      • toileting
      • managing bladder or bowel control
  • severe - the person sometimes need help or supervision with:
      • bathing/showering
      • dressing
      • eating
      • toileting
      • managing bladder or bowel control
  • moderate - the person has difficulty, but doesn't need help with:
      • bathing/showering
      • dressing
      • eating
      • toileting
      • managing bladder or bowel control
  • mild - the person:
      • doesn't need any help and doesn't have any difficulty with self-care, but uses an aid
      • does not use the toilet, but does not have difficulty controlling their bladder or bowel.

Limitation

A person has a limitation if they have difficulty doing a particular activity, needs assistance from another person or uses an aid.

Living arrangements

Living arrangements refer to:
  • whether a person lives alone, with other family members or with other unrelated individuals
  • whether a person lives in a private dwelling, cared accommodation or other non-private dwelling.

Relationship in household was not determined for people in cared accommodation or other non-private dwellings.

Long-term condition

A disease or disorder which has lasted or is likely to last for at least six months; or a disease, disorder or event (e.g. stroke, poisoning, accident etc.) which produces an impairment or restriction which has lasted or is likely to last for at least six months. Long-term conditions have been coded to a classification based on the World Health Organisation's International Classification of Diseases, version 10 (ICD-10).

Low technology reading or writing aids

Non-electronic aids are captured here. Examples of the types of aids include picture boards, symbol boards or large print books.

Low technology speaking aids

Non-electronic aids are captured here. Examples of the types of aids include picture boards, symbol boards or letter/word boards.

Main condition

A long-term condition identified by a person as the one causing the most problems. Where only one long-term condition is reported, this is recorded as the main long-term condition.

Main job

The job in which a person usually works the most hours.

Main language spoken at home

The main language spoken by a person in his/her home, on a regular basis, to communicate with other residents of the home and regular visitors to the home.

Main recipient of care

Where a primary carer is caring for more than one person, the main recipient of care is the one receiving the most help or supervision. A sole recipient is also classed as a main recipient. The assistance has to be ongoing, or likely to be ongoing, for at least six months and be provided for one or more of the core activities of communication, mobility and self care.

Main source of personal cash income

Refers to that source from which the greatest amount of personal cash income is received.

Meal preparation

Includes preparing ingredients and cooking food.

Meal preparation aids

Includes items such as cutting aids, opening aids and cooking aids.

Median

The median value is that value which divides the population into two equal parts, one half having values lower than the median, and one half having values higher than it.

Medical aids

This includes items such as nebulisers, dialysis machines, feeding pumps, pace makers, oxygen concentrators or cylinders, ventilators, medical dressings, surgical stockings or pain management aids.

Mild core activity limitation

See Core activity limitation.

Mobility

Mobility comprises the following tasks:
  • getting into or out of a bed or chair
  • moving about the usual place of residence
  • going to or getting around a place away from the 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.

Moderate core activity limitation

See Core activity limitation.

Need for assistance

A person with one or more disabilities, or aged 60 years or over, is identified as having a need for assistance with an activity if, because of their disability or older age, they need help or supervision with at least one of the specified tasks constituting that activity. Need is not identified if the help or supervision is required because the person has not learned, or has not been accustomed to performing that activity. The person is considered to need assistance whether or not assistance is actually received.

Non-core restriction

A restriction in employment and/or schooling.

Non-personal assistance

These include meal preparation, reading or writing, household chores, property maintenance and transport.

Non-private dwelling

In this survey, comprises Cared-accommodation and Other non-private dwelling.

Non-school qualification

Non-school qualifications are awarded for educational attainments other than those of pre-primary, primary or secondary education. They include qualifications at the Post Graduate Degree level, Master Degree level, Graduate Diploma and Graduate Certificate level, Bachelor Degree level, Advanced Diploma and Diploma level, and Certificates I, II, III and IV levels. Non-school qualifications may be attained concurrently with school qualifications.

Not in the labour force

Persons who were not in the categories employed or unemployed as defined.

Occupation

An occupation is a set of jobs with similar sets of tasks. Occupation was classified according to Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations, First Edition, Revision 1 (cat. no. 1220.0).

Older person

Older person, in this publication, refers to a person aged 60 years or more. Information on need for and receipt of assistance for household chores, meal preparation, reading or writing, property maintenance and transport, and on community participation, is available from the survey for persons aged 60 years and over, regardless of whether they have a disability.

Other carer

A person who provides informal assistance, but who is not the main (or primary) source of assistance. See also Carer and Primary Carer.

Other hearing aid(s)

This includes aids such as hearing dogs, light signals, or a Teletypewriter (TTY) phone or loop.

Other non-private dwelling

Non-private dwellings other than cared accommodation are defined for this survey as hostels for the homeless, hotels, motels, educational and religious institutions, construction camps, boarding houses, staff quarters, guest houses, short-stay caravan parks, youth camps and camping grounds, and self care units in a retirement village which may have cared accommodation on-site.

Own account worker

An own account worker is a person who operates his or her own unincorporated economic enterprise or engages independently in a profession or trade and hires no employees.

Partner

A person in a couple relationship with another person usually resident in the same household. The couple relationship may be in either a registered or de facto marriage, and includes same-sex couples.

Personal activities

These include self care, mobility, communication, health care and cognition/emotion.

Primary carer

A primary carer is a person who provides the most informal assistance, in terms of help or supervision, to a person with one or more disabilities. The assistance has to be ongoing, or likely to be ongoing, for at least six months and be provided for one or more of the core activities (communication, mobility and self care). In this survey, primary carers only include persons aged 15 years and over for whom a personal interview was conducted. Persons aged 15 to 17 years were only interviewed personally if parental permission was granted.

Principal carer

This term is not used in the 2009 SDAC, as there has been a change in the way primary carers are identified compared with previous surveys. In previous surveys, a principal carer was a person who was not identified by the initially responding responsible adult as being the person who provided the most care to a recipient, but who was identified as such by the recipient of care. These carers were not asked to confirm their carer status. In 2009, such persons were subsequently personally interviewed to ascertain whether they were a primary carer or not.

Private dwellings

Houses, flats, home units, garages, tents and other structures used as private places of residence at the time of the survey.

Profound core activity limitation

See Core activity limitation.

Property maintenance

This includes light maintenance and gardening tasks, such as:
  • changing light bulbs, tap washers, car registration stickers
  • making minor home repairs
  • mowing lawns, watering, pruning shrubs, light weeding, planting
  • removing rubbish.

Qualification

Formal certification, issued by a relevant approved body, in recognition that a person has achieved learning outcomes or competencies relevant to identified individual, professional, industry or community needs. Statements of attainment awarded for partial completion of a course of study at a particular level are excluded.

Quintiles

Groupings that result from ranking all households or persons in the population in ascending order according to some characteristics such as their household income and then dividing the population into five equal groups, each comprising 20% of the estimated population.

Reading or writing

This includes tasks such as:
  • checking bills or bank statements
  • writing letters
  • filling in forms.

Receipt of assistance

Receipt of assistance is applicable to persons with one or more disabilities, or aged 60 years or over, who needed help or supervision with at least one of the specified tasks comprising an activity. The source of assistance may be informal or formal, but does not include assistance from the use of aids or equipment.

Registered marital status

Registered marital status is a person's relationship status in terms of whether he or she has, or has had, a registered marriage with another person. Accordingly, people are classified as either 'never married', 'married', 'widowed' or 'divorced'.

Relationship to main recipient of care

The relationship of the primary carer to the main recipient of care is from the perspective of the primary carer. For example if the care recipient is the son or daughter of the primary carer then the relationship to main recipient would be coded as 'parent'.

Remoteness area

The ABS has defined Remoteness within the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) (cat. no. 1216.0). The structure defines six Remoteness Areas (RA): Major Cities of Australia; Inner Regional Australia; Outer Regional Australia; Remote Australia; Very Remote Australia; and Migratory.

The delimitation criteria for RAs are based on the Accessibility/Remoteness Index of Australia (ARIA), which measures the remoteness of a point based on the physical road distance to the nearest Urban Centre in each of five size classes. For this survey, the ASGC 2006 CDs were used. The Remoteness Structure is described in detail in the publication Statistical Geography Volume 1 - Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC), Jul 2006 (cat. no. 1216.0).

Respite care

Respite care services provide alternative care arrangements for persons with one or more disabilities, or older people, to allow carers a short-term break from their care commitments. Respite care may be provided on a regular, planned basis, or in an emergency or crisis situation. Respite care services may be in a facility such as a nursing home or community centre or in a person's home.

Restriction

A person has a restriction if he/she has difficulty participating in life situations, needs assistance from another person or uses an aid.

Schooling restriction

A schooling restriction is determined for persons aged 5-20 years who have one or more disabilities if, because of their disability, they:
  • are unable to attend school
  • attend a special school
  • attend special classes at an ordinary school
  • need at least one day a week off school on average
  • have difficulty at school.

Scooter

A mobility aid serving a similar purpose as a wheelchair, but configured like a motor scooter. These scooters are normally battery powered, have three or four wheels, handlebars in the front to turn the steerable wheels and flat areas for the person to safely put their feet.

Section of State (SOS)

This geographical classification uses population counts to define Collection Districts (CDs) as urban or rural and to provide, in aggregate, statistics for urban concentrations and for bounded localities and balance areas.

Section of State categories comprise Major Urban (population clusters of 100,000 or more), Other Urban (population clusters of 1,000 to 99,999), Bounded Locality (200 to 999), Rural Balance (remainder of state/territory) and Migratory, and in aggregate cover the whole of Australia.

For more information, refer to Statistical Geography Volume 1 - Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC), Jul 2006 (cat. no. 1216.0).

Self-care

This activity comprises the following tasks:
  • showering or bathing
  • dressing
  • eating
  • toileting
  • bladder or bowel control.

Service does not provide sufficient hours

This includes both cases where the person didn't receive any hours and where they received some hours, but not as many as were required.

Severe core activity limitation

See Core activity limitation.

Severity of employment restrictions

Four levels of employment restrictions are determined based on whether a person needs help, has difficulty, or uses aids or equipment in their employment. A person's overall level of employment restriction is determined by their highest level of limitation in these activities.

The four levels of limitation are:
  • profound - the person's condition permanently prevents them from working
  • severe - the person:
      • requires personal support
      • needs ongoing supervision or assistance
      • requires a special disability support person
      • receives assistance from a disability job placement program or agency
  • moderate - the person is restricted in the type of job and/or the numbers of hours they can work or has difficulty in changing jobs
  • mild - the person needs:
      • help from someone at work
      • special equipment
      • modifications to buildings or fittings
      • special arrangements for transport or parking
      • training
      • to be allocated different duties.

Showering or bathing

Showering/bathing is defined as getting in and out of the shower or bath, turning on/off taps in the shower or bath, washing, drying and having a bed-bath. It excludes dressing and undressing.

Showering/bathing aids

This includes items such as shower chairs, hoists, shower/bath rails and special shower fittings.

Sign language

This includes all recognised sign languages. Two sign languages used in Australia are Auslan, used by people with hearing difficulties and Makaton, used by people with speech, language or learning difficulties.

Social marital status

Social marital status is the relationship status of an individual in terms of whether she or he forms a couple relationship with another person living in the same usual residence, and the nature of that relationship. A marriage exists when two people live together as husband and wife, or partners, regardless of whether the marriage is formalised through registration. Individuals are, therefore, regarded as married if they are in a de facto marriage, or if they are living with the person to whom they are registered as married. Note: married de facto also includes persons who report de facto, partner, common law husband/wife/spouse, lover, girlfriend or boyfriend.

The term 'not married', as used in this classification, means neither a registered nor a de facto marriage. This includes persons who live alone, with other family members, and those in shared accommodation.

Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA)

SEIFA is a product developed especially for those interested in the assessment of the welfare of Australian communities. The ABS has developed four indexes to allow ranking of regions/areas, providing a method of determining the level of social and economic well-being in each region.

Each of the indexes summarise different aspects of the socio-economic status of the people living in those areas. The index refers to population of the area (the Census Collector's District) in which a person lives, not to the socio-economic situation of the particular individual. The index used in this publication was compiled following the 2006 Census. For further information about the SEIFAs, see Information Paper: Census of Population and Housing - Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas, Australia (cat. no. 2039.0).

The four indexes are:
  • Index of Relative Socio-economic advantage and disadvantage: includes attributes such as households with low incomes and people with a tertiary education
  • Index of Relative Socio-economic disadvantage: includes attributes such as low income, low educational attainment, high unemployment and dwellings without motor vehicles
  • Index of economic resources: includes attributes such as income, housing expenditure and assets of households
  • Index of education and occupation: includes attributes relating to the educational and occupational characteristics of communities, like the proportion of people with a higher qualification or those employed in a skilled occupation.

Specially modified car or car aid(s)

Car aids or modifications that might be included here are extra support handles, extra fittings to support the disabled passengers, modifications to accommodate wheelchairs, modifications to appropriately restrain a disabled passenger and modifications to accommodate disabled drivers.

Specific limitation or restriction

A limitation in core activities, or a restriction in schooling or employment. This corresponds with the concept of 'handicap' used in previous ABS publications on disability.

Splints

This includes resting splints, which hold the affected body part stationary and dynamic splints, which allow the person to move the affected body part more easily than they would otherwise be able to.

Standardised disability rate

See Age standardised disability rate.

Status in employment

Status in employment classifies an employed person's position, in the enterprise in which he or she works, in relation to their main job.

Supervised activity program

Supervised activity programs are places where people can participate in supervised activities such as craft work, or programs that simply provide a place where people can meet others in similar situations, or just to allow them to spend some time away from home, in a safe, supervised environment. These programs do not provide work, education or training. They also give some respite to carers.

Some examples of supervised activity programs include:
  • day care programs for frail older people, often held at senior citizen clubs
  • early intervention programs for children with developmental disabilities
  • special activity programs for young people with disabilities.

Task

A task is a component of an activity, and represents the specific level at which information was collected.

Tenure type

The source of the legal right of a person to occupy a dwelling. Type of tenure may be:
  • Owner without a mortgage
  • Owner with a mortgage
  • Life tenant
  • Participant of rent/buy (or shared equity) scheme
  • Renter
  • Rent-free.

Toileting aids

Includes the use of aids such as commodes, toilet frames and toilet chairs.

Total cash income

Gross current usual (weekly equivalent) cash receipts that are of a regular and recurring nature, and accrue to individual household members at annual or more frequent intervals, from employment, own business, the lending of assets and transfers from Government, private organisations and other households.

Transport

Transport is a single task activity referring to going to places away from the usual place of residence. Need for assistance and difficulty are defined for this activity as the need to be driven and difficulty going to places without help or supervision.

Unable to arrange service

This includes people who didn't know how to arrange help and those who were unable to communicate their need for assistance.

Unconfirmed primary carer

People identified by the initial household respondent as being the main carer for a person (in or outside of the dwelling), but who do not have a personal interview. This could be because:
  • they refused
  • the interviewer cannot contact them
  • they were aged 15-17 years and there is no parental permission
  • they were under 15 years
  • a proxy interview was obtained due to the person being unable to answer the interview questions for some reason.

Unemployed

Persons aged 15 years and over who were not employed during the reference week, and:
  • had actively looked for full time or part time work at any time in the four weeks up to the end of the reference week and
  • were available for work in the reference week.

Unemployment rate

The unemployment rate for any group is the number of unemployed persons in that group expressed as a percentage of the labour force (i.e. employed persons plus unemployed persons) in the same group.

Whether provides assistance to other people living outside the household

Assistance refers to helping people with 'everyday' activities. Examples may include shopping, transport or housework. The assistance must be provided on a regular, unpaid and informal basis.