ABS to release new information on unmet need for formal assistance

	MEDIA ALERT
14 September 2015	Embargo: 11:30 am (Canberra Time)	104/2015

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) will tomorrow (15/09) release Unmet Need for Formal Assistance, Australia 2012.

The publication draws on results based on the responses of nearly 80,000 Australians to the 2012 Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers (SDAC), and presents information about people with disability who were identified as having an unmet need for formal assistance.

Unmet need for formal assistance refers to people with disability who reported a need for formal assistance and:

• Received some formal assistance for that need but not enough, or
• Received no formal assistance for that need.

People may have had more than one unmet need for assistance for different activities.

The ABS survey collected information from three target populations:

• People with disability,
• Older people (i.e. those aged 65 years and over), and
• People who care for persons with disability, long-term health conditions or older people.

This article also covers why needs have been unmet, conditions and disability types associated with higher levels of unmet need, the kinds of assistance needed by gender and age, the labour force status and income of people with unmet need, as well as analysis by state and territory.

Media note:

• Please ensure when reporting on ABS data that you attribute the Australian Bureau of Statistics (or the ABS) as the source.
• Media requests and interviews - contact the ABS Communications Section on 1300 175 070