Next release
The next release of data from the Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers (2022) is expected to be available in June 2024.
This release includes analysis and data cubes focusing on national level data as well as relevant explanatory material
The next release of data from the Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers (2022) is expected to be available in June 2024.
Of those with disability (living in households):
In 2018, 17.7% of all Australians had disability, down from 18.3% in 2015 and 18.5% in 2012. Prevalence was similar for males and females:
The age standardised disability rate was 16.1%, down from 17.0% in 2015 and 17.4% in 2012.
Disability - any limitation, restriction or impairment which restricts everyday activities and has lasted, or is likely to last, for at least six months. For more information see the Methodology.
Age standardisation - removes the effects of age allowing comparisons between two or more populations with different age structures. For more information see the Methodology.
The number of people with disability has increased. In 2018, there were 4.4 million people with disability (up from 4.3 million in 2015). Of all people with disability, 1.9 million were aged 65 years and over (up from 1.8 million in 2015):
The rate of disability generally increased with age for males and females:
The pattern of disability prevalence across age was similar between 2015 and 2018, however there were some notable changes among certain age groups:
Disability status is a measure of the severity of limitations experienced by people with disability. In 2018, of the 4.4 million Australians who had disability, almost 3.9 million people had a limitation with the core activities of communication, mobility or self-care and/or a schooling or employment restriction. As a proportion of the Australian population:
These rates were similar to 2015.
Overall, females were more likely to have a profound or severe disability (6.0%) than males (5.5%); however, this was not the case for children. Generally, boys were more likely than girls to have a profound or severe limitation:
This pattern was reversed for older people (older women were more likely than older men to have a profound or severe disability) reflecting, in part, the longer life expectancy of women:
Profound limitation - greatest need for help, that is, always needs help with at least one core activity
Severe limitation - needs help sometimes or has difficulty with a core activity
Moderate limitation - no need for help but has difficulty
Mild limitation - no need for help and no difficulty, but uses aids or has limitations
Limitation - a person has a limitation if they have difficulty, need assistance from another person, or use an aid or other equipment to perform one or more core activities (communication, mobility and self-care). For more information see the Glossary.
While most people (95.7%) with disability lived in households, 4.3% lived in cared-accommodation. The likelihood of a person with disability living in cared-accommodation increased with age and disability severity:
Cared-accommodation - includes hospitals, nursing homes, aged care hostels, cared components of retirement villages, psychiatric institutions, and other 'homes' such as group homes for people with disability where a person must have been a resident, or expected to be a resident, for three months or more. For more information see the Glossary.
Disability prevalence varied between Australia’s states and territories, due in part to their differing age structures. Most notably:
All with reported disability | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2015 | 2018 | |||||||
State or territory of usual residence | '000 | % | RSE of Estimate (%) | '000 | % | RSE of Estimate (%) | ||
New South Wales | 1372.4 | 18.1 | 2.3 | 1346.2 | 16.9 | 2.0 | ||
Victoria | 1098.8 | 18.5 | 2.1 | 1098.2 | 17.0 | 2.2 | ||
Queensland | 859.0 | 18.3 | 3.2 | 938.1 | 19.1 | 2.6 | ||
South Australia | 382.7 | 22.9 | 2.4 | 332.5 | 19.4 | 5.7 | ||
Western Australia | 362.7 | 14.6 | 3.1 | 411.5 | 16.4 | 2.5 | ||
Tasmania | 131.7 | 25.8 | 2.8 | 140.1 | 26.8 | 6.2 | ||
Northern Territory | 20.7 | 11.7 | 5.9 | 20.7 | 11.6 | 13.8 | ||
Australian Capital Territory | 62.0 | 16.2 | 3.4 | 80.0 | 19.4 | 6.1 | ||
Total | 4290.1 | 18.3 | 1.1 | 4367.2 | 17.7 | 1.2 |
There were some states and territories that experienced greater change in disability prevalence between 2015 and 2018:
Of the 4.4 million Australians with disability in 2018, over three-quarters (76.8%) reported a physical disorder as their main condition (the condition causing them the most problems), similar to 2015 (78.5%).
The most common physical disorder was a musculoskeletal disorder (29.6%, down from 31.4% in 2015), including:
Of all people with disability, almost one-quarter (23.2%) reported a mental or behavioural disorder as their main condition, up from 21.5% in 2015. The most common mental and behavioural disorders were:
Those with a profound or severe limitation were more than twice as likely to report a mental or behavioural disorder (34.2%) than those with a moderate or mild limitation (14.5%).
Of those with a profound or severe limitation:
Those with a moderate or mild limitation were much more likely to report a physical condition (85.5%) than those with a profound or severe limitation (65.9%).
Of those with a moderate or mild limitation:
Long-term health condition - a disease or disorder that has lasted, or is likely to last, for six months or more. The SDAC collects information about long-term health conditions and through a series of screening questions, determines whether they restrict a person’s ability to do activities. People whose long-term conditions limit their activities are identified as having disability.
Main condition - for respondents with more than one long-term health condition, their main condition is the one causing the most problems.
Neurotic, stress-related and somatoform disorders - includes phobic anxiety disorders, other anxiety-related disorders, obsessive compulsive disorders, reaction to severe stress and adjustment disorders, dissociative (conversion) disorders, somatoform disorders and other neurotic disorders.
Labour force participation for people with disability has remained stable since 2015, in contrast to an increase in the participation rate for people without disability.
In 2018, 2.1 million people with disability living in households were of working age (15-64 years). Of these:
Labour force participation was higher among men with disability than women with disability:
Labour force participation declined with the severity of limitation:
The unemployment rate for people with disability has remained stable since 2015, in contrast to a decrease in the unemployment rate for people without disability (5.3% in 2015 to 4.6% in 2018). In 2018 the unemployment rate was:
In 2018, just over one-quarter (28.3%) of all people with disability of working age were employed full-time (similar to 2015), compared with more than half (54.8%) of those without disability (also similar to 2015). However, a higher proportion of people with a profound or severe disability were working full-time in 2018:
People with disability may experience employment restrictions because of their disability (such as restrictions around the type of job or number of hours they can work or a need for special equipment). In 2018, the following groups with disability had an employment restriction:
Employment characteristics - all data in this section refers to people with disability aged 15-64 years, living in households.
Labour force participation - refers to people who were employed or unemployed.
Unemployment rate - the number of unemployed people of any group as a proportion of the labour force in the same group.
There have been some increases in education attainment for people with disability. In 2018, among all people with disability aged 15 years and over (living in households):
Disability can affect a person’s capacity to work and earn an income. The following results relate to people of working age (15-64 years) who were living in households.
In 2018, the median gross personal income of people with disability was $505 per week, less than half (49.7%) that of people without disability ($1016 per week). In 2015, the median gross personal income of people with disability was $465 per week, less than half (48.9%) that of people without disability ($950 per week).
People with disability were more likely to live in households with a lower equivalised gross household income compared with people without disability. Among those whose household income was known:
Equivalised gross household income - adjusts actual income to take into account the different needs of households of different size and composition. For more information see the Glossary.
In 2018, the most common main sources of income for people with disability were:
In 2018, a government pension or allowance was the main source of income for:
* Estimate has a high margin of error and should be used with caution.
In 2018, of the 4.2 million Australians with disability (living in households), three in five (59.8% or 2.5 million people) needed assistance with at least one activity of daily life.
Assistance was most commonly needed with:
Among people with disability (living in households) with a profound limitation (613,100 people), the greatest need for assistance was with:
A person who needs assistance with an activity may or may not receive the help they require. Of the 2.5 million Australians with disability (living in households) who needed assistance:
Less than half (48.1%) of those with a profound limitation had their needs fully met, compared with 68.4% of people with a mild limitation.
Among certain age groups there has been an increase in the proportion of people with disability whose assistance needs for certain activities were not fully met:
People with disability may be supported by formal and/or informal providers of assistance including government or private organisations, as well as family and friends. They may seek assistance from different providers for their various care needs.
In 2018, of the 2.5 million people with disability (living in households) who needed assistance, 79.1% received assistance from informal providers. Of those receiving informal assistance:
People with disability (living in households) needing assistance were most likely to receive informal assistance with:
Information about the frequency of informal care being provided helps our understanding of the extent to which people with disability rely on this informal assistance and can help with future service planning and carer supports. Among those who received informal assistance:
Of the 2.5 million people with disability (living in households) who needed assistance, 58.0% received assistance from formal providers (such as private commercial organisations and government providers).
People with disability (living in households) needing assistance were most likely to receive formal assistance with:
Among those who received formal assistance:
Of the 2.5 million people with disability (living in households) who needed assistance, the proportion who received assistance, and whether that assistance was formal or informal, varied across activities. The following graph provides a comparison of the different activities for which formal and informal assistance were most commonly received by those who needed it.
Informal assistance - refers to unpaid help or supervision provided by family, friends and neighbours and only includes help provided because of a person’s disability.
Formal assistance - refers to paid care provided by organisations or individuals. For more information on formal and informal assistance see the Glossary.
People aged 15 years and over who received formal assistance in the 6 months prior to the survey were asked how satisfied they were with both the quality of service and the range of services available.
In 2018, among those who received formal assistance with at least one activity, people aged 15-64 years were less likely to be satisfied with the quality of service (59.2%) compared with those aged 65 years and over (72.8%).
Satisfaction varied depending on the type of activity for which the assistance was received as well as by age.
* Estimate has a high margin of error and should be used with caution.
Among those who needed formal assistance with at least one activity:
People with disability may use aids or equipment to assist with their functioning, improve their independence and increase their participation in social and economic life. In 2018, of the 4.4 million Australians with disability, over half (53.1% or 2.3 million) used aids or equipment because of their condition. Use of aids varied according to a person’s living arrangements. Amongst all those with disability:
People with disability may use a variety of aids or equipment depending on personal and environmental factors, level of impairment or activity limitation, accessibility and affordability. In 2018:
For certain activities, people who lived alone were almost twice as likely to use aids or equipment:
Of the 4.2 million people with disability living in households, 12.2% (or 511,400) had made home modifications:
Participating in community activities can contribute to a person’s sense of wellbeing and help build social support networks.
In 2018, of the 4.1 million people aged 5 years and over with disability (living in households) three-quarters (76.2%) had participated in social activities away from home in the previous 12 months. Overall, participation in social activities away from home decreased with age. In the previous 12 months:
When looking at social and community participation in the previous three months, the most commonly reported activities across all ages and disability levels were:
Social and community participation data - includes data about people living in households aged 5 years and over who participated in one or more activities away from home in the 12 months prior to the 2018 survey.
Public transport can play a critical role in social and economic life, but may be difficult for those with disability. Of the 4.1 million people aged 5 years and over with disability (living in households):
The more severe a person’s disability, the less likely they were to be able to use public transport:
Among people who reported a difficulty or inability to use public transport due to their condition, the most common reasons reported were:
Transport data - includes data about people aged 5 years and over living in households, excluding those who did not leave their home.
Disability discrimination occurs when people with disability are treated less fairly than others because of their disability. Among people with disability aged 15 years and over (living in households):
There have been statistically significant increases in the experience of discrimination among some age groups:
Experience of discrimination varied by severity of limitation:
Of those with disability who experienced discrimination, the most common sources of discrimination were:
These rates were similar to 2015.
Of those with disability in the labour force (aged 15-64 years) who had experienced discrimination, the most common sources of discrimination were:
In 2018, of the 3.3 million people with disability aged 15 years and over (living in households) almost one-third (33.1%) avoided situations because of their disability in the previous 12 months:
Of those with disability who avoided situations because of their disability, the most common situations avoided were:
Results relating to 2015 data can be found in the 2015 Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers (ABS cat. no. 4430.0).
Discrimination - refers to unfair treatment received because of disability in the previous 12 months.
Discrimination data - includes data about people with disability aged 15 years and over living in households who had a personal interview.
Service and hospitality staff - includes teacher or lecturer; health staff; bus drivers, retail staff or taxi drivers; restaurant or hospitality staff; or sales assistants.
Australia’s population is continuing to age. Among the 24.7 million Australians in 2018, one in every six (15.9% or 3.9 million people) was aged 65 years and over, increasing from:
This represents an estimated 35% increase in the number of older people between 2009 and 2018 (2.9 million to 3.9 million), compared with a 10% increase for those aged 0 to 64 years for this same time period (from 18.9 million to 20.8 million).
A higher proportion of females were aged 65 years and over (16.7%) than males (15.0%), with the difference increasing in older age groups:
Most older people (95.3%) were living in households, with 4.6% (181,200 people) living in cared-accommodation. Of all older Australians:
Older people - people aged 65 years and over.
Living in households - persons who reside in a private dwelling or self-care retirement village
Cared-accommodation - includes hospitals, nursing homes, aged care hostels and other cared-accommodation. For more information see the Glossary.
Although the number of older people in Australia has increased, the prevalence of disability in this population has remained stable (49.6% of older people in 2018 compared with 50.7% in 2015). Among older Australians with disability:
Most older people living in cared-accommodation had disability (96.1%). Among older Australians with disability living in cared-accommodation:
Disability - defined as any limitation, restriction or impairment which restricts everyday activities and has lasted, or is likely to last, for at least six months. For more information see the Glossary.
In 2018, among all older Australians, 38.0% (1.5 million people) needed assistance with everyday activities, similar to 2015 (38.6%). Older people were most likely to need assistance with:
Overall, older women were more likely to need help with at least one activity (44.3%) compared with men (30.8%). Across all activities, older women reported a greater need for assistance than older men, especially with tasks such as:
Australians needing support may seek assistance from formal and/or informal providers for their various care needs. In 2018, of the 1.3 million older people living in households who needed assistance with everyday activities, the most common informal providers of help were their:
The most common formal providers of assistance for older people living in households were:
Older Australians (living in households) needing assistance were most likely to receive informal help from family or friends with:
Those receiving formal assistance from a government service or other organisation were most likely to receive help with:
Older Australians who need assistance may not always receive the help they require. Of the 1.3 million older Australians living at home who needed assistance:
For older Australians (living in households) needing assistance, the tasks most likely to have been fully met were:
Assistance needs most likely not met at all were:
Overall, the assistance needs of older men and women were equally likely to have been fully met (66.8% of men compared with 65.0% of women). However, when looking at the assistance received across specific activities, older women were:
Informal assistance - refers to unpaid help or supervision provided by family, friends and neighbours and only includes help provided because of a person’s disability.
Formal assistance - refers to paid care provided by organisations or individuals. For more information on formal and informal assistance see the Glossary.
Of the 3.9 million older Australians in 2018, almost nine in ten (86.5%) reported having one or more long-term health condition (the same as 2015). The likelihood of having at least one long-term health condition generally increased with age, with:
In 2018, the most common main long-term health conditions among older people were:
In 2018, the proportion of older Australians with a mental or behavioural condition, as a main long-term health condition, increased with age. This was largely due to rates of Dementia or Alzheimer’s increasing with age. This pattern was similar to 2015:
Long-term health condition - a disease or disorder that has lasted, or is likely to last, for six months or more.
Main condition - the condition identified as causing the most problems. For more information see the Glossary.
Many older people have accumulated assets, such as their own home, to support their retirement. In 2018, for all older Australians living in households:
In 2018, the main source of income for older Australians was:
Older people with disability were more likely to receive a government pension (68.3%) than older people without disability (46.6%).
In 2018, the median gross personal income of older people was $454 per week, increasing 6.8% from $425 in 2015. In comparison, the median gross income of people aged 15-64 years increased by 11.4% over this same time period (from $863 to $961).
Of those older Australians who reported their income:
Equivalised gross household income – adjusts actual income to take into account the different needs of households of different size and composition, for more information see the Glossary.
Quintiles - ranking all households in ascending order according to household income and then dividing the population into five equal groups, each comprising 20% of the estimated population, for more information see the Glossary.
In 2018, almost all older Australians (living in households) had participated in social activities at home (97.4%) or outside their home (94.4%) in the previous 3 months. Common activities included:
Although older women were more likely to socialise in their home (98.2% compared with 96.4% of men), older men and women were equally likely to socialise away from home (94.6% and 93.9%).
Of all older Australians (living in households) nearly half (48.8%) participated in physical activities for exercise or recreation in the previous 12 months, similar to 2015 (49.2%).
In 2018, around three-quarters (76.6%) of all older people (living in households) had participated in one or more cultural activity in the previous 12 months, similar to 2015 (76.8%):
In 2018, around one in six (17.8%) older Australians (living in households) had volunteered in the community in the previous 3 months, similar to 2015 (18.6%).
Results relating to 2015 data can be found in the 2015 Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers (ABS cat. no. 4430.0).
Social participation - refers to participation in social or physical activities in the 3 months prior to the survey, or participation in cultural or physical activities in the 12 months prior to the survey.
The 2018 SDAC showed that the number of carers has decreased to 2.65 million, down from 2.70 million in 2015.
In 2018:
Overall, females were more likely to be carers than males with 12.3% of all females providing care in 2018 (similar to 12.8% in 2015), and 9.3% of all males (down from 10.4% in 2015).
For more information on carers see the relevant Appendix.
Carer - a person who provides any informal assistance (help or supervision) to people with disability or older people (aged 65 years and over). Carers can be split into two groups:
Primary carer - a person aged 15 years and over who provides the most informal assistance to a person with disability for the core activities of mobility, self-care and communication.
Other carer - a person of any age who provides unpaid care with one or more of the core activity tasks but is not the main provider of informal care (i.e. not a primary carer); or a person who only provides assistance with non-core activities.
The rate of caring generally increased with age:
Primary carers are those who provide the most assistance to a person with disability with one or more of the core activities of mobility, self-care or communication. Their lives are often significantly impacted by their caring role. Much of the remaining analysis focuses on primary carers.
Primary carers provide care to someone with disability, but can also be living with disability themselves.
See Glossary for more information on disability limitation/restriction severity levels.
The overall pattern across age for primary carers was similar to that for all carers, with the rate of primary carers increasing to the age of around 64 years:
Proportionally, there were more female primary carers in all but the youngest and oldest age groups. When considering the number of carers however, there were a greater number of female carers than male carers in all age groups with the exception of those aged 75 years and over, with some age groups having double the number of female carers compared with males. In particular there were:
The SDAC collects information about both the carer and recipients of care, allowing for comparison of this relationship, which varies with age.
In 2018, primary carers most commonly provided care to:
In 2018, of all primary carers:
The majority of primary carers (79.1%) resided in the same household as the person for whom they provided the most care. Of primary carers who did not live with their main recipient of care:
Carers provide help with both core and non-core activities (see Carers Appendix for detail). These activities can range from helping someone to eat or bathe, to helping them with their finances, health care or property maintenance.
In 2018, over half of all primary carers said they assisted or supervised the main person they cared for with the following core activities:
In terms of the specific mobility activities for which primary carers provided help:
Among primary carers who assisted with self-care activities:
Nearly all primary carers (98.9%) helped the main person they cared for with non-core activities:
In 2018, the three most common reasons primary carers gave for taking on a caring role were:
However, there was some variation, by age of care recipient, in terms of other common reasons given for taking on a caring role.
Among those who were primary carers to someone aged 65 years or over, over one-third (35.1%) said that no other friends or family were available to provide care compared with primary carers of recipients under 65 years of age (28.8%).
Among primary carers of those aged under 65 years, one-quarter (24.6%) said alternative care was too costly, compared with 17.2% of primary carers of people over 65 years.
The reasons for taking on a caring role also depended on the relationship a primary carer had to the main recipient of care:
In 2018, among carers aged 15-64 years (living in households):
Of primary carers of working age (15-64 years), 55.5% were employed; however, employment status varied with the hours of care per week that a primary carer was providing:
Undertaking a caring role can affect a person’s capacity to work and earn an income. The following results relate to carers of working age (15-64 years) who were living in households and whose income was reported.
In 2018, the median gross personal income of all carers was $800 per week, increasing from $700 in 2015. In comparison the median gross income for non-carers was $997 (up from $900 in 2015).
Primary carers were more likely to live in households with a lower equivalised gross household income. Of primary carers who reported their income:
In 2018, the main source of income for carers was:
Primary carers were more than twice as likely to receive a government pension or allowance (38.4%) than other carers (17.2%) and non-carers (9.2%).
Carers income data - data refers to carers aged 15-64 years, living in households. Excludes people whose household income was not known.
Equivalised gross household income - adjusts actual income to take into account the different needs of households of different size and composition. For more information see the Glossary.
In 2018, almost all (93.4%) primary carers had participated in one or more social activity away from home, similar to 2015 (94.2%). Three-quarters (76.6%) of primary carers had participated in social activities away from home without the person for whom they provided care, also similar to 2015 (76.0%).
The more hours of care provided, the less likely a primary carer was to participate in social activities away from home:
Primary carer participation in cultural or physical activities away from the home gradually decreased with age with:
Results relating to 2015 data can be found in the 2015 Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers (ABS cat. no. 4430.0).
Participated in social activities away from home - asked of people in relation to the 3 months prior to the survey.
Participated in cultural or physical activity away from home - asked of people in relation to the 12 months prior to the survey.
In 2018:
Autism is a developmental disorder which affects how a person communicates and relates to other people. It is a lifelong condition (Endnote 1). Autism can be characterised by difficulty in social communication; difficulty in social interaction; and restricted or repetitive behaviours and interests (Endnote 2).
Autism may present substantial challenges for those affected, their families and friends. As noted above, the condition is lifelong, although the social, communication and sensory deficits that some experience may be remediated with the use of intervention therapies and structured support. Autism spectrum disorders are diagnosed on the basis of behavioural and developmental criteria (Endnote 3).
This article uses results from the 2018 Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers (SDAC) to present an updated analysis of the prevalence of autism in Australia, and the impact the condition has on the everyday lives of those affected by the condition.
Throughout the article, ‘autism’ and ‘autism spectrum disorders’ are used to denote conditions including autism spectrum disorder, Asperger’s Syndrome, Pervasive Developmental Disorder – Not Otherwise Specified, Rett Syndrome and Childhood Disintegrative Disorder. Descriptions of these disorders can be found in the Diagnostics and Statistics Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) IV-TR and the DSM 5.
There is variation in the prevalence of autism across age groups, with a marked drop off commencing in the late teens. Data are not presented in any detail for people aged over 40 years because the identified prevalence rates are too low for reliable estimates to be produced.
There are several possible reasons for the variation in autism prevalence across the lifespan between the 2015 and 2018 SDACs. These reasons are explored in the ‘Understanding autism prevalence’ section of this article.
School is an important social environment where children learn to interact with their peers, a task people with autism may find difficult. An appropriate school environment can provide opportunities to develop important social and life skills. Many children on the autism spectrum struggle socially, needing additional support throughout their education.
In 2018, 92.3% of young people (101,900) aged 5 to 20 years on the autism spectrum attending school had some form of educational restriction (92.3%), including a small number who were unable to attend school because of their disability. Two in five (40.8%) of the children attended a special class in a mainstream school or a special school.
Of the 106,600 young people (aged 5 to 20 years) with autism who were attending school or another educational institution, 77.7% reported experiencing difficulty at their place of learning. Of those experiencing difficulties, the main problems encountered were fitting in socially (59.8%), learning difficulties (55.3%) and communication difficulties (51.5%).
Young people (aged 5 to 20 years) with autism may need a high level of support to participate in their education. In 2018, two in five (40.4%) young people with autism needed special tuition and 32.0% needed help from a counsellor or disability support person, while more than one in four (28.5%) did not receive any additional assistance (excluding attending a special school or special classes in a mainstream school).
Almost half the young people with autism aged 5 to 20 years (45.9%) indicated they needed more support or assistance at school then they were receiving.
People with autism are less likely than others to complete an educational qualification beyond school and have needs for support that differ from people with other disabilities. Of those with autism, 8.1% had a bachelor degree or higher, compared with 16.1% of those with a disability and 31.2% of those without disability. All people with disability and those with no disability were also more likely to have an Advanced Diploma, Diploma or Certificate III or IV than people with autism.
Participation in the workforce is important for social inclusion and economic independence, but people with autism spectrum disorders may encounter barriers to entering the labour market.
The labour force participation rate was 38.0% among the 94,600 people of working age (15-64 years), living with autism spectrum disorders. This is compared with 53.4% of all working age people with disability and 84.1% of people without disability.
The unemployment rate for people with autism spectrum disorders was 34.1%, more than three times the rate for people with disability (10.3%) and almost eight times the rate of people without disability (4.6%).
In 2018, among all people with autism, 68.9% (141,400) reported having a profound or severe core activity limitation, that is, they need help or supervision with at least one of the following three activities: communication, self-care and mobility.
Almost half (44.1%) of all people with autism had a profound or severe communication restriction. This indicates they needed assistance at least some of the time to understand or be understood by others, for example they may communicate more effectively using sign language or other forms of non-verbal communication.
Similarly, one in two (50.9%) of all people with autism had a profound or severe mobility restriction, indicating that they needed help or supervision to move around.
Just over one third (36.0%) of all people with autism had a profound or severe self-care limitation, indicating they need support or supervision with dressing, bathing, eating or toileting.
People with autism may need assistance with a range of activities, with the highest level of need being in the areas of cognitive and emotional support and mobility.
Additionally, the frequency with which people with autism needed assistance was high, with 125,200 (61.0%) needing assistance with at least one activity on a daily basis. About two in five people (39.2%) needed assistance with cognitive and emotional tasks at least once a day, while three in ten needed assistance with self-care (30.9%) and mobility (33.2%). For a description of what tasks are included in each of these activities, please see the Glossary.
People with autism may receive assistance from a range of providers depending on their needs.
Notably, the bulk of care was provided by informal carers (relatives or friends), in the core activity areas of self-care, mobility and communication. The graph below shows the proportion of all people with autism who received assistance with at least one of the core activities by the source of that assistance.
The 2018 SDAC found that of the people with autism who required assistance (170,100) many did not receive some or all of the assistance they needed, with over half (51.7%) indicating they needed more help with at least one activity. The unmet need for assistance was highest for cognitive and emotional support (61,000 people), communication (30,100) and mobility (21,700).
This section examines factors which may have influenced the number of people identified as having autism between the 2015 and 2018 SDAC, and the changes in estimated prevalence of autism across age groups.
As noted above, the 2018 SDAC estimated there were 205,200 people with autism, 25.1% more that the number estimated in the 2015 SDAC (164,000).
The 2018 SDAC estimated higher prevalence rates among children and younger people, but much lower rates among older people (see the first graph). This pattern of incidence by age group mirrors that recorded by the 2015 SDAC, indicating that for both surveys there were age-related factors influencing identification of people with these conditions.
The criteria used to clinically diagnose autism have been subject to some variation over time and this may have impacted the reported prevalence of autism in Australia. One of the key tools used as the basis for clinically diagnosing autism is the DSM as it describes diagnostic criteria clinicians can use in determining which mental and behavioural disorders people might have.
Changes to the DSM over time that relate to autism have been significant. The first two versions of the DSM (DSM (I) and DSM (II)) indicated that children with behaviours and/or characteristics symptomatic of autism should be classified as having ‘childhood schizophrenia’.
Diagnostic criteria explicitly for autism were added for the DSM (III), released in 1980. These criteria were then amended for the DSM III (Revised), released in 1987 and revised again in the DSM IV, released in 1994.
Changes to the DSM have impacted the amount of detail considered in diagnosing autism and the number of criteria that need to be met for a diagnosis to be made and these changes may have been a factor influencing diagnosis rates, alongside enhanced understanding of the condition among clinicians.
The changes to the DSM that were made in 1994 would have had a significant impact on diagnosis rates, and this correlates with the fact that the majority of identified cases are among those people who were born after this date (i.e. under 25’s).
Refinements to the DSM continue, with DSM 5 released in 2013. Changes to the criteria in DSM 5 have likely influenced reported autism rates (Endnote 4).
Changes in the DSM are likely to have significantly impacted the number of people clinically diagnosed with autism over time, and can provide an insight into the decrease in prevalence by age.
The design of the SDAC may also influence the observed drop in autism prevalence as people age. The first stage of the SDAC interview, in which it is identified whether there is a person with disability living in the household, is asked of the first responsible adult with whom the interviewer makes contact. In instances where a child is living at home with their parents, it is more common for a parent to provide the responses to these questions. However, when people are in their late teens and start moving out of home, they will be more likely to answer these questions for themselves and this may affect their propensity to identify as living with autism, although the exact level of this impact is unknown.
It should be noted there were no changes in the questionnaire between the 2015 and 2018 surveys that would have impacted on the likelihood of a person being identified as having autism.
There are other factors that may also be impacting on the change in prevalence with age. People may learn coping strategies as they mature and no longer feel they are restricted in any of the areas of limitation considered in the SDAC. Similarly, intervention therapies may effectively remediate the challenges of autism for some, allowing them to function without experiencing limitations in their everyday activities.
It is also possible that people are less likely to identify a child as having autism as they get older because there is some sensitivity around the issue, either for the person or for the other family members.
There is some evidence indicating there is another reason there are far fewer older people with autism than young people. Research in a small number of countries, including Australia (Endnote 5), suggests people with autism have a substantially lower life expectancy than the rest of the population.
While each of these factors described above may have had an impact on the reported prevalence rates, it is not possible to quantify the size of the influence they may have had. It should be noted the growth seen in autism prevalence in the 2018 SDAC is consistent with growth in prevalence observed by other sources.
Many Australian children are affected by disability. These disabilities can impact a child's health, communication, mobility or learning which can have profound effects on the child's social engagement and education. For primary carer parents and their families, raising a child with disability can have significant effects on many aspects of family life. This article focuses on children aged under 15 years and living in households.
In 2018,
Disability - any limitation, restriction or impairment which restricts everyday activities and has lasted, or is likely to last, for at least six months. For more information see the Glossary.
The prevalence of disability increased with age, from 3.7% of children aged 0-4 years to 9.6% of those aged 5-14 years.
Boys were more likely than girls to have disability (9.6% or 230,100 boys compared with 5.7% or 128,700 girls). This was also reflected in the different age groups, with 4.8% of boys (38,100) in the 0-4 year age group reporting disability compared with 2.7% of girls (20,200); while 11.9% of boys (189,300) aged 5-14 years reported disability compared with 7.1% of girls (107,700).
Children in inner regional areas were more likely to have disability than children in major cities (10.4% or 80,400 compared with 7.0% or 239,700). However, boys in inner regional areas were twice as likely as girls in inner regional areas to have disability (13.5% or 52,800 boys compared with 6.6% or 25,100 girls).
Of all children, 4.5% (209,300) had profound or severe disability and 1.6% (72,800) had moderate or mild disability. Boys were twice as likely as girls to have profound or severe limitations (6.0% or 143,800 compared with 3.0% or 67,200).
Profound limitation - greatest need for help, that is, always needs help with at least one core activity
Severe limitation - needs help sometimes or has difficulty with a core activity
Moderate limitation - no need for help but has difficulty
Mild limitation - no need for help and no difficulty, but uses aids or has limitations
Restriction (education) - difficulty participating, needs assistance from another person or uses an aid or equipment in schooling.
Limitation - a person has a limitation if they have difficulty, need assistance from another person, or use an aid or other equipment to perform one or more core activities (communication, mobility and self-care). ) For more information on the terms used, refer to the Glossary and appendices associated with this publication.
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All children: 4,660,800 (100%), made up of:
Intellectual disability was the most common disability group affecting children in 2018. Around one in twenty two children had intellectual disability (4.5% or 208,800), followed by sensory and speech disability (3.1% or 146,800) and psychosocial disability (2.7% or 127,200).
For more information on the terms used, refer to ‘Appendix 2 – Disability Groups’ associated with this publication.
The groups of disability that affected children varied somewhat with age and sex. It is important to note, however, that the diagnosis of mental disorders in younger children can be very complex. Often children do not receive a formal diagnosis until they reach school age.
Boys aged 0 to 14 years were twice as likely as girls of the same age to report sensory and speech disability (4.2% or 101,100 compared with 2.1% or 47,300) and almost twice as likely to report intellectual disability (5.8% or 137,800 compared with 3.1% or 70,600).
Older children were more likely than younger children to report intellectual and psychosocial disabilities. In 2018, 6.1% (189,200) of children aged 5-14 years with disability had an intellectual disability, over five times the proportion of children aged 0-4 years (1.1% or 17,800).
Similarly, 3.7% of children aged 5-14 years (115,900) reported psychosocial disability, over four times the proportion of the 0-4 year age group (0.8% or 12,600).
Physical disabilities were also more commonly reported by older children aged 5-14 (2.1% or 65,300) than younger children aged 0-4 (1.0% or 15,100).
Children may experience a variety of long-term health conditions, including multiple conditions coexisting, though only some of these conditions will have a disabling impact. In 2018, three quarters (74.0% or 264,700) of children under 15 with disability reported a mental and behavioural disorder, and just over half reported a physical condition (52.7% or 188,400).
Of all children with disability, boys were more likely than girls to report mental and behavioural disorders (77.0% or 177,200 boys compared with 68.3% or 87,900 girls) while girls were more likely to report physical conditions (59.0% or 75,900 girls compared with 48.2% or 110,800 boys).
The long-term health conditions most commonly reported amongst children with disability were autism and related disorders which affected one quarter of all children with disability (26.8% or 95,800), asthma (16.5% or 59,100) and attention deficit disorder/hyperactivity which both affected around one in six children with disability (15% or 53,800). The proportion of children with disability who reported phobic and anxiety disorders increased from 9.4% (30,900) in 2015 to 13.7% (49,000) in 2018. Overall, there were no other significant changes in the proportion of children reporting selected conditions between 2015 and 2018.
Long-term health condition - a disease or disorder that has lasted, or is likely to last, for six months or more. The SDAC collects information about long-term health conditions and through a series of screening questions, determines whether they restrict a person’s ability to do activities. People whose long-term conditions limit their activities are identified as having disability.
In 2018, three quarters of children with disability had a need for assistance with at least one activity (73.9% or 264,300). Children with disability were most likely to need assistance with cognitive or emotional activities (59.3% or 212,000), followed by communication (38.2% or 136,700), mobility (36.1% or 128,900), self-care (32.0% or 114,300) and health care (27.9% or 99,800).
Overall, boys were more likely than girls to need assistance with self-care activities (35.1% or 80,700 compared with 25.2% or 32,400) and cognitive or emotional activities (64.9% or 149,400 compared with 49.0% or 63,100).
Of the 264,300 children aged 0-14 with disability who needed assistance with at least one activity, almost all were receiving some form of assistance (97.2% or 256,800).
Children with disability who needed assistance were most likely to receive help with cognitive or emotional tasks (77.4% or 204,700) while almost half received assistance with communication (48.1% or 127,200) and mobility (45.3% or 119,600)
Regardless of where their education is received, children with disability have a right to the same educational opportunities as all Australian children. In 2018, among school aged children (5 to 14 years) with disability, almost all (95.8% or 285,500) attended school. Of these, nearly one third attended special classes or special schools (31.2% or 89,000).
Four out of every five children with disability attending school (aged 5-14 years) had an educational restriction (83.0% or 151,700 compared with 76.4% or 79,500).
Two thirds of children with disability and attending school experienced difficulties at school (66.5% or 190,000). Nearly half reported learning difficulties (48.7% or 138,900) and over one third had difficulties fitting in socially (38.8% or 110,900). Boys were more likely than girls to have communication difficulties (35.2% or 64,400 compared with 21.1% or 21,900).
There are a range of different support and assistance options available for school children with disability. In 2018, over half of all children with disability who attended school accessed a support or special arrangement (58.6% or 167,400). Around one third accessed special tuition (36.8% or 105,200) while around one quarter accessed a counsellor or special support person (23.2% or 66,100).
Of those children who received support or special arrangements, over one third (36.1% or 60,500) reported that they needed more support.
In 2018, there were 136,000 primary carers who were caring for their own child aged 0 to 14 years with a profound or severe core activity limitation. While there are a range of organised services available to assist a person in their caring role, the satisfaction with these services varied among carers, as did the impact of the many costs and effects of their caring role on the whole family.
One in five parent primary carers were dissatisfied with the range of organised services available to assist them with caring for their child (19.1% or 26,000) while 32.9% (44,800) were satisfied and a further 22.8% were neither satisfied or dissatisfied (31,000).
Nearly three in five (57.4% or 78,100) parent primary carers reported that they needed an improvement or more support to assist them in their caring role, an increase from 46.4% (54,700) in 2015.
Among parent primary carers, the effect of their caring role on family relationships varied:
One third of parent primary carers reported that the main financial impact of their caring role was a decreased income (37.7% or 51,300) and another one third reported an increase in their expenses (35.3% or 48,000).
Almost half of parent primary carers who were employed (45.5% or 35,800) said they had reduced the weekly hours they worked in all jobs since commencing the caring role.
Results relating to 2015 data can be found in the 2015 Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers (ABS cat. No. 4430.0)
Primary carer - a person aged 15 years and over who provides the most informal assistance to a person with disability for the core activities of mobility, self-care and communication
10/05/2023 – An amendment was made to dot point 2 in the Carers subsection to remove the reference to people aged 15 years and over and reflect the correct denominator for the population (all persons).
11/06/2021 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with disability: This article uses results from the 2018 Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers (SDAC) to present analysis of disability prevalence among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people within the scope of the survey. Commentary includes analysis of severity and type of disability, assistance needed and received due to disability, education, employment, income, and discrimination. Along with the commentary, this release includes a data cube.
28/09/20 - Psychosocial disability: the psychological disability data cube on the data downloads page of the Psychosocial disability article was updated to include an additional footnote (Tables 5 and 6), and to correct an error in the data (Table 5 row 13).
25/09/2020-Psychosocial disability: This article uses results from the 2018 Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers (SDAC) to present analysis on the prevalence of psychosocial disability in Australia including information around demographic characteristics, need for and receipt of assistance, education, employment, income and experience of discrimination. Along with the commentary, this release includes two data cubes - one containing psychosocial disability data and the other psychological disability data (for time series purposes).
10/09/2020 Small area estimates: Two data cubes containing modelled small area estimates for persons with disability and carers by age and sex for Statistical Areas Level 2 (SA2) of usual residence and Local Government Areas have been added to the Data downloads section. A section in the Methodology has also been added, providing summary information about how these small area estimates were modelled. For full details email disability.statistics@abs.gov.au for a copy of the 2018 SDAC Small Area Estimates Explanatory Notes PDF.
31/07/2020 - Dementia: This article uses results from the 2018 Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers (SDAC), to present an analysis on people living with dementia in Australia. Commentary includes analysis of prevalence and severity of dementia, and assistance needed and received for dementia. Along with the commentary, this release includes a data cube.
24/07/2020 - Disability and the Labour Force: This article uses results from the 2018 Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers (SDAC), to present an analysis on labour force participation of people with disability. Commentary includes participation by disability severity and group, employment restrictions and experiences of discrimination in the workplace. Along with the commentary, this release includes a data cube.
21/07/2020 - Use of technology by people with disability, older people and primary carers: This article uses 2018 Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers (SDAC) data to present analysis of the use of information technology by these three groups, including use of the Internet, SMS/text message, email and social networking/chat rooms, as well as reasons they were not used. Along with the commentary, this release includes a data cube which is available from the Data downloads section.
05/02/2020 - State and Territory data cubes are available from the Data downloads section.
10/12/2019 - Children with Disability: This article uses results from the 2018 Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers (SDAC), to present an analysis on children with disability including the prevalence of disability among children aged 0-14 years, and the types of disability most common among children. Along with the analysis, this release includes a data cube which is available from the Data downloads section.
29/11/2019 - Autism in Australia: This article uses results from the 2018 Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers (SDAC), to present an updated analysis of the prevalence of autism in Australia, and the impact the condition has on those living with Autism. Along with the analysis, this release includes a data cube which is available from the Data downloads section.
04/11/2019 - The Data Item List has been replaced to correct a column label in the 'Transport - Private' tab. A link in the Quality Declaration has been updated.
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To view the Cared-accommodation Questionnaire click here
This release previously used catalogue number 4430.0