This article provides data about people with psychosocial disability from the 2022 Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers.
In 2022, 1.7 million Australians (6.5%) had psychosocial disability, up from 1.1 million (4.6%) in 2018. Of these:
Selected key findings from this publication are available in the following formats:
In the Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers (SDAC), a person is considered to have disability if they have any limitation, restriction or impairment which restricts everyday activities and has lasted, or is likely to last, for six months or more.
People with psychosocial disability are those who reported having:
These barriers can impact a person's opportunities to participate fully and equally in society, including in areas such as education, employment and community life.
Where possible, the SDAC directly asked a person questions regarding their perception of their ability to perform a range of day-to-day activities. However, in some cases information was provided by another person (a proxy). Proxy interviews were conducted for children under 15 years, people aged 15-17 years who did not have parental consent to participate directly, and individuals unable to answer for themselves.
In the cared-accommodation component of the survey, responses were provided for each selected resident via an online questionnaire by one or more staff members of the establishment. For more information see SDAC Methodology.
The following analysis reports on selected characteristics and experiences of people with psychosocial disability. The accompanying Data downloads include data for people with psychosocial disability, other disability and no disability.
In 2022, 1.7 million Australians (6.5%) had psychosocial disability, up from 1.1 million (4.6%) in 2018. This represents an increase of around 520,000 people with psychosocial disability between 2018 and 2022.
Between 2018 and 2022 the proportion of people with psychosocial disability increased across all age groups from 5-14 years to 65-74 years.
Rates of psychosocial disability for males and females were similar (6.5% and 6.4% in 2022).
a. For 2022, includes persons whose sex at birth is another term.
Across age, rates of psychosocial disability were highest among people aged 85 years and over (27.4%). This is largely due to the relatively high proportion of people of this age with memory problems or periods of confusion that restrict their everyday activities (22.4%).
Males aged 5-14 years had higher rates of psychosocial disability (8.2%) than females of the same age group (4.6%), largely due to higher rates of social or behavioural difficulties amongst males (6.2%) of this age group compared with females (3.4%).
a. Includes persons whose sex at birth is another term.
People with psychosocial disability have one or more psychosocial impairments which cause limitations or restrictions in their everyday activities. In 2022 of the 1.7 million people with psychosocial disability:
Disability status is a measure of the severity of limitations experienced by people with disability, which helps to understand the level of assistance people with disability may need with core activities. People with psychosocial disability generally report a greater need for assistance or difficulty with core activities than those with other disability.
Of the 1.7 million Australians with psychosocial disability, 1.0 million (61.0%) had a profound or severe limitation, more than twice the rate of people with other disability (26.8%):
a. Persons with no specific limitations or restrictions not shown in graph.
The prevalence of profound or severe limitation among people with psychosocial disability varies by age. Among people with psychosocial disability:
In 2022, most people with psychosocial disability (87.2%) also reported having one or more other impairments or restrictions; that is, another disability in addition to their psychosocial disability. Of the 1.7 million people with psychosocial disability:
A person with psychosocial disability may have a number of long-term health conditions, including those that contribute to their psychosocial disability, as well as other unrelated conditions. Of the 1.7 million people with psychosocial disability:
While most people (1.5 million or 91.7%) with psychosocial disability lived in households, 138,500 (8.4%) lived in cared-accommodation such as nursing homes, aged care hostels and hospitals.
The remaining analysis in this article reports on the 1.5 million people with psychosocial disability living in households, unless otherwise specified.
Many people with disability require assistance with one or more aspects of daily living. Of the 1.5 million people with psychosocial disability, 83.2% (1.3 million) needed assistance with at least one activity of daily life. People with psychosocial disability most commonly needed assistance with:
Given that most people with psychosocial disability had one or more coexisting disabilities, their need for assistance may not always be due to their psychosocial disability alone.
People with disability may be supported by informal providers of assistance (such as family members) and/or by formal providers (such as government or private organisations). They may seek assistance from one or more providers depending on their care needs.
Of the 1.3 million people with psychosocial disability who needed assistance with at least one activity of daily life, 92.5% (1.2 million) received assistance with at least one activity.
Of these 1.2 million people:
Among the 1.0 million people with psychosocial disability who received informal assistance, the most common providers of assistance were a:
The 2022 SDAC showed that people who need assistance with daily activities may not always receive the help they need. Of the 1.3 million people with psychosocial disability who needed assistance:
Whether need for assistance was met varied by disability status. Of people with psychosocial disability with a profound or severe limitation, 37.0% felt their needs were fully met, compared with 49.7% of people with moderate or mild limitation.
a. Living in households.
In 2022, 59.9% of people with psychosocial disability aged 15 years and over had completed year 12 or higher, up from 53.4% in 2018.
Completion of year 12 or higher by people with psychosocial disability aged 15 years and over varied by disability status:
Of people with psychosocial disability aged 5 years and over who were studying, two-thirds (69.2%) experienced difficulties at their school or educational institution due to their condition, compared with 41.8% of those with other disability. The main difficulties reported by people with psychosocial disability were:
Over half (61.2%) of people with psychosocial disability aged 5 years and over who were studying received additional supports, compared with 40.9% of those with other disability. The most common support or special arrangements for those with psychosocial disability were:
People with psychosocial disability were less likely to be in the labour force (45.7%) than those with other disability (68.9%). Of all people with psychosocial disability aged 15-64 years:
People with psychosocial disability were more likely than those with other disability to report employment restrictions because of their disability. Around four in five (80.3%) of people aged 15-64 years with psychosocial disability reported employment restrictions, compared with around half (52.4%) of those with other disability.
Among people with psychosocial disability of working age (15-64 years), the main sources of income reported were:
Of people with psychosocial disability aged 15-64 years:
Discrimination results presented here refer to unfair treatment or discrimination received because of disability in the previous 12 months.
People with psychosocial disability were more likely to experience discrimination because of their disability than those with other disability. Almost one-quarter (24.5%) of people with psychosocial disability aged 15 years and over experienced discrimination, compared with 5.2% of those with other disability:
Of the 1.3 million people aged 15 years and over with psychosocial disability: