4914.0.55.001 - Newsletter: Age Matters, Dec 2004  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 14/12/2004   
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DID YOU KNOW?

In 2003,

  • one in five people in Australia (3,958,300 or 20.0%) had a reported disability.
  • over half of the 3.35 million people aged 60 years and over had a reported disability (51%) and 19% had a profound or severe core-activity limitation.
  • of all people aged 60 years and over, less than half (41%) reported needing assistance, because of disability or old age to manage health conditions or cope with everyday activities.
  • people aged 85 years and over reported a much higher need for assistance than those aged 60-69 years (84% compared with 26%).
  • twenty-four per cent of primary carers were aged 65 years and over, compared to 13% of the total population.
  • disability rate increased with age, reaching 92% for those aged 90 years and over

For further details, refer to Disability, Ageing and Carers, Australia (cat. no. 4430.0) which was released on 15 September 2004.