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AIHW Report: Disability in Australia |
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The Australian Institute of Health & Welfare has released a new report "Disability in Australia: trends in prevalence, education, employment and community living", which provides an overview of disability trends over the last 2 decades. From 1981 to 2003 the number of people with disability in Australia more than doubled from 1.9 million to 3.9 million. This was attributed to a greater awareness of disability and a higher likelihood of identifying as having a disability, rather than an increase in the occurrence of disability. Medical advancements and longer life expectancy rates also contributed to this figure.
The study found that while the number of students with disability entering mainstream schools has increased significantly over 20 years (from 26,700 students with disability attending mainstream school in 1981 to 115,000 by 2003), the figures for employment have not improved so dramatically. Unemployment rates for people with disability are still almost double that of people without disability, and labour force participation rates are an average of 30% lower for people with disability than those without. Unemployment rates for people with more severe disability actually increased between 1998 and 2003, demonstrating the lack of resources and services available to people with more severe disability looking to get into the workforce.
The full report can be downloaded from the AIHW website at http://www.aihw.gov.au/publications/index.cfm/title/10495.
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