Disability Confidence

Almost 4 million Australians have a disability - that's 1 in 5 people.

2.2 million Australians of working age (15-64yrs) have a disability.

A disability is any condition that restricts a person's mental, sensory or mobility functions. It could be caused by accident, trauma, genetics or disease. A disability may be temporary or permanent, total or partial, lifelong or acquired, visible or invisible.

The majority (88%) of disabilities are not visible.

Around 2.6 million Australians (14%) have a physical disability – such as respiratory disorders (eg asthma), neurological disorders (eg MS, cerebral palsy or epilepsy), musculoskeletal disorders (eg arthritis or spinal injuries, immunological disorders (eg HIV/AIDS), diabetes, kidney disease or cancer.

Over 1 million Australians are hard of hearing, with around 30,000 Australians being totally deaf.

Around 300,000 Australians have a substantial vision impairment (i.e. not correctable by glasses), with around 20,000 being totally blind.

About 2%, or around 400,00 Australians have an intellectual impairment.

1 in 5 Australians will experience a mental health problem at some point in their lives.

In 2003, 53.2% of people with a disability participated in the labour force compared to 80.6% of people without a disability.

People with disability have disposable income of $54 billion per annum.