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  Disability Awareness

Core information

Disability in the community

In a recent survey (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 1995) 2,500,200 people (about 14 percent of the population) reported a life-restricting disability and needed access to products and services which would assist them in their daily lives.

• 1,827,500 people have difficulty in moving around their homes and in the community
  
• 1,497,500 people (about 8.8 percent) have difficulty in accessing employment and training and may also need their workplace to be modified to enable them to work
  
• 990,000 people (5.8 percent) need assistance in caring for themselves
  
• 480,000 people (2.8 percent) need assistive devices to help them to communicate better with others

Fewer than 40 percent of these people use state or private disability services. 94 percent (2,357,200) live in households and a majority of these rely on support from family and friends acting as carers.

Thus, there are many people in the community who have a disability. They are no different to anyone else in terms of the services they have every right to expect.