Disability support services: services provided under the National Disability Agreement 2012-13

Published 5th September 2014

In 2012-13, Australian governments spent $7.2 billion on disability support services under the National Disability Agreement. This has risen in recent years-by 4% between 2011-12 and 2012-13, and by 23% since 2008-09, after adjusting for inflation.

In 2012-13, an estimated 312,539 Australians accessed disability support services, according to a report released today by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW).

The report, Disability support services: services provided under the National Disability Agreement 2012-13, presents information on the use of community support services (45% of service users), employment services (41%), community access services (18%), accommodation support services (14%) and respite services (12%).

'The report provides important contextual and baseline information as the disability policy and service delivery environment continues to evolve, particularly with the implementation of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) in 2013-14,' said AIHW spokesperson Dr Pamela Kinnear. 

The number of service users generally increased over the 5 years to 2012-13-by 12% between 2008-09 and 2012-13. Users of disability support services are diverse. In 2012-13, 59% were male, 87% were Australian-born, 6% were Indigenous Australians, and 54% lived with their families. The most commonly reported disability groups continued to be intellectual (32%), physical (30%) and psychiatric (27%), though the proportion of service users with an intellectual disability dropped slightly over the 5 years to 2012-13. AIHW catalogue number (AUS 182). View the media release and download the full report for free online.