Final Report on RREF 2001 - Department of Health

Frequently Asked Questions
A number of FAQs that came up in the consultations are listed below. Responses are drawn
from the Explanatory Notes included in the ABS report Disability, Ageing and Carers:
Summary of Findings (ABS Catalogue No. 4430.0, 1998). For those requiring further
information, the ABS also publishes a comprehensive User Guide that gives detailed accounts
of all aspects of the survey.
FAQ 1:
What constitutes moderate, severe and profound disability and other elements in the
survey so an informed judgement can be made about its use?
Responses: • definitions used in the 1998 DACS are given in the Box above. .
• levels of disability are defined in terms of the impact on the individual’s
capacity to perform or participate in a number of core activities, schooling or
employment
• details of core activities and levels of restriction are given in the Box above.
FAQ 2:
What questions were asked in the survey?
Responses: • A screening question is first asked to identify whether any individuals in the
household has a disability.
• Further questions are then asked about the extent to which the disability restricts
the individual’s capacity to carry out core activities (See User Guide for full
schedule)
a Questions are asked about help needed, help received from informal sources and
from formal services from subsidised and private providers, and unmet need for
care.
• DACS also asks questions on accommodation, education, employment, income,
and provision of care.
• Further questions are asked of carers of people with disabilities.
FAQ 3:
Was data collected from individuals or provider organisations? If data was
collected only from those receiving services, it is not an adequate measure of all
need?
Responses: • DACS involves a household survey of those living in the community.
• A survey of “cared accommodation” is carried out to collect data on those of
any age in residential care of any kind.
FAQ 4:
Do the survey definitions reflect consumers’ perspectives and do the definitions
capture information adequately?
Responses: • Information is collected through personal interviews with people with
disabilities and with carers, conducted by trained interviewers.
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