WILLING

Appendix 2: Australian Bureau of Statistics
2015 Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers,
First results data
ABS Submission to the Australian Human Rights Commissions’ Willing to Work: National Inquiry into
Employment Discrimination Against Older Australians and Australians with Disability.
Discrimination due to disability
Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers
The data below presents the first results from the 2015 Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers (SDAC)
conducted throughout Australia between May and December 2015.
This is the eighth comprehensive national household survey conducted by the ABS to measure
disability, following similar surveys in 1981, 1988, 1993, 1998, 2003, 2009 and 2012.
The aims of the survey are to:
• measure the prevalence of disability in Australia
• measure the need for support of older people and those with disability
• provide a demographic and socio-economic profile of people with disability, older people and
carers compared with the general population
• estimate the number of, and provide information about, people who provide care to people with
disability, long-term health conditions and older people.
Disability Discrimination Module
The 2015 SDAC introduced a new disability discrimination module designed to estimate the prevalence
and nature of discrimination because of disability.
Inclusion of the discrimination module was in response to public policy initiatives to ensure people with
disability have opportunities to reach their potential through participation in the community and the
workforce. This inclusion also improves the SDAC’s alignment with the International Classification of
Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) in understanding the context of environmental factors on the
functioning and disability of a person.
Willing to Work National Inquiry • 355