People with disability in Australia

Introduction

This section reports on formal and informal supports provided to people with disability since the introduction of COVID-19 restrictions in March 2020. It draws on the data collected by the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) as part of its NDIS Outcomes Framework Survey, the ABS Household Impacts of COVID-19 Survey, and several smaller surveys and administrative data collections conducted since March 2020.

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Social connectedness

NDIS participants and their families and carers

An NDIA report on NDIS participant and family/carer outcomes during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic (up to 30 June 2020) showed that during COVID-19 access to social connections outside participants’ households had decreased. However, in some cases, participants reported improved feelings of support and said their families were brought closer together (NDIA 2020a).

Based on comparison of their baseline outcomes, participants who entered the Scheme after the introduction of COVID-19 restrictions (compared with those whose entry was before March 2020):

• children (aged 0–14) with disability were getting along better with siblings, and better fitting into their family’s everyday life
• young children (from birth to before starting school) were less likely to participate in age-appropriate community, cultural or religious activities
• participants aged 25 and over were less likely to currently be a volunteer
• participants aged 15 and over were less likely to have someone outside their home to call on for help if needed, and more likely to say they wanted to see their family more often (NDIA 2020a).

Families and carers of participants whose Scheme entry was after the introduction of COVID-19 restrictions (compared with those whose entry was before March 2020):

• were in general more positive about having enough contact with friends, practical help and emotional support
• were more likely to say they have enough parenting support and are confident in their ability to support their child’s development (for families of participants aged 0–14) (NDIA 2020a).

In terms of longitudinal comparison, looking at baseline outcomes (at Scheme entry) and a later observation for the same participants during the COVID-19 period:

• compared with pre-COVID-19 period, young children (from birth to before starting school) were less likely to improve with regard to participating in community, cultural or religious activities, and in being able to make friends with people outside their family
• participants aged 25 and over were less likely to improve in terms of knowing people in their community (NDIA 2020a).

At 30 June 2021, NDIS participants who had been in the Scheme for at least 2 years reported higher rates of community and social participation during COVID-19 compared with their baseline outcomes:

• 43% for participants aged 15–24 (compared with pre-COVID-19 baseline of 34%)
• 45% for participants aged 25 and over (compared with pre-COVID-19 baseline of 37%) (NDIA 2021b).

Similar results were observed in December 2020 and March 2021 (NDIA 2020c, 2021a).

Adults with disability

In April 2021, the Household Impacts of COVID-19 Survey asked respondents about their social connectedness.

Adults with disability were in general more likely than those without disability to assess their social connectedness as poor:

• 6.9% of adults with disability said their ability to get support from family or friends when they needed it was poor (2.5% of those without disability)
• 12% of adults with disability reported poor sense of being a part of a group or community (5.2% for those without disability)
• 6.0% of adults with disability reported poor levels of confidence to have a say about issues important to them (2.8% for those without disability) (ABS 2021c).

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Participation in activities

As could be expected, participation in social activities in 2020 and 2021 varied in line with changing COVID-19 restrictions. For some activities, people with disability were disproportionately affected.

In general, proportions of people reporting participation in various activities were lowest in June 2021 (compared with December 2020 and February and April 2021) (ABS 2020d, 2021b, 2021c, 2021d). During June 2021, adults with disability were:

• less likely to attend social gatherings of more than 10 people at least once in the last 4 weeks (44%, compared with 53% for those without disability)
• less likely to visit bars or restaurants in person at least once in the last 4 weeks (61%, compared with 77% for those without disability)
• less likely to attend a cultural event or venue at least once in the last 4 weeks (12%, compared with 18% for those without disability) (ABS 2021d).

In addition, in June 2021 adults with disability were less likely than those without disability to regularly (at least once a week in the last 4 weeks):

• visit a public park or recreation area (29%, compared with 44% for adults without disability)
• exercise at a gym or play sport (17%, compared with 28% for adults without disability)
• shop in physical stores (73%, compared with 78% for adults without disability) (ABS 2021d).

At the same time, from December 2020 to June 2021, participation in some activities remained stable over time and similar for adults with and without disability, for example:

• going away on holiday for 2 nights or more – proportion of people doing this at least once in the 4 weeks prior to the survey interview ranged between 15% and 20%, with the exception of April 2021 when it reached a peak of 33% for adults without disability
• doing voluntary work for an organisation or a group – proportion of people doing this at least once in the 4 weeks prior to the survey ranged between 13% and 18%
• visiting a casino or gaming area – proportion of people doing this at least once in the 4 weeks prior to the survey ranged between 6% and 10% (ABS 2020d, 2021b, 2021c, 2021d).

Adults with disability were also less likely to participate in activities with family or friends:

• in June 2021, 78% of people with disability reported participating in the last 4 weeks, compared with 85% of people without disability
• this was a decrease for both groups since April 2021, when 88% of adults with disability and 93% of those without disability reported participating (ABS 2021c, 2021d).

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Attending social gatherings

In January 2021, the Household Impacts of COVID-19 survey asked Australians aged 18 and over about their attendance at social gatherings since 1 December 2020.

Most people, regardless of their disability status, were comfortable attending social gatherings at their own, a friend’s or a family member’s residence:

• 80% of adults with disability and 88% of adults without disability reported being comfortable or very comfortable attending gatherings at their own residence
• 80% of adults with disability and 89% of adults without disability reported being comfortable or very comfortable attending gatherings at a friend’s or family member’s residence (ABS 2021a).

People with disability were less likely than those without disability to report being comfortable or very comfortable while attending:

• social gatherings at restaurants (59% of adults with disability compared with 76% of adults without disability)
• community events (43% compared with 56%) (ABS 2021a).

Most people, regardless of their disability status, felt uncomfortable or very uncomfortable attending social gatherings at nightclubs or bars (72% of adults with disability and 63% of those without disability) (ABS 2021a).

People with disability were more likely than those without disability to choose not to attend any social gatherings since 1 December 2020 due to COVID-19 (41% compared with 34%) (ABS 2021a).

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Care provided to people with disability

Many people with disability rely on unpaid and paid care on a daily basis. The COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on this essential support.

The CYDA COVID-19 survey found that:

• 32% of children and young people or their families with disability experienced cancellation of support workers either by self or service
• 32% reported cancellation of other NDIS funded services (Dickinson and Yates 2020).

Written responses elaborated that cancellations by self could relate to concerns about vulnerability to infection or needs of self or family members to isolate (Dickinson and Yates 2020).

People with Disability Australia (PWDA) conducted a survey in May 2020 for its members – people with disability and their families and carers – asking about changes to support received by respondents during the early stages of COVID-19. The survey attracted just over 200 respondents (the response rate for the survey is unknown). Many respondents reported receiving less support, including:

• less NDIS support (reported by 41% of respondents)
• less non-NDIS disability support (reported by 47% of respondents) (PWDA 2020).

The ABS Household Impacts of COVID-19 Survey showed that, between March and June 2020, about 3 in 10 people who regularly used disability services for themselves or a member in their household experienced disruption to the regular formal support:

• 6% of survey participants reported they or someone in their household regularly used disability support services[1]
  • of them, 29%* reported experiencing a disruption to their regular service since 1 March 2020 (ABS 2020b).

Types of disruptions to regular disability support services included cancellation of services, changes in how the services were delivered, and changes in the frequency of the services (ABS 2020b).

The provision of unpaid care has also been affected by COVID-19. Between 1 March and mid-May 2020:

• 13% of adults provided unpaid care to a vulnerable person (a person aged 65 or over, or a person with a disability or long-term health condition) living outside their household because of COVID-19
• 23% of adults who had a vulnerable person living in the same household provided more than usual care to that person because of COVID-19
• the most common activity in both cases was shopping (ABS 2020a).

In November 2020:

• 16% of adults reported providing unpaid care to a vulnerable person
• of those who provided care
  • 12% had not provided care or assistance prior to 1 March 2020
  • 25% had difficulty providing care or assistance due to COVID-19 since 1 March 2020 (ABS 2020c).

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[1] Proportions marked with asterisk (*) have a Margin of Error (MoE) greater than 10 percentage points which means the estimate should be interpreted with caution.

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Disability support workers

The University of Melbourne and University of New South Wales (UNSW) Canberra conducted a national survey of more than 350 disability support workers between late May and June 2020 (the response rate for the survey is unknown). The survey showed that, among respondents:

• 90% were not able to physically distance at work
• 53% provided support that required close personal contact (such as feeding or brushing teeth)
• 14% worked for more than one provider (Kavanagh et al. 2020).

The survey found that respondents worked with an average of 6 people with disability in the week prior to the survey (Kavanagh et al. 2020).

Disability support workers have also been adversely affected financially because of COVID-19. Between late May and June 2020:

• 27% of disability workers cancelled own shifts due to concerns about COVID-19 infection
• 35% of disability workers had their shifts cancelled by clients or employers due to the same concerns
• 1 in 5 disability support workers (20%) experienced financial stress, reporting they could not pay bills, their rent or mortgage, or went without meals (Kavanagh et al. 2020).

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Care provided by people with disability

People with disability are more likely to be providing care to others than people without disability. The 2018 Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers (SDAC) showed that, among people aged 15 and over:

• 25% of people aged 15–64 with disability were carers, compared with 10% of those without disability
• 19% of people aged 65 and over with disability were carers, compared with 16% of those without disability (ABS 2019).

In November 2020, proportions of people with and without disability providing care were consistent with the 2018 SDAC results:

• adults (aged 18 and over) with disability were more likely to provide care or assistance to a vulnerable person (23%) than adults without disability (14%)
• most care providers had provided care since before 1 March 2020, however this was more likely for carers with disability
  • 96% of people with disability who were providing care in November 2020 also provided care before March 2020, compared with 84% for those without disability (ABS 2020c).

While more than half of carers provided care to a person living in the same household, people with disability were less likely than those without disability to be a carer for someone who lived outside their household:

• 68% of adults with disability and 51% of those without disability cared for a person in the same household
• about a quarter (26%) of adults with disability cared for those not living in the same household (compared with 43% of those without disability)
• similar proportions of adults with and without disability (4.2% and 4.6%) provided care to both persons living in and outside of their household (ABS 2020c).

Similar proportions of carers with and without disability had difficulty providing care, or had to change their work arrangements to provide care after 1 March 2020:

• 24% of carers with disability reported difficulty providing care (26% of those without disability)
• 22% had to change work arrangements in order to provide care (22% of those without disability) (ABS 2020c).  

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Government and community services

In April 2021, the Household Impacts of COVID-19 Survey asked Australians aged 18 and over about accessing crisis or support services in the 4 weeks prior to the survey.  

People with and without disability were similarly likely to report accessing one or more crisis or support services in the 4 weeks before the survey:

• 11% of people with disability and 6.3% of people without disability accessed one or more services
• the most common type of services for both groups was job search or other employment support service (8.4% and 5.3%) (ABS 2021c).

About 3 in 10 people reported accessing online government, health and other services during the previous 4 weeks (31% for people both with and without disability). The most commonly accessed online services were the same for both groups, and included:

• a government service portal or agency website (accessed by 21% of adults with disability during the previous 4 weeks)
• a telehealth appointment booking service (accessed by 9.3% of adults with disability)
• an electronic prescription service (accessed by 5.9% for adults with disability)
• DigitalHealth.gov.au (accessed by 2.9% of adults with disability) (ABS 2021c).

Of those who accessed online services in the previous 4 weeks, the main reasons given by people with and without disability for accessing or using an online service were:

• convenience (both 62%)
• saves time (34% for people with disability and 35% for people without disability)
• the only access option available (26% and 25%) (ABS 2021c).

Of those who did not use any of the online services in the previous 4 weeks, people with disability were more likely not to use the services because:

• they preferred an in-person appointment (37% compared with 24% for people without disability)
• they did not have or could not use the required technology (14% compared with 4.1% for people without disability) (ABS 2021c).

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Support provided by the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission

The NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission continued to support NDIS participants and providers throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Between 1 March and 30 June 2021, the commission had received:

• 1,358 contacts and 213 complaints specifically related to COVID-19
• 1,677 provider notifications of changes to support (NDIS Commission 2021).

Provider notifications received during this period indicated the main types of supports and services affected (a single notification could relate to more than one type of support) were:

• therapeutic supports (527 notifications)
• community participation (496 notifications)
• group and centre based activities (500 notifications) (NDIS Commission 2021).