International Day of People with Disability

In 2022, just over 1 in 5 Australians were living with disability. Today is the International Day of People with Disability, an opportunity to increase public awareness, understanding and acceptance of people with disability. This year, the theme is amplifying the leadership of people with disability for an inclusive and sustainable future. 

Amplifying the leadership of people with disability is a focus of the Australian Government through Australia’s Disability Strategy 2021–2031 (the Strategy), which outlines a vision for a more inclusive and accessible society where people with disability can reach their potential as equal members of the community. 

The Strategy focuses on: 

• Providing national leadership towards greater inclusion of people with disability.  

• Guiding activity across all areas of public policy to be inclusive and responsive to people with disability.  

• Driving mainstream services and systems to improve outcomes for people with disability. 

• Engaging, informing and involving the whole community in achieving a more inclusive society. 

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) has a key role to play in reporting on how the Strategy is going. The AIHW uses available data to help keep track of what is happening for people with disability and what changes over time across outcomes areas that people with disability have said need to improve for Australia to become more inclusive.  

In 2022, 19% of people with disability felt represented in leadership roles and just over half felt valued and respected in their community.    

The AIHW is also supporting the development of the National Disability Data Asset. This disability data asset brings together de-identified information about all Australians from almost every part of government, including disability, health, social security, education, employment, housing and justice. This will help us to better understand and meet the needs of people with disability, including the importance of intersectionality in disability inclusion. 

To find out more about Australia’s Disability Strategy, visit this webpage. 

To find out more about AIHW’s other disability reporting visit our disability landing page.