Fed: People with disabilities living in poorer suburbs: AIHW

AAP General News (Australia)
04-01-2009
Fed: People with disabilities living in poorer suburbs: AIHW

EDS: Embargoed until 1300 AEDT, Wednesday, April 1 2009

By Susanna Dunkerley

CANBERRA, April 1 AAP - The majority of people with severe disabilities in Australian
capital cities live in poorer suburbs with relatively few economic resources, a new report
shows.

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) report looked at the postcodes
of people under 65 years who required assistance with daily activities in 2006.

The proportion of people with severe disabilities ranged from 1.9 per cent of the population
in Perth, Darwin and Canberra to 2.8 per cent in Hobart, the report showed.

And the most disadvantaged suburbs were almost three times as likely to house people
with severe disabilities than the more expensive areas.

The report said this was due to the low incomes of people with disabilities, their
need to access low-cost housing and other services.

It also suggested factors like poor diet and health, associated with lower socio-economic
areas, had a negative impact on people's disabilities.

Report author Dr Louise O'Rance said the relationship between disability and economic
disadvantage worked both ways.

"Socio-economic disadvantage can contribute to disability and vice versa."

"People with disability often have lower average incomes than people without and their
disability can impose extra costs on their families.

"On the other hand, risk factors for many chronic diseases are higher among socio-economically
disadvantaged people."

People who worked in lower status jobs also faced greater occupational hazards like
serious workplace injury, she said.

The Australian Federation of Disability Organisations said the government should work
harder to ensure people with disabilities were spread more equally through socio-economic
groups.

"It's a human right for people with disabilities to have the same level of social inclusion
as everybody else in the community," federation policy officer Leah Hobson said.

"One way is to increase the pension for people with disabilities."

The government should also establish an allowance to help with the extra costs associated
with a disability, she said.

The maximum rate of the disability support pension is $569.80 a fortnight.

The Rudd government is reviewing the adequacy of the pension through the Harmer review.

AAP sld/kms/jpm

KEYWORD: DISABILITY (EMBARGOED) (WITH FACTBOX)

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