4.2 million Australians have a disability

01 Nov 4.2 million Australians have a disability

The stats about the industry

• The NDIS will increase the number of people who receive support nationally from 220,000 to 460,000. Disability spending will increase nationally each year from over $7 billion to $22 billion by 2020.
• 18.5% of the population or 4.2 million Australians have a disability.1
• 45% of Australians with a disability live in or near a state of poverty.2 This is more than double the OECD average of 22%.3
• 2.7 million Australians provide informal care to an older person or person with a disability, with 29% of these people identifying themselves as the primary carer.4
• In 1993, the labor force participation rate for working-age people with disability (15 to 64 years) was 54.9% and dropped slightly to 52.8% in 2012. During the same period, the participation rate for working-age people without disability increased from 76.9% to 82.5%.5
• People with disability are twice as likely to be in the bottom 20% of gross household incomes.6
• Nearly 40% of Australian non-profit organizations receive 75% or more of their total funding from government.7 (This average is much higher for disability organizations. Over the last two years alone I’ve worked with clients who receive 64%, 85%, 90% and 98% of their total revenue from government.)

Research by the National Disability Services (NDS), stated: ‘It would be counter-productive to drive out good not-for-profits if all they lack are resources and skills to market their services.’

The same report found that the current disability research base is fragmented and not fit for purpose. Other key findings included:8

• In 2012–13, 312,539 people received funded services and the average expenditure on disability support services per organization was $3.3 million.
• There are 2,151 disability support organizations in Australia, with an average of 145 ‘service users’ and 27 paid full-time staff members per organization.
• A few organizations reported they were NDIS-ready on costing and pricing (20%) and marketing practice (21%). These were the two areas where the 424 providers surveyed were least prepared.
• 67% of organizations did not have the minimum recommended cash flow standard of three months or more spending reserves. 17% had a current debt-to-assets ratio of less than one.
• 70% of providers intend to increase the scale or range of services.
• 42% of small providers believe the risks of the NDIS outweigh the opportunities.

All the data points to increased consolidation, collaboration, and partnerships within the sector. In any industry with rapidly increasing levels of concentration it’s simply common-sense to proactively seek out and build mutually beneficial alliances with local organizations that share your vision, mission, and core values and that also, most importantly, serve the best interests of people with disabilities and their families.  

Source- https://clickability.com.au/blog/the-disability-market-in-australia-a-snapshot/)