Accommodation and Employment Policies and Services for People with Disabilities

Abstract

This report analyses service provisions for disabled people by the Commonwealth Government and the State Governments of New South Wales, South Australia and Victoria. The main government departments and agencies responsible for those provisions are identified, the forms of such provisions are described, and data on program expenditure and other relevant aspects are presented and analysed. As explained in the Introduction, the services discussed in this report are categorised into those relating to accommodation of disabled people and those whose main focus is on their employment. The report brings together a large volume of data and information which assist an understanding of the needs of the disabled and how governments are responding to those needs. It also highlights differences in developments in the three States included in the analysis and how well State services relate to, and complement, those provided by the Commonwealth.

Chapter Two summarises available information on the demographic characteristics of disabled people, focusing on their accommodation and employment status. Chapter Three describes services provided for disabled people by the Commonwealth Government, and the next three chapters describe and evaluate provisions by the governments of New South Wales, South Australia and Victoria, respectively. The main conclusions and comparisons are summarised in Chapter Seven in relation to how these provisions are meeting the needs of people with intellectual, psychiatric and physical disabilities, respectively.

The report complements research undertaken in the Centre on the extra costs borne by families who have a child with a disability, recently published as Report No.68 in the SWRC Reports and Proceedings series.