Report on Government Services 2025

Governments provide assistance to people with disability and their carers through the NDIS and specialist disability services.

The NDIS was established under the National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013 (Cth). The NDIS adopts an insurance-based model of funding and delivering supports for people with disability. The scheme is not means tested and is uncapped (demand-driven). The NDIS provides reasonable and necessary supports to people with a permanent and significant disability who need assistance with everyday activities.

People applying to access the scheme are assessed according to a standard set of criteria. People who meet these criteria receive a package of funding to purchase the supports identified in their approved plan. The NDIS market-based approach is based on the premise that people with disability should be able to exercise choice and control in the supports they access.

Services and supports provided to NDIS participants are regulated by the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission. The Commission's role includes provider registration, complaints management and reportable incidents, behaviour support, and compliance with practice standards and the NDIS code of conduct. During 2023-24, the Commission received 29,054 complaints, and was notified of 1,732,298 incidents of unauthorised use of restrictive practices and 26,368 other reportable incidents (excluding unauthorised use of restrictive practices) (tables 15A.56-58). Of the 26,368 other reportable incidents notified during 2023-24, most concerned alleged abuse and neglect (around 45%), followed by serious injury, including accidents (around 29%). The NDIA also receives complaints about the Scheme (NDIA 2024a).

Complaints about state-funded specialist disability services outside the NDIS can be made to independent agencies across jurisdictions (such as ombudsmen and disability services commissioners).

The NDA (effective 1 January 2009, revised in 2012 and with performance benchmarks that expired in 2018) provided a national framework for the delivery of disability services. However, with the transition of state and territory services to the NDIS, the number and range of specialist disability services provided under the NDA has declined. Specialist disability services that continue to be provided include:

• employment services, which the Australian Government delivers
• Basic Community Care (BCC) services, which assist people with disability or a chronic health condition aged under 65 years (and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged under 50 years) to live independently and to actively participate and engage in their community.

People with disability have the same right of access to mainstream services as all Australians, consistent with the goals of Australia’s Disability Strategy 2021 - 2031 (Australia's Disability Strategy), launched on 3 December 2021. Australia's Disability Strategy sets out Australia's national disability policy framework. Its purpose is to:

• provide national leadership towards greater inclusion of people with disability
• guide activity across all areas of public policy to be inclusive and responsive to people with disability
• drive mainstream services and systems to improve outcomes for people with disability
• engage, inform and involve the whole community in achieving a more inclusive society.

All levels of government have committed to delivering more comprehensive and visible reporting under Australia's Disability Strategy through the Outcomes Framework. Governments will report annually on progress against seven outcome areas. Further information on Australia's Disability Strategy can be found at https://www.disabilitygateway.gov.au/ads, and the most recent data for the Outcomes Framework is available at https://www.aihw.gov.au/australias-disability-strategy.

Data on the participation of people with disability in mainstream government services can be found in other sections of this report (sections 3, 4, 5, 14, 18, 19 and sector overview G).

The Australian, state and territory governments have different but complementary roles and responsibilities:

• all governments share responsibility for NDIS policy, funding and governance (NDIA 2020)
• state and territory governments are responsible for providing specialist disability services, except disability employment services
• states and territories governments have full financial and operational responsibility for Basic Community Care (BCC) services for people with disability aged under 65 years (and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged under 50 years)
• the Australian Government is responsible for providing employment services for people with disability and income support.

In 2023-24, total expenditure on disability services was $46.7 billion dollars, an increase of almost 14% compared to 2022-23 and representing an average annual growth rate over the past five year of almost 19% (table 15A.1).

In 2023-24, governments contributed $42.4 billion to the NDIS, with a further $1.8 billion in government expenditure on direct service delivery outside of the NDIS (table 15A.1). For all jurisdictions, contributions to the NDIS formed the bulk of funding for disability services (tables 15A.3 and 15A.4). Further information on funding sources, categories of expenditure and government expenditure in prior years are available in data tables 15A.1–⁠15A.4.

In addition to contributing to NDIS participant costs, the Australian government also funds the NDIA as an independent statutory agency to implement the NDIS and the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission to oversee and regulate the NDIS. In 2023-24, operating expenses for the NDIA and the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission were $2.1 billion and $159 million, respectively (table 15A.1).

In 2023-24, the NDIS committed $52.6 billion in support to participants. This represents an increase of $4.3 billion (or 9.0%) in committed supports to participants compared to the previous financial year (table 15A.16 and table 15.1).

At 30 June 2024, $41.3 billion of support committed to participants during the 2023-24 financial year had been paid.

Outlays on income support payments and allowances to people with disability and their carers in 2023-24 (on an accrual basis) amounted to $32.7 billion, comprising $21.5 billion for the Disability Support Pension, $7.5 billion for the Carer Payment, $2.8 billion for the Carer Allowance, $620.8 million for the Carer Supplement, $202.7 million for the Child Disability Assistance Payment, $33.9 million for the Mobility Allowance, $9.3 million for Essential Medical Equipment payments and $2.0 million for the Carer Adjustment Payment (DSS 2024).

The ABS estimates that 5.5 million Australians, or 21.4% of the population, had a disability in 2022 (3.2 million, or 15.0% for those under 65 years old). This estimate increased from 2.4 million Australians, or 11.6%, in 2018 for those aged under 65 years. In 2022, an estimated 7.9% of the population had a profound or severe core activity limitation (5.1% for those under 65 years old). These results are similar to those in 2018 and 2015. Males and females are similarly affected by disability (21.0% and 21.8% for all ages; 14.8% and 15.2% for those under 65 years old) (ABS 2024, 2019, 2016).

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people experience higher rates of disability than non-Indigenous people. In 2022, 11.6% of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living in private dwellings (excluding those living in very remote areas and discrete Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities) had a profound or severe core activity limitation, similar to 2018 (8.8%), 2015 (7.3%) – around 1.6 times the proportion for non-Indigenous people, living in private dwellings, 1.8 times in 2018 and 1.5 times in 2015 (ABS 2024, 2021a).

Table 15A.5 contains additional information on disability prevalence.

National Disability Insurance Scheme participants

Nationally, at 30 June 2024, there were 661,267 active NDIS participants with approved plans (table 15A.6), 52,449 of whom identified as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander (around 7.9% of NDIS participants) (table 15A.8). Nationally, at 30 June 2024, 54,390 participants had left the Scheme since 1 July 2013, 17,926 were early intervention participants and 36,464 were permanent disability participants (NDIA 2024b).

Nationally, at 30 June 2024, autism was the most common form of disability for NDIS participants (36.1%), followed by intellectual disability (15.6%) (table 15A.6). Data on the characteristics of NDIS participants is available in tables 15A.6-9.

Additional information on NDIS participants’ access to mainstream services and satisfaction with the NDIS is available in tables 15A.13-14. Information on the characteristics of active NDIS providers is available in table 15A.15. An analysis of the characteristics of NDIS participants linked to the Multi-Agency Data Integration Project is contained in Characteristics of National Disability Insurance Scheme participants, 2019: Analysis of linked data (ABS 2021b).

Users of Commonwealth employment services

Nationally in 2023-24, 130,169 people used Disability Management Services (table 15A.41) and 203,233 used Employment Support Services (table 15A.40). The use of employment services as a ratio of the potential population has decreased since 2022-23; this result is due to an increase in the estimated number of people with an employment restriction and a decrease in the number of people using Commonwealth employment services.

Use of Basic Community Care

As service users have transitioned to the NDIS, only limited data is available on Basic Community Care (BCC). In 2023-24, for the three jurisdictions for which BCC service user data were available (Victoria, Queensland and Tasmania), there were a combined 69,828 service recipients (table 15A.10). For the two jurisdictions for which data on hours were available (Victoria and Tasmania), service recipients received around 1.5 million hours of service (table 15A.11). The majority of service hours were for nursing care, domestic assistance and social support (23.5%, 18.2% and 17.3% respectively) (table 15A.11). The quality of BCC data varies across jurisdictions and comparisons should be made with caution.

Disability support workforce

The Worker Screening Check commenced on 1 February 2021, except in the Northern Territory, which commenced on 1 July 2021. The NDIS Worker Screening Check (Worker Screening Check) replaces the different arrangements operating in each state or territory, setting a minimum national standard that all workers engaged in risk-assessed roles must meet. Some states and territories may still have additional requirements in some circumstances, e.g. people working with children may need additional screening. NDIS Worker Screening clearances expire every five (5) years. NDIS Worker Screening clearance is required for workers engaged by a registered NDIS provider in a risk-assessed role (NDIS Commission 2024).

In the NDIS Commission Quarterly Performance Report Q4 2023-24, 8,477 behaviour support practitioners were considered suitable to deliver behaviour support services. Since the NDIS Worker Screening Check started, there have been 1.1 million NDIS Worker Screening Check applications, with 1.06 million clearances granted (NDIS Commission 2024).

The most recent National Disability Services (NDS) 2024 Workforce Census provides information on the disability sector workforce. According to the 2024 Workforce Census, nationally at June 2024, the disability workforce was predominantly female (two-thirds) and aged 25 to 44 (49%). Additionally, 60% of the disability support workforce was permanent, with 30% of permanent workers employed full-time. Casual workers comprised 37% of the disability support workforce. The 2024 Workforce Census also showed that over the past 12 months, turnover rates have increased for permanent workers (from 11% to 16%) and casuals (from 22% to 24%) (NDS, 2024).

Income support and allowances

At 30 June 2024, there were around 797,400 recipients of the Disability Support Pension, 672,000 recipients of the Carer Supplement (paid to Carer Payment and Carer Allowance recipients), 665,300 recipients of the Carer Allowance, 314,300 recipients of the Carer Payment, 173,800 recipients of the Child Disability Assistance Payment and 10,700 recipients of the Mobility Allowance (table 15A.12).

Informal carers

Family and friends provide most of the help and care that people with disability receive. Information about informal carers enables governments to plan for future service demand for carer support and assistance to the people for whom they care (refer to the Explanatory material tab for different definitions of informal carers across collections).

In 2022, an estimated 1.2 million informal primary carers (of which 822,200 were aged less than 65 years) provided the majority of assistance with self-care, mobility and communication for people with disability (ABS 2024).