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By supporting the Australian Federation of Disability Organisations (AFDO), you’ll be ensuring people with disability have a voice.

AFDO is an advocacy organisation working for long-term social change for people with disability. We work to make sure the rights and interests of people with disability are served through legislation, policies and practices.

Australians with disability continue to have unmet need for support to live independently, to meet additional expenses when participating in education and employment, in accessing interpreting services and assistive technology, as well as unmet need in genuine participation in mainstream community life.

  • 18% of men, and 18.6% of women have a disability
  • Almost 1 in 5 Australians reported living with disability (18.3% or 4.3 million people)
  • 1 in 6 Australians are affected by hearing loss. There are approximately 30,000 Deaf Auslan users with total hearing loss
  • 45% of the population will experience a mental health disorder during their lifetime
  • Almost one third of people with disability have a profound or severe disability
  • 45% of those with a disability in Australia are living either near or below the poverty line, more than double the OECD average of 22%
  • 2.1 million Australians of working age (15 – 64 years) have disability
  • Women with disabilities experience violence at a higher rate and for longer periods of time than women in the general population
  • Women with disabilities encounter significant barriers to receiving appropriate services and justice responses to their experiences of violence

Sources: Australian Bureau of Statistics 2015 Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers; Voices Against Violence: Paper 2: Current Issues in Understanding and Responding to Violence Against Women with Disabilities, Women with Disabilities Victoria, 2013

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