Characteristics of Disability Support Pension Recipients June 2008  

Introduction

The Characteristics of Disability Support Pension Recipients report is produced annually and provides trends over time. The report has been published since 2001 and provides demographic characteristics about the DSP population. This time series allows for monitoring of DSP trends and changes over time.

1.1 Recipients by Gender 1972 to 2008

As at June 2008, the number of people receiving Disability Support Pension (DSP) was 732 367 and has been increasing since 1982, with the greatest growth (13.3 per cent) occurring in 1992 following the introduction of the Disability Reform Package. The growth in DSP for 2007-08 was 2.6 per cent, a substantial increase on the 0.3 per cent in 2006-07.

There have been several factors suggested as contributing to the increases in the DSP recipient numbers:

• changed eligibility criteria for disability payments following the introduction of the Disability Reform Package;
• loss of access to other forms of support such as Veterans' Affairs Service Pension, Widow B and Wife Pension and Partner Allowance;
• increases in the Age Pension qualifying age for females;
• demographic effects such as the ageing of the population; and
• changes in the labour market which have resulted in a reduced capacity for people with disabilities to retain or find work.
• participation requirements that were introduced for parenting payment recipients from 1 July 2007, as part of the Welfare to Work (WtW) reforms. Historically medical information was not provided for parenting payment recipients as they had no participation obligation for receiving payment and the effect of the WtW changes had not been anticipated.

At June 2008 males represented 56.5 per cent of the DSP population. When comparing June 2007 to June 2008 the overall trend is showing a change in the gender split with the female population increasing by 5.9 per cent and the male population increasing by 0.1 per cent.

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Table 1.1 DSP Recipients by Gender 1972 to 2008

As at June	Males			Females			Total
	Count	Change	% of total	Count	Change	% of total	Count	Change	% growth
1972	77 133		55.6%	61 685		44.4%	138 818
1973	85 305	8 172	57.0%	64 304	2 619	43.0%	149 609	10 791	7.8%
1974	92 140	6 835	58.8%	64 643	339	41.2%	156 783	7 174	4.8%
1975	102 817	10 677	60.9%	65 967	1 324	39.1%	168 784	12 001	7.7%
1976	116 118	13 301	63.2%	67 669	1 702	36.8%	183 787	15 003	8.9%
1977	133 209	17 091	65.6%	69 754	2 085	34.4%	202 963	19 176	10.4%
1978	137 245	4 036	67.0%	67 699	-2 055	33.0%	204 944	1 981	1.0%
1979	149 759	12 514	68.1%	70 084	2 385	31.9%	219 843	14 899	7.3%
1980	158 327	8 568	69.1%	70 892	808	30.9%	229 219	9 376	4.3%
1981	153 889	-4 438	69.3%	68 062	-2 830	30.7%	221 951	-7 268	-3.2%
1982	151 146	-2 743	69.8%	65 503	-2 559	30.2%	216 649	-5 302	-2.4%
1983	155 672	4 526	70.7%	64 617	-886	29.3%	220 289	3 640	1.7%
1984	173 063	17 391	71.9%	67 511	2 894	28.1%	240 574	20 285	9.2%
1985	188 713	15 650	72.8%	70 449	2 938	27.2%	259 162	18 588	7.7%
1986	200 898	12 185	73.4%	72 912	2 463	26.6%	273 810	14 648	5.7%
1987	213 290	12 392	73.8%	75 760	2 848	26.2%	289 050	15 240	5.6%
1988	219 168	5 878	73.8%	77 745	1 985	26.2%	296 913	7 863	2.7%
1989	227 285	8 117	73.8%	80 510	2 765	26.2%	307 795	10 882	3.7%
1990	233 251	5 966	73.6%	83 462	2 952	26.4%	316 713	8 918	2.9%
1991	244 699	11 448	73.2%	89 535	6 073	26.8%	334 234	17 521	5.5%
1992	273 697	28 998	72.3%	104 861	15 326	27.7%	378 558	44 324	13.3%
1993	291 471	17 774	71.7%	115 101	10 240	28.3%	406 572	28 014	7.4%
1994	309 123	17 652	70.9%	127 111	12 010	29.1%	436 234	29 662	7.3%
1995	324 672	15 549	69.9%	139 758	12 647	30.1%	464 430	28 196	6.5%
1996	340 256	15 584	68.2%	158 979	19 221	31.8%	499 235	34 805	7.5%
1997	352 607	12 351	66.8%	174 907	15 928	33.2%	527 514	28 279	5.7%
1998	361 539	8 932	65.3%	191 797	16 890	34.7%	553 336	25 822	4.9%
1999	373 340	11 801	64.6%	204 342	12 545	35.4%	577 682	24 346	4.4%
2000	382 351	9 011	63.5%	219 929	15 587	36.5%	602 280	24 598	4.3%
2001	392 354	10 003	62.9%	231 572	11 643	37.1%	623 926	21 646	3.6%
2002	406 892	14 538	61.8%	252 021	20 449	38.2%	658 913	34 987	5.6%
2003	412 777	5 885	61.3%	260 557	8 536	38.7%	673 334	14 421	2.2%
2004	418 829	6 052	60.1%	277 913	17 356	39.9%	696 742	23 408	3.5%
2005	420 073	1 244	59.4%	286 709	8 796	40.6%	706 782	10 040	1.4%
2006	415 618	-4 455	58.4%	296 545	9 836	41.6%	712 163	5 381	0.8%
2007	413 033	-2 585	57.8%	301 123	4 578	42.2%	714 156	1 993	0.3%
2008	413 484	451	56.5%	318 883	17 760	43.5%	732 367	18 211	2.6%

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1.2 Recipients by Age and Gender

People aged 55 years and over represent 41.8 per cent of the overall DSP population. The proportion of females in the 60-64 years age group has increased by 21.2 per cent since June 2007. This is due to the Age Pension qualifying age for women increasing to 63.5 years from 1 July 2007. As the Age Pension qualifying age increases for females, it is expected that this age group will grow and eventually exceed the number in the 55-59 years age group.

The number of DSP recipients in the 65+ age group has increased by 15.4 per cent from June 2007. This is attributed to the fact that DSP is a more beneficial payment due to access to Pensioner Education Supplement, Mobility Allowance, Incentive Allowance and an exemption on sharers rate of rent assistance. There are also some recipients that do not meet the 10 year residency requirements to qualify for Age Pension.

Chart 1.2 DSP Recipients by Age and Gender at June 2008

Table 1.2 DSP Recipients by Age and Gender at June 2008

Age	Males	%	Females	%	Total	%
16-19	10 596	2.6	6694	2.1	17 290	2.4
20-24	16 647	4.0	12 207	3.8	28 854	3.9
25-29	18 968	4.6	13 417	4.2	32 385	4.4
30-34	22 517	5.4	15 541	4.9	38 058	5.2
35-39	30 709	7.4	21 964	6.9	52 673	7.2
40-44	37 834	9.2	27 791	8.7	65 625	9.0
45-49	47 751	11.5	39 034	12.2	86 785	11.8
50-54	54 336	13.1	50 120	15.7	104 456	14.3
55-59	67 438	16.3	65 334	20.5	132 772	18.1
60-64	98 469	23.8	64 329	20.2	162 798	22.2
65+	8219	2.0	2452	0.8	10 671	1.5
Total	413 484	100	318 883	100	732 367	100

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1.3 Recipients by State

The majority of DSP recipients can be found in the more populous Australian States. New South Wales is the largest with 31.7 per cent of the DSP population, while the Northern Territory is the smallest with 0.9 per cent.

When comparing the ABS Census 2006 state populations, the proportion of DSP recipients by state generally aligns with the census proportions for the total Australian population by state.

Overseas recipients are included in the not specified group.

Chart 1.3 DSP Recipients by State / Territory by Gender at June 2008

Table 1.3 DSP Recipients by State/Territory by Gender at June 2008

STATE	Males	%	Females	%	Total	State as % of Total	ABS Census 2006	ABS Census 2006
NSW	132 874	32.1	99 943	31.3	232 817	31.8	33.0	6,549,177
VIC	95 425	23.1	79 867	25.0	175 292	23.9	24.8	4,932,422
QLD	80 249	19.4	58 510	18.3	138 759	18.9	19.7	3,904,534
SA	39 170	9.5	30 934	9.7	70 104	9.6	7.6	1,514,336
WA	32 827	7.9	25 780	8.1	58 609	8.0	9.9	1,959,086
TAS	14 432	3.5	10 915	3.4	25 347	3.5	2.4	476,480
NT	3934	1.0	2949	1.0	6883	0.9	1.0	192,899
ACT	3752	0.9	3307	1.1	7059	1.0	1.6	324,034
Not Specified	10 819	2.6	6678	2.1	17 497	2.4	0.01	2,320
Total	413 484	100	318 883	100	732 367	100.0	100.0	19,855,288

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1.4 Recipients by Country of Birth

The ten countries of birth with the highest numbers of DSP recipients are outlined below:

The majority of DSP recipients were born in Australia (74 per cent). The second largest group was the United Kingdom (5.3 per cent). When compared with ABS Census 2006 country of birth data, 9 out of the top 10 countries are over-represented on DSP (the exception being New Zealand). Refer to Table 1.4 below.

Chart 1.4 DSP Recipients by Country of Birth at June 2008

Table 1.4 DSP Recipients by Country of Birth at June 2008

COUNTRY OF BIRTH	Males	%	Females	%	Total DSP	DSP %	ABS Census 2006
Australia	307 248	74.3	234 264	73.5	541 512	74.0	70.9%
UK (inc. Ireland/Eire)	22 348	5.4	16 549	5.2	38 897	5.3	5.2%
Greece	6106	1.5	5247	1.6	11 353	1.5	0.6%
New Zealand	6769	1.6	5340	1.7	12 109	1.7	2.0%
Yugoslavia	6139	1.5	4535	1.4	10 674	1.5	0.2%
Italy	5874	1.4	4717	1.5	10 591	1.4	1.0%
Lebanon	6170	1.5	4151	1.3	10 321	1.4	0.4%
Vietnam	4191	1.0	3216	1.0	7407	1.0	0.8%
Turkey	3002	0.7	3066	0.9	6068	0.8	0.2%
Malta	3833	0.9	1861	0.6	5694	0.8	0.2%
Other	41 804	10.1	35 937	11.3	77 741	10.6	18.6%
Total	413 484	100	318 883	100	732 367	100	100.0%

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1.5 Recipients by Marital Status and Gender

The DSP population is made up of 66.2 per cent single recipients and 33.8 per cent are either married or defacto recipients.

Proportionally, males and females are similar in the de facto category (4.8 per cent and 5.0 per cent respectively). Males are more likely than females to be in the married or single categories while female numbers are higher in the divorced, separated or widowed categories.

Chart 1.5 DSP Recipients by Marital Status and Gender at June 2008

Table 1.5 DSP Recipients by Marital Status and Gender at June 2008

Marital Status	Males	%	Females	%	Total	%
Married	125 503	30.4	85 654	26.9	211 157	28.8
Defacto	20 358	4.9	15 940	5.0	36 298	5.0
Single	171 946	41.6	104 680	32.8	276 626	37.8
Separated	70 789	17.1	65 950	20.7	136 739	18.7
Divorced	19 488	4.7	30 763	9.6	50 251	6.9
Widow	5400	1.3	15 896	5.0	21 296	2.8
Total	413 484	100	318 883	100	732 367	100

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1.6 Recipients by Gender and Home Ownership

The majority of DSP recipients are non-home owners (66.3 per cent). Females receiving DSP are marginally more likely to own a home, including paying it off, than males (31.3 per cent compared to 34.6 per cent).

Of those who are non-homeowners, 120 173 are residing in government housing
(61 387 males and 58 786 females).

In 1989 43.8 per cent of invalid pension recipients were homeowners. Since 1989 the proportion has been steadily decreasing and stands at 32.8 per cent at June 2008.

Chart 1.6 DSP Recipients by Gender and Home Owner Status at June 2008

Table 1.6 DSP Recipients by Gender and Homeownership at June 2008

Housing Status	Males	%	Females	%	Total	%
Home Owner	129 443	31.3	110 474	34.6	239 917	32.8
Non-Home Owner	280 244	67.8	204 996	64.3	485 240	66.3
Other	3797	0.9	3413	1.1	7210	0.9
Total	413 484	100	318 883	100	732 367	100

1.7 Recipients by Age and Home Ownership

DSP recipients who own their own home (either outright or are paying it off) tend to be skewed towards the older age groups, with the 60-64 age groups being the only group containing more homeowners than non-homeowners.

Chart 1.7 DSP Recipients by Age and Home Owner Status at June 2008

Table 1.7 DSP Recipients by Age and Home Owner Status at June 2008

Age Group	Home Owner	%	Non Home Owner	%	Other	%	Total	%
16-19	126	0.1	17 147	3.5	17	0.2	17 290	2.4
20-24	419	0.2	28 363	5.8	72	1.0	28 854	3.9
25-29	1279	0.5	31 047	6.4	59	0.8	32 385	4.4
30-34	3020	1.3	34 902	7.2	136	1.9	38 058	5.2
35-39	7033	2.9	45 561	9.4	79	1.1	52 673	7.2
40-44	12 558	5.2	52 758	10.9	309	4.3	65 625	9.0
45-49	22 105	9.2	64 015	13.2	665	9.2	86 785	11.8
50-54	35 098	14.6	68 357	14.1	1001	13.9	104 456	14.3
55-59	60 339	25.1	70 633	14.6	1800	25.0	132 772	18.1
60-64	93 215	38.9	66 973	13.8	2610	36.2	162 798	22.2
65+	4725	2.0	5484	1.1	462	6.4	10 671	1.5
Total	239 917	100	485 240	100	7210	100	732 367	100

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