Disability in Maroondah
Community Wellbeing Fact Sheet No. 2


Over 30,000 people live with some
form of disability in Maroondah
This is an estimated 29% of the
population. There is an
estimated 5,300 people (4.8%)
who live with profound or
severe disabilities.1

14% of people in Maroondah seek
professional help for a mental health
problem
Around 11% of people have high
psychological distress, and almost 1 in
5 people experience moderate
psychological distress.6
The rate of disability is
increasing in part due to ageing
populations and an increase in
chronic health conditions.

People with disabilities are more
likely to be unemployed than nondisabled people
In Maroondah, participation in the
labour force of working age men who
have need for assistance with core
activities is 29.2% compared with
82.2% of the male adult population who
do not have need for assistance. For
women, participation in the labour force
is 17.4% for those in need of assistance
compared with 71.8% of the female
working age population without need for
assistance.7

People with disabilities are
vulnerable to poverty and isolation
Around 45% of those with a disability in
Australia are living either near or below
the poverty line.8
About 75% of people who need
assistance are aged over 65 years
There are about 1,600 people in
Maroondah who have dementia which
is about 1.5% of the population. This is
expected to increase to 5,800 by 2050.2
About 15% of people who need
assistance live alone.3

Carers provide most of the care
In Maroondah there are 9,635 carers
providing unpaid assistance to a person
with a disability, long term illness, or old
age.4 That is about 9% of the
population.
Opportunities for participation in
activities outside the home are
substantially reduced for people with
severe disabilities.
Of these carers, about 280 are aged
between 15-19 years, approximately
half of whom still attend school. An
estimated 1,870 carers are aged over
65 years.5
1
ABS, 2009, Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers
Deloitte Access Economics, April 2012 Dementia Prevalence
Data Commissioned by Alzheimer’s Australia Vic
3 National Respite for Carers, Demographic Analysis of Care
Needs and Service Provision
4 ABS, Census of Population & Housing, 2011
5
National Respite for Carers, Demographic Analysis of Care
Needs and Service Provision
2
6
Department of Health, 2008 and 2012 Victorian Population
Health Survey
7 ABS, 2011 Census of Population & Housing
8
OECD, 2009, Sickness, disability and work: Keeping on track
in the economic downturn