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The Costs of Living With Disability in Australia: Accounting for Variable Disability‐Related Deprivation in Poverty Measures

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  • Sue Olney
  • Sophie Yates

Abstract

It is widely acknowledged that disability is both a cause and effect of poverty in Australia, yet there are significant gaps in evidence to frame relevant policy solutions. In particular, income‐only measures of poverty fail to capture the financial impact on households of direct and indirect costs associated with living with disability, or policy drivers keeping people with disability and their families on low incomes. Understanding the difference in incomes required by households with and without people with disability to obtain equivalent standards of living, variations in nondiscretionary expenses incurred by people with disability with different needs and circumstances, and the financial effects of nonmonetary inequality, requires a multidimensional lens. Addressing governance risks associated with economic inactivity and pressure on government services linked to the growing number of Australians with disability calls for nuanced poverty metrics to identify leverage points for change.

Suggested Citation

  • Sue Olney & Sophie Yates, 2025. "The Costs of Living With Disability in Australia: Accounting for Variable Disability‐Related Deprivation in Poverty Measures," Australian Economic Review, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, vol. 58(S1), pages 36-44, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ausecr:v:58:y:2025:i:s1:p:s36-s44
    DOI: 10.1111/1467-8462.70017
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Jean-Francois Trani & Parul Bakhshi & Sarah Myers Tlapek & Dominique Lopez & Fiona Gall, 2015. "Disability and Poverty in Morocco and Tunisia: A Multidimensional Approach," Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(4), pages 518-548, November.
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    3. Deborah Schofield & Rupendra Shrestha & Owen Tan & Katherine Lim & Radhika Rajkumar & Sarah West & Jackie Boyle & Lucinda Murray & Melanie Leffler & Louise Christie & Morgan Rice & Natalie Hart & Jinj, 2024. "The Healthcare and Societal Costs of Familial Intellectual Disability," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 21(3), pages 1-13, March.
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