Disabled Australian adolescents and young adults are more likely to experience social exclusion than their non-disabled peers. The gap between the two actually widened between 2001 and 2011. Social exclusion in adolescence leads to poor outcomes. It affects not only the health and wellbeing of the individual; it also impacts on their family and the wider community.

This Policy Bulletin maps the extent of social inclusion or exclusion of young disabled Australians, aged between 15 and 29, over the years 2001 to 2011. It found that although the social inclusion of young disabled Australians increased on a number of key indicators, the gap between disabled and non-disabled young Australians actually increased over the 11 year period.

The Policy Bulletin uses Australia’s Social Indicator Framework and all 11 waves (2001-2011) of the annual survey of Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) to determine the status of young disabled Australians (aged 15-29) in 2011 and to compare this with their status over the previous 11 years.