This section of the annual Report on Government Services reports on the Australian, State and Territory governments’ assistance provided to people with disability and their carers.

Performance reporting currently focuses on the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), as well as the broad social and economic outcomes of people with disability and employment programs for people with disability provided by the Commonwealth. The 2021 RoGS will be the last edition to report extensively on services provided by States and Territories under the National Disability Agreement (NDA), given the conclusion of the Disability Services National Minimum Dataset (DS NMDS) in 2018-19 (from which user data was obtained) and jurisdictional transitions to the NDIS.

In 2019-20, government expenditure on disability amounted to $18.7 billion, comprising $16.0 billion in contributions to the NDIS, and $2.7 billion on disability-specific services provided outside the NDIS.

Nationally, at June 2020, the number of NDIS participants was 391 999, which was 80 per cent of the NDIS potential population, an increase of approximately one-third since the end of June 2019.

In 2018-19, there were 152 816 users of open employment (Employment Support Services), which was 11.4 per cent of people who had an employment restriction.

The Australian, State and Territory governments aim to ensure that people with disability and their carers have an enhanced quality of life, enjoy choice and wellbeing, achieve independence, social and economic participation, and full inclusion in the community.