Australian Government

Australian Institute of Health and Wellness AIl\lW

AIHW written submission

Joint Standing Committee on the National Disability Insurance Scheme

14 October 2025

~ 1 Thynne Street, Bruce ACT 2617 ~ +61 2 6244 1000 ~ www.aihw.gov.au ~ GPO Box 570, Canberra ACT 2601 IS2I info@aihw.gov.au “JI @aihw

Introduction

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) welcomes the opportunity to provide a submission to the above inquiry. This submission highlights AIHW work relevant to the committee’s terms of reference.

As Australia’s national agency for health and welfare statistics and evidence, AIHW has over 35 years of experience collecting, managing, analysing, and disseminating data to inform policy, service delivery, and research. Our high quality, independent evidence is used to improve policies and services on a range of health and welfare issues and topics, including the experience of people with disability in Australia. In addition to our analysis and reporting function, the AIHW works with others to fill data gaps.

our key current reporting on disability includes People with disability in Australia and Australia’s Disability Strategy Outcomes Framework. These initiatives use a range of data sources, including data from the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), to present evidence about the experience of people with disability in Australia across life domains such as health, justice and economic outcomes.

however, data gaps remain. We work with partners to fill these gaps through developing the National Disability Data Asset (NDDA), improving reporting, and working to fill specific data gaps such as the use of restrictive practices on people with disability. This builds on earlier collaborative work with the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission using linked data to explore mortality outcomes for people with disability.

ou submission provides a brief overview of the AIHW’s role in improving evidence for people with disability. We highlight the critical role of data sharing and linkage, collaborative partnerships with the disability and research communities and government agencies, in enabling high-quality, policy-relevant analysis and research. We also emphasise the importance of continually improving data for better evidence, decision making and outcomes for people with disability.

About the AIHW

The AIHW plays a pivotal role in supporting evidence-based decision-making and research by:

Developing and maintaining national health and welfare data standards, e ensuring consistency and comparability across jurisdictions and sectors.
Collecting and integrating data from federal, state, and territory agencies, enabling comprehensive insights into health, community services, and housing assistance.
Providing advanced data linkage services, including cross-sectoral and longitudinal data integration, to support complex research questions and policy evaluations.
Collaborating with universities, research institutes, and government bodies to facilitate access to linked data assets through secure and ethical data sharing frameworks and share AIHW’s analytic, health and welfare systems and subject matter expertise.
Producing high-quality analytical outputs, including reports, dashboards, and datasets, tailored to the needs of policymakers, service providers, and the research community.
expanding and enhancing national data holdings, including the development of new data assets to address emerging gaps in health and welfare information.

Annual Report No.1 of the 48th Parliament

Submission 13

 Modernising data access and dissemination, offering user-friendly platforms and tools that support diverse audiences – from government agencies to academic researchers and NGOs.

Through its data linkage infrastructure and partnerships, AIHW enables deeper understanding of population health and welfare trends and system performance, supports longitudinal studies, and contributes to national and international research efforts.

AIIW’s disability program

The AIHW legislation requires us to report on welfare services, including services for people with disabilities.

Historically, prior to the introduction of the NDIS, the AIHW managed the Commonwealth/State Disability Agreement national minimum data set collection and worked closely under disability minister governance arrangements on a range of projects, such as studies into unmet need for disability services. These activities were conducted using administrative and survey data before the advent of large-scale data linkage that is now possible.

Until recently the AIHW has obtained NDIS data for our work via the NDIS website, through specific ad hoc requests to the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA), and through project-by-project data linkage studies.

in October 2023, the NDIA shared detailed NDIS data with the AIHW for use in our own analysis and for use in approved data linkage projects. This data sharing marks a significant milestone, enabling us to build new analytical capabilities and generate insights that were previously out of reach. This data is already proving instrumental in supporting key national initiatives, including:

 Australia’s Disability Strategy Outcomes Framework reporting.

 Extensions of the previous NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission work on mortality and preventative health.

 Cross-agency collaboration on the National Disability Data Asset (NDDA).

 Analysis of younger people in residential aged care who are also NDIS participants (forthcoming).

With access to linked datasets such as the NDIS in our National Health Data Hub (NHDH), AIHW is now in the early stages of conducting new work to analyse health outcomes for people with disability, including mortality, hospital visits and length of stay, and interactions between the NDIS and other systems like health and aged care.

data Sharing and Linkage as Drivers for Improved Policy and Service Delivery

The AIHW has an extensive data linkage program, largely facilitated via the NHDH that includes integrated whole-of-population data from hospitals, Medicare Benefits Scheme, Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, immunisation, aged care, deaths and NDIS. We also conduct a large bespoke linkage program through which we support researchers to deliver projects spanning a wide range of health and welfare topics.

W e have been the foundational technical partner on the NDDA project since the pilot phase commenced in 2020. Under the leadership of the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, and working closely with the Australian Bureau of Statistics, states/territories and the disability community, w e are pleased to see this data coming together to better understand service use pathways and outcomes for people with disability in Australia. The NHDH is a key enabler for the NDDA.

Annual Report No.1 of the 48th Parliament

Submission 13