Mental Illness in Australia

Overview
In Australia, approximately 2-3% of the general population is known to have some form of intellectual disability. Although this number may seem to be relatively small, these people should still receive the basic treatment they receive and not become a disadvantaged group or a statistic. It is easy to overlook them and consider them as merely a minority group. This would lead to the further negligence of the issues that they face in our society.
Statistics show that 20% of adults in Australia will experience some form of mental illness during their lifetime. It also reveals that intellectual disabilities are a more common in the 15-24 age bracket. One in five people in Australia (3,958,300 or 20%) had a reported disability in 2003. A further 4,149,000 (21%) had a long-term health condition that did not restrict their everyday activities. The remaining 11,703,800 (59%) had neither a disability nor a long term health condition.
Of those with a reported disability, 86% (3,387,900) had a specific limitation or restriction, that is were limited in the core activities of self care, mobility or communication, or restricted in schooling or employment. Most people with a disability (76%) were limited in one or more of these core activities.
These statistics show that there are a high number of people with these issues and the law should be able to protect them.
Government Response
In response, the government has set up specialised educational institutions and other educational schemes.

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