Key messages:
- In 2011-12, 79% of Australians aged 16-30 years with a mental illness were employed and/or enrolled in study towards a formal secondary or tertiary qualification, compared to 90% of their same age peers.
- Employment and education participation rates for this group for most states and territories were within 10% of the national average.
- Nationally, employment and education participation rates for this group remained stable between 2007-08 and 2011-12.
Using data from the 2011-12 National Health Survey (NHS),34 Figure 46 indicates that, in 2011-12, 79% of people aged 16-30 years with a mental illness were employed and/or enrolled in study towards a formal secondary or tertiary qualification, one eighth lower than for people without a mental illness (90%). Employment and education participation rates for people with a mental illness varied across states and territories, being highest for South Australia and lowest for Western Australia, but all were within 10% of the national average. Data for the Northern Territory should be interpreted with caution due to small numbers in the 'self-reported mental illness' category.
Comparison of data from the 2011-12 NHS with the 2007-08 NHS36 in Figure 47 shows that, nationally, the rate of participation in employment and education for people aged 16-30 years with a mental illness remained stable between 2007-08 (80%) to 2011-12 (79%). However, the amount and direction of change varied across states and territories. There were relatively large increases in South Australia and Tasmania, compared to a relatively large decrease in Western Australia. Again, small numbers in the Northern Territory mean that 2011-12 data should be interpreted with caution and 2007-08 data are unavailable.
Work and education play an important role in recovery from mental illness. There is increasing evidence that supported employment and education programs can improve employment outcomes and reduce welfare reliance among young people with mental illness.42 Top of page
Figure 46: Percentage of people aged 16-30 years who are employed and/or enrolled for study, nationally and in each state and territory, by mental illness status, 2011-2012
Text version of figure 46
NSW (%) | Vic (%) | Qld (%) | WA (%) | SA (%) | Tas (%) | ACT (%) | NT (%) | National (%) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
People without a self-reported mental illness | 93 | 91 | 87 | 89 | 86 | 87 | 97 | 88 | 90 |
People with a self-reported mental illness | 81 | 80 | 79 | 71 | 84 | 75 | 82 | 55 | 79 |
Figure 47: Percentage of people with a mental illness aged 16-30 years who are employed and/or enrolled for study, nationally and in each state and territory, 2007-08 and 2011-12
Text version of figure 47
NSW (%) | Vic (%) | Qld (%) | WA (%) | SA (%) | Tas (%) | ACT (%) | NT (%) | National (%) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2008 | 78 | 81 | 84 | 84 | 66 | 63 | 88 | - | 80 |
2012 | 81 | 80 | 79 | 71 | 84 | 75 | 82 | 55 | 79 |