This page contains demographic information about City of Gold Coast people with a disability. The information is sourced from:
- Australian Bureau of Statistics (2021) Census of Population and Housing
Key statistics
- In 2021, based on the Census there were 34,233 Gold Coast residents with a profound or severe disability, needing assistance in one or more of the three core activity areas of self-care, mobility and communication, representing 5.5% of the total Gold Coast population. The Gold Coast had a slightly lower proportion of people with disability than Queensland (6.0%).
- 52.2% of people with disability in Gold Coast City were female and 47.8% were male.
- Within the City of Gold Coast, Coombabah had the highest proportion of residents with a need for assistance due to disability at 9.1%, followed by Labrador (8.8%) and Southport–North (7.8%). Lowest proportions of residents with a need for assistance due to disability were recorded in Main Beach (3.5%), Mermaid Beach–Broadbeach (3.6%) and Reedy Creek–Andrews (3.7%).
- As need for assistance due to disability is strongly correlated with age, parts of the Gold Coast with the highest proportions of residents with a disability also have the highest proportions of residents aged 65 years or older.
- In 2021, 54,366 Gold Coast residents, representing 10.6% of the total population, provided unpaid assistance to a person with a disability, long term illness or old age. This was lower than in Queensland, where 11.4% of the population provided unpaid care to a person with a disability, long term illness or old age.
View an interactive map showing distribution of residents across the Gold Coast who need assistance due to disability.
Age structure & distribution
The table below demonstrates the age distribution of people with disability in City of Gold Coast and Queensland.
| Age Group |
No. |
Gold Coast (%) |
QLD (%) |
| 0–14 years |
4119 |
3.7 |
4.0 |
| 15–24 years |
2204 |
2.9 |
3.3 |
| 25–44 years |
3184 |
1.9 |
2.3 |
| 45–64 years |
6044 |
3.8 |
4.8 |
| 65+ years |
18,603 |
16.9 |
17.8 |
| Total |
34,233 |
5.5 |
6.0 |
- 3.4% of Gold Coast children and young people aged 0-24 years had a disability (or 6323 people);
- 1.9% of Gold Coast residents aged 25-44 years had a disability (or 3184 people);
- 3.8% of Gold Coast residents aged 45-64 years had a disability (or 6044 people), and;
- 16.9% of Gold Coast seniors aged 65 years and over had a disability (or 18,603 people).
- 18,603 Gold Coast seniors aged 65 years and over had a disability, representing 54.3% of people with disability.
Birthplace and year of arrival in Australia
- 69% of Gold Coast’s residents with a need for assistance due to disability were born in Australia, compared to 65% of the total population. 7% of residents with a need for assistance were born in England and 6% in New Zealand.
- 31% of Gold Coast residents with a need for assistance due to disability were born overseas, of these, most arrived in Australia between 1961–70 (16.5%) compared to 6.4% of the total overseas born population who arrived in Australia. These statistics also show that need for assistance due to disability is strongly related with age.
Labour force participation
- 88.4% of Gold Coast residents with a need for assistance due to disability aged 15 years or older were not in the labour force, compared to 33% of all Gold Coast residents aged 15 years and older not in the labour force. By comparison, 86% of Queensland’s residents with a need for assistance due to disability were not in the labour force.
- Of those residents with a need for assistance who are in the labour force, 25% were employed full-time (compared to 51.6% of the total Gold Coast labour force). By comparison, 26.1% of Queensland’s residents with a need for assistance due to disability were employed full-time.
- 43.2% of Gold Coast residents with a need for assistance due to disability in the labour force were employed part-time (compared to 33.4% of Gold Coast’s overall labour force). By comparison, 42.5% of Queensland’s residents with a need for assistance due to disability were employed part-time.
- 16.7% of Gold Coast residents with a need for assistance due to disability in the labour force were employed but away from work (compared to 9.6% of Gold Coast’s overall labour force). By comparison, 15.1% of Queensland’s residents with a need for assistance due to disability were employed but away from work.
- 15.1% of Gold Coast residents with a need for assistance due to disability in the labour force are unemployed (compared to 5.3% of Gold Coast’s overall labour force). By comparison, 16.3% of Queensland’s residents with a need for assistance due to disability were unemployed.
Level of post-school education
- 7.9% of Gold Coast residents with a need for assistance due to disability aged 15 years or older had a Bachelor or Higher Degree (compared to 21.8% of Gold Coast’s overall population aged 15 years and older). By comparison, 7.3% of Queensland’s residents with a need for assistance due to disability had a Bachelor or Higher Degree.
- 8.1% of Gold Coast residents with a need for assistance due to disability aged 15 years or older had an Advanced Diploma or Diploma (compared to 11.4% of Gold Coast’s overall population aged 15 years and older). By comparison, 7.5% of Queensland’s residents with a need for assistance due to disability had an Advanced Diploma or Diploma.
Long-term health conditions
- 75.6% of Gold Coast residents with a need for assistance due to disability had one or more long-term health conditions. This is higher than the proportion of all Gold Coast residents who had one or more long-term health conditions (30.8%).
- 30.8% of Gold Coast residents with a need for assistance due to disability reported having mental health as a long-term health condition. This is higher than the proportion of all Gold Coast residents with a mental health long-term condition (8.4%).
- 30.8% of Gold Coast residents with a need for assistance due to disability also reported having arthritis as a long-term condition, a health condition strongly correlated with age. This is higher than the proportion of all Gold Coast residents with arthritis as a long-term health condition (8.3%).
- Almost 40% (39.8%) of Gold Coast residents with a need for assistance due to disability had an “other long-term health condition”, which was higher than for all Gold Coast residents who stated having an “other long-term health condition” (7.8%).
Contact us
Please call 1300 GOLDCOAST (1300 465 326) or email communities@goldcoast.qld.gov.au.