Welfare PI Framework Healthy living
Healthy living represents the basic necessities of everyday living, such as nutritious food, clean air and water, appropriate shelter and positive feelings of safety.
All of these factors play an important role in the promotion and maintenance of physical, mental, and social wellbeing.
Dimensions of this framework
Food, water and air
Living in an environment free from harmful levels of pollution, with access to safe drinking water and nutritious food, are fundamental needs of healthy living.
These basic requirements greatly influence the health and wellbeing of individuals and communities.
The indicators presented in this section represent key issues relating to the opportunities, constraints and choices that face Australians as they seek to lead healthy lives.
Health has been defined as 'a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity' (WHO 1946). As a part of the welfare framework, good health represents quality of life in terms of longevity, functioning and participation, all of which play an important role in everyday living. Further subdimensions that represent different aspects of health are;
Life expectancy,
Expected years of life lived with disability,
Infant mortality,
Mental health,
Physical activity, and
Prevalence of obesity
National Disability Agreement: c(1)-Proportion of the potential population accessing disability services, 2012 Community Services (retired), Superseded 23/05/2013
National Disability Agreement: d-Proportion of people with disability who are satisfied with the range of disability service options and quality of support received, 2012 Community Services (retired), Superseded 23/05/2013
National Disability Agreement: f(1)-Number of Indigenous people with disability receiving disability services as a proportion of the Indigenous potential population requiring services, 2012 Indigenous, Endorsed 11/09/2012
Community Services (retired), Superseded 23/05/2013
National Disability Agreement: h-Proportion of carers of people with disability accessing support services to assist in their caring role (h-interim), 2012 Community Services (retired), Superseded 23/05/2013
Safety is an important component of both physical and mental wellbeing. The idea of safety includes perceptions as well as protection from actual harm. Experiences of crime or injury can be seriously detrimental to feelings of safety, not only for those directly affected but also for those who witness these events or are involved through family, friendship or community ties. Further sub-dimensions include: perceptions of personal safety, experience of crime and occurrence of injury (including intentional selfharm).
Access to adequate shelter and housing is recognised as a basic human need. As well as providing protection from environmental elements and access to facilities such as heating and sanitation, housing gives people a place to enjoy privacy and recreational activities, keep their possessions, spend time with friends and family, and express their identity (ABS 2001a). Housing equity is also a major component of personal wealth.
Shelter and housing are used to describe the housing circumstances of Australians and can be further devidied into three sub dimensions.
Housing tenure relates to the issues of security and stability; home ownership also gives autonomy and a form of social insurance to owners.
Housing affordability affects the broader economic and social wellbeing of individuals and communities.
Homelessness indicates housing deprivation, but as it is influenced by a wide range of social issues (such as mental health and family breakdown) it also provides a gauge of more general social dysfunction.
National Affordability Housing Agreement: g-Proportion of Indigenous households living in overcrowded conditions, 2010 Homelessness, Standard 16/02/2011
Indigenous, Endorsed 11/09/2012
National Affordability Housing Agreement: 3: Proportion of Australians who are homeless, 2010 Homelessness, Standard 16/02/2011
National Affordability Housing Agreement: 4: Proportion of people experiencing repeat periods of homelessness, 2010 Homelessness, Standard 16/02/2011