We work together with people with intellectual disability to ensure that every person with intellectual disability in Australia gets high quality health care.

Welcome to the Centre

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Welcome to the National Centre of Excellence in Intellectual Disability Health.

We call it the Centre for short.

The purpose of the Centre is to make health care better for people with intellectual disability.

What we do

The Centre works with:

  • People with intellectual disability
  • Families, carers and supporters
  • Health workers and organisations
  • Disability workers
  • Researchers
  • Government

Together we:

  • Share knowledge and evidence
  • Create resources and tools
  • Support health workers to learn and improve
  • Bring people and organisations together
  • Advocate for change
  • Promote inclusion and leadership
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Why we exist

People with intellectual disability have some of the poorest health outcomes in Australia. We exist to change this by improving access to high-quality and inclusive health care.
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18 out of 1000 people in Australia have an intellectual disability.1

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People with intellectual disability die, on average, 27 years earlier than the general population.2

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Experience 4 times the rate of preventable hospitalisations.3

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And 3 times the rate of serious mental illness.4

Our work

View Easy Read about Our Work
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National Leadership & Advocacy

Bringing people and organisations together, identifying priorities, raising awareness, and speaking up.
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Better Research and Data

Strengthening research and data, advising research bodies, promoting evidence-based solutions.
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Improved Health Services

Building the skills and confidence of healthcare workers. Promoting models of health care that work.
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Resources and Information

Sharing information, tools, and resources about health care, including through Our Health Space.
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3DN

3DN does translational research. It is part of the Centre but has a separate governance arrangement.

News

1. Trollor J, Small J. Health Inequality and People with Intellectual Disability - Research Summary. Faculty of Medicine, the Department of Developmental Disability Neuropsychiatry, UNSW: Sydney, Australia. 2019.
2. Trollor J, Srasuebkul P, Xu H, Howlett S. Cause of death and potentially avoidable deaths in Australian adults with intellectual disability using retrospective linked data. BMJ Open. 2017 Feb 7;7(2):e013489.
3. Weise JC, Srasuebkul P. Trollor JN. Potentially preventable hospitalisations of people with intellectual disability in New South Wales. Medical Journal of Australia. 2021 Jul 6;215(1):31-6.
4. Michalski SC, Huang Y, Srasuebkul P, Cvejic RC, Arnold SR, Trollor JN. Predictors of mental illness onset in adolescents and adults with intellectual disability: A retrospective cohort study in New South Wales, Australia. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry. 2025;59(12):1095-1105. doi:10.1177/00048674251374483.