Employment
Unpaid childcare
About this topic
Unpaid childcare records whether people aged 15 years and over spent time looking after a child without pay, including their own children and other people's children. It reflects the role of parents, grandparents, extended family, and community networks in caring for children.
This topic helps show how childcare is supported outside the paid care sector and can highlight the role of family-based care. It is best interpreted with household type, employment, and income, because unpaid childcare patterns are shaped by family structure, work arrangements, and access to formal childcare.
Interpretation notes
- This records unpaid childcare in the previous two weeks for people aged 15 years and over, including care for a person's own children and other children.
- It identifies whether childcare was provided, not the number of hours or whether care was regular, occasional, or shared with formal services.
Related topics
Key insight
In 2021, not providing unpaid child care was the most common response among residents aged 15 and over in Bland (A), accounting for 63.1% (2,813 people). This share was lower than Regional NSW (67.1%). Since 2016, the biggest change was in provided Unpaid Child Care (All), which decreased by 68 people, while its share rose by 0.1 percentage points.
Section overview
Unpaid childcare
Bland (A) - Persons aged 15+ (Usual residence)
This table summarises unpaid childcare for Bland (A) in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Regional NSW and change since 2016.
Chart view
Unpaid childcare snapshot
2021 distribution by category for Bland (A), with comparison markers for Regional NSW.
Provided Unpaid Child Care (All)
2021 count
1,189
% of total
26.7%
Change from 2016
+0.1pp
1,189
26.7%
+0.1pp
Cared For Own Child Ren
2021 count
828
% of total
18.6%
Change from 2016
+0.7pp
828
18.6%
+0.7pp
Cared For Other Child Ren
2021 count
326
% of total
7.3%
Change from 2016
-0.6pp
326
7.3%
-0.6pp
Cared For Own Child Ren And Other Child Ren
2021 count
34
% of total
0.8%
Change from 2016
0.0pp
34
0.8%
0.0pp
No Unpaid Child Care Provided
2021 count
2,813
% of total
63.1%
Change from 2016
+4.1pp
2,813
63.1%
+4.1pp
Not Stated
2021 count
459
% of total
10.3%
Change from 2016
-4.2pp
459
10.3%
-4.2pp
Unpaid childcare change
Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.
Provided Unpaid Child Care (All)
-68
+0.1pp
Cared For Own Child Ren
-18
+0.7pp
Cared For Other Child Ren
-47
-0.6pp
Cared For Own Child Ren And Other Child Ren
-6
0.0pp
No Unpaid Child Care Provided
+27
+4.1pp
Not Stated
-227
-4.2pp
Data table
Unpaid childcare for Bland (A). Unpaid childcare. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Regional NSW.
| Category | 2021 | 2016 | Change | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | % | Regional NSW% | Count | % | Regional NSW% | Count | pp | |
| Provided Unpaid Child Care (All) | 1,189 | 26.7% | 25.6% | 1,257 | 26.6% | 27.1% | -68 | +0.1pp |
| Cared For Own Child Ren | 828 | 18.6% | 18.2% | 846 | 17.9% | 18.3% | -18 | +0.7pp |
| Cared For Other Child Ren | 326 | 7.3% | 6.6% | 373 | 7.9% | 7.9% | -47 | -0.6pp |
| Cared For Own Child Ren And Other Child Ren | 34 | 0.8% | 0.8% | 40 | 0.8% | 0.8% | -6 | 0.0pp |
| No Unpaid Child Care Provided | 2,813 | 63.1% | 67.1% | 2,786 | 59.0% | 63.3% | +27 | +4.1pp |
| Not Stated | 459 | 10.3% | 7.4% | 686 | 14.5% | 9.6% | -227 | -4.2pp |
| Total | 4,458 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 4,725 | 100.0% | 100.0% | -267 | 0.0pp |