Population

Need for assistance

About this topic

Need for assistance measures people who report needing help with self-care, body movement, or communication because of a disability, a long-term health condition, or older age. It is a high-needs indicator rather than a general measure of disability.

This topic is useful for planning accessible facilities, care services, respite, and support for carers. The measure is based on self-report in the Census, so it should be interpreted with care and read alongside unpaid care and other disability-related indicators.

Interpretation notes

  • The measure is self-reported and records need for help with core activities, so it is not a complete measure of disability prevalence.
  • It applies to all persons and is strongest as an indicator of higher support need when read with unpaid care and ageing data.

Key insight

In 2021, 75-84 year olds was the most common age group among residents who needed assistance with core activities in Broken Hill (C), accounting for 21.5% (273 people). This share was higher than Regional NSW (18.9%). Since 2016, the biggest change was in 85+ year olds, which decreased by 32 people and 5.1 percentage points.

Section overview

Need for assistance with core activities by age

Broken Hill (C) - Persons (Usual residence)

This table summarises need for assistance for Broken Hill (C) in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Regional NSW and change since 2016.

Need for assistance with core activities by age change

Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.

2016
2021

0-4

+6

+0.7pp

5-14

+25

+1.1pp

15-19

+7

+0.6pp

20-24

+4

+0.6pp

25-34

+10

+0.4pp

35-44

+2

+0.1pp

45-54

-1

+0.9pp

55-64

+5

+0.5pp

65-74

+18

-0.1pp

75-84

+2

-0.7pp

85+

-32

-5.1pp

Data table

Need for assistance for Broken Hill (C). Need for assistance with core activities by age. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Regional NSW.

Need for assistance for Broken Hill (C). Need for assistance with core activities by age. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Regional NSW.
Need for assistance for Broken Hill (C). Need for assistance with core activities by age. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Regional NSW.
Category20212016Change
Count%Regional NSW%Count%Regional NSW%Countpp
0-4192.0%1.6%131.3%1.3%+6+0.7pp
5-141095.4%5.2%844.3%3.8%+25+1.1pp
15-19464.7%4.2%394.1%3.2%+7+0.6pp
20-24293.2%3.4%252.6%2.6%+4+0.6pp
25-34582.7%2.6%482.3%2.4%+10+0.4pp
35-44774.1%2.8%754.0%3.0%+2+0.1pp
45-541276.3%4.2%1285.4%4.4%-1+0.9pp
55-642288.9%6.0%2238.4%6.2%+5+0.5pp
65-7426311.9%9.1%24512.0%8.7%+18-0.1pp
75-8427321.5%18.9%27122.2%17.8%+2-0.7pp
85+24741.9%46.5%27947.0%43.8%-32-5.1pp
Total1,4628.3%6.8%1,4248.0%6.3%+38+0.3pp