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 Abbey, accounting for 61% (626 people). This share was lower than Busselton (C) (65.6%). Since 2016, the biggest change was in not providing unpaid child care, which increased by 54 people and 1.9 percentage points.
Section overview
Unpaid childcare
Abbey - Persons aged 15+ (Usual residence)
This table summarises unpaid childcare for Abbey in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Busselton (C) and change since 2016.
Unpaid childcare snapshot
2021 distribution by category for Abbey, with comparison markers for Busselton (C).
Provided Unpaid Child Care (All)
2021 count
343
% of total
33.4%
Change from 2016
-1.7pp
343
33.4%
-1.7pp
Cared For Own Child Ren
2021 count
250
% of total
24.4%
Change from 2016
-3.6pp
250
24.4%
-3.6pp
Cared For Other Child Ren
2021 count
74
% of total
7.2%
Change from 2016
+1.6pp
74
7.2%
+1.6pp
Cared For Own Child Ren And Other Child Ren
2021 count
19
% of total
1.9%
Change from 2016
+0.4pp
19
1.9%
+0.4pp
No Unpaid Child Care Provided
2021 count
626
% of total
61.0%
Change from 2016
+1.9pp
626
61.0%
+1.9pp
Not Stated
2021 count
58
% of total
5.7%
Change from 2016
-0.1pp
58
5.7%
-0.1pp
Chart view
Unpaid childcare change
Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.
Provided Unpaid Child Care (All)
+3
-1.7pp
Cared For Own Child Ren
-21
-3.6pp
Cared For Other Child Ren
+20
+1.6pp
Cared For Own Child Ren And Other Child Ren
+4
+0.4pp
No Unpaid Child Care Provided
+54
+1.9pp
Not Stated
+2
-0.1pp
Data table
Unpaid childcare for Abbey. Unpaid childcare. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Busselton (C).
| Category | 2021 | 2016 | Change | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | % | Busselton (C)% | Count | % | Busselton (C)% | Count | pp | |
| Provided Unpaid Child Care (All) | 343 | 33.4% | 27.7% | 340 | 35.1% | 29.5% | +3 | -1.7pp |
| Cared For Own Child Ren | 250 | 24.4% | 19.9% | 271 | 28.0% | 21.5% | -21 | -3.6pp |
| Cared For Other Child Ren | 74 | 7.2% | 6.8% | 54 | 5.6% | 6.9% | +20 | +1.6pp |
| Cared For Own Child Ren And Other Child Ren | 19 | 1.9% | 1.1% | 15 | 1.5% | 1.0% | +4 | +0.4pp |
| No Unpaid Child Care Provided | 626 | 61.0% | 65.6% | 572 | 59.1% | 61.2% | +54 | +1.9pp |
| Not Stated | 58 | 5.7% | 6.7% | 56 | 5.8% | 9.3% | +2 | -0.1pp |
| Total | 1,026 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 968 | 100.0% | 100.0% | +58 | 0.0pp |