Employment

Unpaid care

About this topic

Unpaid care records whether people aged 15 years and over spent time providing unpaid help or assistance to someone because of disability, long-term illness, or problems related to old age. It captures informal care provided by family members or others in the community.

This topic is useful for understanding the demand placed on informal carers and the likely need for support services, respite, and home-based assistance. It does not measure the intensity or duration of care, so it should be read alongside need for assistance and other health and ageing indicators.

Interpretation notes

  • This records whether a person aged 15 years and over provided unpaid help or assistance in the previous two weeks because of disability, long-term illness, or old age.
  • It identifies whether care was provided, not the intensity, frequency, or number of hours of care.

Key insight

In 2021, not providing unpaid care was the most common response among residents aged 15 and over in Bellenden Ker, accounting for 78.1% (150 people). This share was lower than Cairns (R) (79.6%). Since 2016, the biggest change was in not providing unpaid care, which decreased by 10 people and 1.5 percentage points.

Section overview

Unpaid care

Bellenden Ker - Persons aged 15+ (Usual residence)

This table summarises unpaid care for Bellenden Ker in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Cairns (R) and change since 2016.

Unpaid care snapshot

2021 distribution by category for Bellenden Ker, with comparison markers for Cairns (R).

Bellenden Ker
Cairns (R)

Total Provided Unpaid Assistance

2021 count

22

% of total

11.5%

Change from 2016

-1.4pp

Total No Unpaid Assistance Provided

2021 count

150

% of total

78.1%

Change from 2016

-1.5pp

Total Unpaid Assistance Not Stated

2021 count

16

% of total

8.3%

Change from 2016

-2.1pp

Data table

Unpaid care for Bellenden Ker. Unpaid care. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Cairns (R).

Unpaid care for Bellenden Ker. Unpaid care. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Cairns (R).
Unpaid care for Bellenden Ker. Unpaid care. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Cairns (R).
Category20212016Change
Count%Cairns (R)%Count%Cairns (R)%Countpp
Total Provided Unpaid Assistance2211.5%10.4%2612.9%9.8%-4-1.4pp
Total No Unpaid Assistance Provided15078.1%79.6%16079.6%78.6%-10-1.5pp
Total Unpaid Assistance Not Stated168.3%10.0%2110.4%11.6%-5-2.1pp
Total192100.0%100.0%201100.0%100.0%-90.0pp