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 Fitzroy Island, accounting for 28.9% (24 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 48.4 percentage points.

Section overview

Unpaid care

Fitzroy Island - Persons aged 15+ (Usual residence)

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

Unpaid care snapshot

2021 distribution by category for Fitzroy Island, with comparison markers for Cairns (R).

Fitzroy Island
Cairns (R)

Total Provided Unpaid Assistance

2021 count

0

% of total

0.0%

Change from 2016

0.0pp

Total No Unpaid Assistance Provided

2021 count

24

% of total

28.9%

Change from 2016

-48.4pp

Total Unpaid Assistance Not Stated

2021 count

57

% of total

68.7%

Change from 2016

+46.0pp

Data table

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

Unpaid care for Fitzroy Island. Unpaid care. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Cairns (R).
Unpaid care for Fitzroy Island. Unpaid care. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Cairns (R).
Category20212016Change
Count%Cairns (R)%Count%Cairns (R)%Countpp
Total Provided Unpaid Assistance00.0%10.4%00.0%9.8%00.0pp
Total No Unpaid Assistance Provided2428.9%79.6%3477.3%78.6%-10-48.4pp
Total Unpaid Assistance Not Stated5768.7%10.0%1022.7%11.6%+47+46.0pp
Total83100.0%100.0%44100.0%100.0%+390.0pp