Population
Assistance
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.
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 Smithfield (Qld), accounting for 22% (51 people). This share was similar to Cairns (R) (22.2%). Since 2016, the biggest change was in 85+ year olds, which increased by 24 people and 25.1 percentage points.
Section overview
Need for assistance with core activities by age
Smithfield (Qld) - Persons (Usual residence)
This table summarises assistance for Smithfield (Qld) in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Cairns (R) and change since 2016.
This area boundary has changed from 2016 to 2021. As a result, 2016 values are mapped onto 2021 suburb boundaries using ABS concordance.
Chart view
Need for assistance with core activities by age snapshot
2021 distribution by category for Smithfield (Qld), with comparison markers for Cairns (R).
Bars reflect 2021 counts; benchmark rates remain in the metrics.
0-4
5-14
15-19
20-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-64
65-74
75-84
85+
Need for assistance with core activities by age change
Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.
0-4
+5
+1.1pp
5-14
+9
+0.3pp
15-19
+4
+0.3pp
20-24
+9
+1.5pp
25-34
0
-0.2pp
35-44
-3
-0.8pp
45-54
+12
+0.9pp
55-64
+10
+0.8pp
65-74
+5
-2.5pp
75-84
+14
-0.8pp
85+
+24
+25.1pp
Data table
Assistance for Smithfield (Qld). Need for assistance with core activities by age. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Cairns (R).
| Category | 2021 | 2016 | Change | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | % | Cairns (R)% | Count | % | Cairns (R)% | Count | pp | |
| 0-4 | 5 | 1.1% | 1.4% | 0 | 0.0% | 0.9% | +5 | +1.1pp |
| 5-14 | 30 | 3.4% | 4.1% | 21 | 3.1% | 3.1% | +9 | +0.3pp |
| 15-19 | 10 | 1.9% | 3.2% | 6 | 1.6% | 2.4% | +4 | +0.3pp |
| 20-24 | 15 | 2.8% | 2.6% | 6 | 1.3% | 1.8% | +9 | +1.5pp |
| 25-34 | 10 | 1.0% | 1.8% | 10 | 1.2% | 1.7% | 0 | -0.2pp |
| 35-44 | 13 | 1.3% | 2.3% | 16 | 2.1% | 2.1% | -3 | -0.8pp |
| 45-54 | 27 | 3.1% | 3.4% | 15 | 2.2% | 3.3% | +12 | +0.9pp |
| 55-64 | 33 | 4.9% | 5.4% | 23 | 4.1% | 5.4% | +10 | +0.8pp |
| 65-74 | 43 | 8.8% | 10.0% | 38 | 11.3% | 8.9% | +5 | -2.5pp |
| 75-84 | 51 | 22.0% | 22.2% | 37 | 22.8% | 21.1% | +14 | -0.8pp |
| 85+ | 39 | 60.0% | 49.9% | 15 | 34.9% | 46.4% | +24 | +25.1pp |
| Total | 274 | 4.1% | 5.4% | 187 | 3.5% | 4.4% | +87 | +0.6pp |