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.
Related topics
Key insight
In 2021, not providing unpaid care was the most common response among residents aged 15 and over in Cardinia (S), accounting for 81.6% (74,581 people). This share was lower than Greater Melbourne (81.8%). Since 2016, the biggest change was in not providing unpaid care, which increased by 16,062 people and 0.8 percentage points.
Section overview
Unpaid care
Cardinia (S) - Persons aged 15+ (Usual residence)
This table summarises unpaid care for Cardinia (S) in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Greater Melbourne and change since 2016.
Unpaid care snapshot
2021 distribution by category for Cardinia (S), with comparison markers for Greater Melbourne.
Total Provided Unpaid Assistance
2021 count
11,357
% of total
12.4%
Change from 2016
+1.1pp
11,357
12.4%
+1.1pp
Total No Unpaid Assistance Provided
2021 count
74,581
% of total
81.6%
Change from 2016
+0.8pp
74,581
81.6%
+0.8pp
Total Unpaid Assistance Not Stated
2021 count
5,491
% of total
6.0%
Change from 2016
-1.9pp
5,491
6.0%
-1.9pp
Chart view
Unpaid care change
Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.
Total Provided Unpaid Assistance
+3,207
+1.1pp
Total No Unpaid Assistance Provided
+16,062
+0.8pp
Total Unpaid Assistance Not Stated
-245
-1.9pp
Data table
Unpaid care for Cardinia (S). Unpaid care. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Greater Melbourne.
| Category | 2021 | 2016 | Change | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | % | Greater Melbourne% | Count | % | Greater Melbourne% | Count | pp | |
| Total Provided Unpaid Assistance | 11,357 | 12.4% | 12.6% | 8,150 | 11.3% | 11.3% | +3,207 | +1.1pp |
| Total No Unpaid Assistance Provided | 74,581 | 81.6% | 81.8% | 58,519 | 80.8% | 80.8% | +16,062 | +0.8pp |
| Total Unpaid Assistance Not Stated | 5,491 | 6.0% | 5.6% | 5,736 | 7.9% | 7.9% | -245 | -1.9pp |
| Total | 91,426 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 72,402 | 100.0% | 100.0% | +19,024 | 0.0pp |