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 Smithton, accounting for 20.3% (59 people). This share was higher than Circular Head (M) (17.1%). Since 2016, the biggest change was in 85+ year olds, which increased by 12 people, while its share fell by 1.8 percentage points.
Section overview
Need for assistance with core activities by age
Smithton - Persons (Usual residence)
This table summarises assistance for Smithton in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Circular Head (M) and change since 2016.
Chart view
Need for assistance with core activities by age snapshot
2021 distribution by category for Smithton, with comparison markers for Circular Head (M).
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
0
0.0pp
5-14
+11
+2.5pp
15-19
-1
-0.3pp
20-24
0
+0.7pp
25-34
+5
+0.8pp
35-44
-1
-0.1pp
45-54
-8
-1.1pp
55-64
-3
-0.6pp
65-74
+10
+0.1pp
75-84
-1
-3.8pp
85+
+12
-1.8pp
Data table
Assistance for Smithton. Need for assistance with core activities by age. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Circular Head (M).
| Category | 2021 | 2016 | Change | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | % | Circular Head (M)% | Count | % | Circular Head (M)% | Count | pp | |
| 0-4 | 0 | 0.0% | 1.0% | 0 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0 | 0.0pp |
| 5-14 | 22 | 4.5% | 3.7% | 11 | 2.0% | 2.2% | +11 | +2.5pp |
| 15-19 | 8 | 3.4% | 2.5% | 9 | 3.7% | 2.0% | -1 | -0.3pp |
| 20-24 | 6 | 3.0% | 2.0% | 6 | 2.3% | 2.6% | 0 | +0.7pp |
| 25-34 | 9 | 1.8% | 1.0% | 4 | 1.0% | 2.1% | +5 | +0.8pp |
| 35-44 | 10 | 2.5% | 3.3% | 11 | 2.6% | 3.3% | -1 | -0.1pp |
| 45-54 | 16 | 3.6% | 4.0% | 24 | 4.7% | 3.9% | -8 | -1.1pp |
| 55-64 | 24 | 4.5% | 4.9% | 27 | 5.1% | 4.1% | -3 | -0.6pp |
| 65-74 | 45 | 9.3% | 9.1% | 35 | 9.2% | 7.2% | +10 | +0.1pp |
| 75-84 | 59 | 20.3% | 17.1% | 60 | 24.1% | 18.5% | -1 | -3.8pp |
| 85+ | 49 | 39.8% | 37.6% | 37 | 41.6% | 35.7% | +12 | -1.8pp |
| Total | 257 | 6.5% | 5.3% | 225 | 5.8% | 4.6% | +32 | +0.7pp |