Population

Need for assistance

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, 85+ year olds was the most common age group among residents who needed assistance with core activities in Ku-ring-gai (A), accounting for 42.8% (1,773 people). This share was lower than Greater Sydney (48.7%). Since 2016, the biggest change was in 75-84 year olds, which increased by 261 people and 1.2 percentage points.

Section overview

Need for assistance with core activities by age

Ku-ring-gai (A) - Persons (Usual residence)

This table summarises need for assistance for Ku-ring-gai (A) in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Greater Sydney and change since 2016.

Need for assistance with core activities by age change

Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.

2016
2021

0-4

-13

-0.2pp

5-14

+59

+0.3pp

15-19

+27

+0.3pp

20-24

+19

+0.2pp

25-34

+40

+0.5pp

35-44

+4

-0.1pp

45-54

-29

-0.2pp

55-64

+18

-0.1pp

65-74

+140

+0.8pp

75-84

+261

+1.2pp

85+

+22

-0.6pp

Data table

Need for assistance for Ku-ring-gai (A). Need for assistance with core activities by age. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Greater Sydney.

Need for assistance for Ku-ring-gai (A). Need for assistance with core activities by age. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Greater Sydney.
Need for assistance for Ku-ring-gai (A). Need for assistance with core activities by age. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Greater Sydney.
Category20212016Change
Count%Greater Sydney%Count%Greater Sydney%Countpp
0-4400.7%1.3%530.9%1.1%-13-0.2pp
5-143461.9%3.4%2871.6%2.7%+59+0.3pp
15-191531.7%2.7%1261.4%2.2%+27+0.3pp
20-241031.5%1.8%841.3%1.5%+19+0.2pp
25-341451.6%1.3%1051.1%1.2%+40+0.5pp
35-441060.6%1.6%1020.7%1.8%+4-0.1pp
45-541690.9%2.9%1981.1%3.2%-29-0.2pp
55-642701.8%5.5%2521.9%5.7%+18-0.1pp
65-745454.7%10.5%4053.9%9.9%+140+0.8pp
75-841,18714.6%23.1%92613.4%23.4%+261+1.2pp
85+1,77342.8%48.7%1,75143.4%50.4%+22-0.6pp
Total4,8343.9%5.2%4,2943.6%4.9%+540+0.3pp