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 Rock Valley, accounting for 74.7% (171 people). This share was lower than Lismore (C) (77.8%). Since 2016, the biggest change was in not providing unpaid care, which increased by 135 people and 10.4 percentage points.

Section overview

Unpaid care

Rock Valley - Persons aged 15+ (Usual residence)

This table summarises unpaid care for Rock Valley in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Lismore (C) and change since 2016.

Unpaid care snapshot

2021 distribution by category for Rock Valley, with comparison markers for Lismore (C).

Rock Valley
Lismore (C)

Total Provided Unpaid Assistance

2021 count

37

% of total

16.2%

Change from 2016

-1.7pp

Total No Unpaid Assistance Provided

2021 count

171

% of total

74.7%

Change from 2016

+10.4pp

Total Unpaid Assistance Not Stated

2021 count

21

% of total

9.2%

Change from 2016

-10.4pp

Data table

Unpaid care for Rock Valley. Unpaid care. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Lismore (C).

Unpaid care for Rock Valley. Unpaid care. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Lismore (C).
Unpaid care for Rock Valley. Unpaid care. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Lismore (C).
Category20212016Change
Count%Lismore (C)%Count%Lismore (C)%Countpp
Total Provided Unpaid Assistance3716.2%14.0%1017.9%13.2%+27-1.7pp
Total No Unpaid Assistance Provided17174.7%77.8%3664.3%76.3%+135+10.4pp
Total Unpaid Assistance Not Stated219.2%8.1%1119.6%10.5%+10-10.4pp
Total229100.0%100.0%56100.0%100.0%+1730.0pp