Employment
Unpaid childcare
About this topic
Unpaid childcare records whether people aged 15 years and over spent time looking after a child without pay, including their own children and other people's children. It reflects the role of parents, grandparents, extended family, and community networks in caring for children.
This topic helps show how childcare is supported outside the paid care sector and can highlight the role of family-based care. It is best interpreted with household type, employment, and income, because unpaid childcare patterns are shaped by family structure, work arrangements, and access to formal childcare.
Interpretation notes
- This records unpaid childcare in the previous two weeks for people aged 15 years and over, including care for a person's own children and other children.
- It identifies whether childcare was provided, not the number of hours or whether care was regular, occasional, or shared with formal services.
Related topics
Key insight
In 2021, not providing unpaid child care was the most common response among residents aged 15 and over in Mackay (R), accounting for 61.9% (60,182 people). This share was lower than Regional Qld (66.2%). Since 2016, the biggest change was in not providing unpaid child care, which increased by 5,041 people and 1.4 percentage points.
Section overview
Unpaid childcare
Mackay (R) - Persons aged 15+ (Usual residence)
This table summarises unpaid childcare for Mackay (R) in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Regional Qld and change since 2016.
Unpaid childcare snapshot
2021 distribution by category for Mackay (R), with comparison markers for Regional Qld.
Provided Unpaid Child Care (All)
2021 count
26,992
% of total
27.8%
Change from 2016
-1.7pp
26,992
27.8%
-1.7pp
Cared For Own Child Ren
2021 count
19,365
% of total
19.9%
Change from 2016
-1.5pp
19,365
19.9%
-1.5pp
Cared For Other Child Ren
2021 count
6,765
% of total
7.0%
Change from 2016
-0.1pp
6,765
7.0%
-0.1pp
Cared For Own Child Ren And Other Child Ren
2021 count
857
% of total
0.9%
Change from 2016
-0.1pp
857
0.9%
-0.1pp
No Unpaid Child Care Provided
2021 count
60,182
% of total
61.9%
Change from 2016
+1.4pp
60,182
61.9%
+1.4pp
Not Stated
2021 count
10,017
% of total
10.3%
Change from 2016
+0.3pp
10,017
10.3%
+0.3pp
Chart view
Unpaid childcare change
Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.
Provided Unpaid Child Care (All)
+82
-1.7pp
Cared For Own Child Ren
-149
-1.5pp
Cared For Other Child Ren
+251
-0.1pp
Cared For Own Child Ren And Other Child Ren
-26
-0.1pp
No Unpaid Child Care Provided
+5,041
+1.4pp
Not Stated
+866
+0.3pp
Data table
Unpaid childcare for Mackay (R). Unpaid childcare. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Regional Qld.
| Category | 2021 | 2016 | Change | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | % | Regional Qld% | Count | % | Regional Qld% | Count | pp | |
| Provided Unpaid Child Care (All) | 26,992 | 27.8% | 25.4% | 26,910 | 29.5% | 27.2% | +82 | -1.7pp |
| Cared For Own Child Ren | 19,365 | 19.9% | 18.7% | 19,514 | 21.4% | 19.6% | -149 | -1.5pp |
| Cared For Other Child Ren | 6,765 | 7.0% | 6.0% | 6,514 | 7.1% | 6.8% | +251 | -0.1pp |
| Cared For Own Child Ren And Other Child Ren | 857 | 0.9% | 0.8% | 883 | 1.0% | 0.8% | -26 | -0.1pp |
| No Unpaid Child Care Provided | 60,182 | 61.9% | 66.2% | 55,141 | 60.5% | 62.9% | +5,041 | +1.4pp |
| Not Stated | 10,017 | 10.3% | 8.4% | 9,151 | 10.0% | 9.9% | +866 | +0.3pp |
| Total | 97,190 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 91,204 | 100.0% | 100.0% | +5,986 | 0.0pp |