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, 85+ year olds was the most common age group among residents who needed assistance with core activities in North Mackay, accounting for 45.2% (100 people). This share was lower than Mackay (R) (50.8%). Since 2016, the biggest change was in 85+ year olds, which increased by 17 people, while its share fell by 3.1 percentage points.
Section overview
Need for assistance with core activities by age
North Mackay - Persons (Usual residence)
This table summarises assistance for North Mackay in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Mackay (R) and change since 2016.
Chart view
Need for assistance with core activities by age snapshot
2021 distribution by category for North Mackay, with comparison markers for Mackay (R).
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
+7
+1.9pp
5-14
+17
+2.1pp
15-19
+5
+1.6pp
20-24
+4
+1.2pp
25-34
+6
+0.6pp
35-44
-8
-1.3pp
45-54
+2
+0.4pp
55-64
+3
+0.2pp
65-74
+2
-0.2pp
75-84
+7
-0.7pp
85+
+17
-3.1pp
Data table
Assistance for North Mackay. Need for assistance with core activities by age. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Mackay (R).
| Category | 2021 | 2016 | Change | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | % | Mackay (R)% | Count | % | Mackay (R)% | Count | pp | |
| 0-4 | 10 | 2.8% | 1.6% | 3 | 0.9% | 1.1% | +7 | +1.9pp |
| 5-14 | 37 | 5.2% | 4.1% | 20 | 3.1% | 3.2% | +17 | +2.1pp |
| 15-19 | 16 | 5.1% | 3.4% | 11 | 3.5% | 2.3% | +5 | +1.6pp |
| 20-24 | 17 | 4.2% | 2.6% | 13 | 3.0% | 2.0% | +4 | +1.2pp |
| 25-34 | 20 | 2.2% | 1.6% | 14 | 1.6% | 1.6% | +6 | +0.6pp |
| 35-44 | 15 | 1.9% | 1.8% | 23 | 3.2% | 1.9% | -8 | -1.3pp |
| 45-54 | 29 | 3.8% | 2.7% | 27 | 3.4% | 2.8% | +2 | +0.4pp |
| 55-64 | 41 | 5.3% | 4.6% | 38 | 5.1% | 4.6% | +3 | +0.2pp |
| 65-74 | 63 | 11.1% | 8.5% | 61 | 11.3% | 8.5% | +2 | -0.2pp |
| 75-84 | 95 | 21.9% | 20.3% | 88 | 22.6% | 20.4% | +7 | -0.7pp |
| 85+ | 100 | 45.2% | 50.8% | 83 | 48.3% | 50.2% | +17 | -3.1pp |
| Total | 440 | 7.1% | 5.0% | 390 | 6.6% | 4.4% | +50 | +0.5pp |