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 Maribyrnong (C), accounting for 82.6% (59,456 people). This share was higher than Greater Melbourne (81.8%). Since 2016, the biggest change was in not providing unpaid care, which increased by 3,285 people and 1.3 percentage points.

Section overview

Unpaid care

Maribyrnong (C) - Persons aged 15+ (Usual residence)

This table summarises unpaid care for Maribyrnong (C) in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Greater Melbourne and change since 2016.

Unpaid care snapshot

2021 distribution by category for Maribyrnong (C), with comparison markers for Greater Melbourne.

Maribyrnong (C)
Greater Melbourne

Total Provided Unpaid Assistance

2021 count

7,849

% of total

10.9%

Change from 2016

+1.3pp

Total No Unpaid Assistance Provided

2021 count

59,456

% of total

82.6%

Change from 2016

+1.3pp

Total Unpaid Assistance Not Stated

2021 count

4,639

% of total

6.4%

Change from 2016

-2.7pp

Data table

Unpaid care for Maribyrnong (C). Unpaid care. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Greater Melbourne.

Unpaid care for Maribyrnong (C). Unpaid care. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Greater Melbourne.
Unpaid care for Maribyrnong (C). Unpaid care. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Greater Melbourne.
Category20212016Change
Count%Greater Melbourne%Count%Greater Melbourne%Countpp
Total Provided Unpaid Assistance7,84910.9%12.6%6,6339.6%11.3%+1,216+1.3pp
Total No Unpaid Assistance Provided59,45682.6%81.8%56,17181.3%80.8%+3,285+1.3pp
Total Unpaid Assistance Not Stated4,6396.4%5.6%6,2949.1%7.9%-1,655-2.7pp
Total71,946100.0%100.0%69,093100.0%100.0%+2,8530.0pp