Population
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, 55-64 year olds was the most common age group among residents who needed assistance with core activities in Merredin, accounting for 7.2% (26 people). This share was higher than Merredin (S) (5.8%). Since 2016, the biggest change was in 55-64 year olds, which increased by 12 people and 3.3 percentage points.
Section overview
Need for assistance with core activities by age
Merredin - Persons (Usual residence)
This table summarises assistance for Merredin in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Merredin (S) and change since 2016.
Need for assistance with core activities by age snapshot
2021 distribution by category for Merredin, with comparison markers for Merredin (S).
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+
Chart view
Need for assistance with core activities by age change
Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.
0-4
0
0.0pp
5-14
-1
-0.1pp
15-19
-4
-1.5pp
20-24
+8
+5.4pp
25-34
+1
+0.6pp
35-44
+3
+0.9pp
45-54
+4
+1.9pp
55-64
+12
+3.3pp
65-74
+12
+3.3pp
75-84
+11
+8.0pp
85+
+4
+7.5pp
Data table
Assistance for Merredin. Need for assistance with core activities by age. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Merredin (S).
| Category | 2021 | 2016 | Change | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | % | Merredin (S)% | Count | % | Merredin (S)% | Count | pp | |
| 0-4 | 0 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0 | 0.0pp |
| 5-14 | 14 | 4.0% | 3.2% | 15 | 4.1% | 3.1% | -1 | -0.1pp |
| 15-19 | 4 | 2.6% | 3.8% | 8 | 4.1% | 4.9% | -4 | -1.5pp |
| 20-24 | 8 | 5.4% | 2.4% | 0 | 0.0% | 0.0% | +8 | +5.4pp |
| 25-34 | 10 | 3.0% | 2.4% | 9 | 2.4% | 2.3% | +1 | +0.6pp |
| 35-44 | 8 | 2.6% | 3.5% | 5 | 1.7% | 1.9% | +3 | +0.9pp |
| 45-54 | 18 | 5.8% | 4.8% | 14 | 3.9% | 2.7% | +4 | +1.9pp |
| 55-64 | 26 | 7.2% | 5.8% | 14 | 3.9% | 3.8% | +12 | +3.3pp |
| 65-74 | 26 | 9.1% | 8.7% | 14 | 5.8% | 6.5% | +12 | +3.3pp |
| 75-84 | 25 | 19.4% | 16.3% | 14 | 11.4% | 14.6% | +11 | +8.0pp |
| 85+ | 23 | 37.7% | 27.7% | 19 | 30.2% | 20.9% | +4 | +7.5pp |
| Total | 154 | 5.9% | 5.7% | 109 | 3.8% | 3.9% | +45 | +2.1pp |