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 Smiths Lake, accounting for 5.6% (13 people). This share was lower than Mid-Coast (A) (7.3%). Since 2016, the biggest change was in 65-74 year olds, which decreased by 11 people and 6 percentage points.
Section overview
Need for assistance with core activities by age
Smiths Lake - Persons (Usual residence)
This table summarises assistance for Smiths Lake in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Mid-Coast (A) and change since 2016.
Need for assistance with core activities by age snapshot
2021 distribution by category for Smiths Lake, with comparison markers for Mid-Coast (A).
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
+3
+2.0pp
15-19
0
0.0pp
20-24
0
0.0pp
25-34
0
-0.9pp
35-44
+1
+0.9pp
45-54
-9
-5.8pp
55-64
-1
-1.6pp
65-74
-11
-6.0pp
75-84
-3
-9.2pp
85+
-5
-16.6pp
Data table
Assistance for Smiths Lake. Need for assistance with core activities by age. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Mid-Coast (A).
| Category | 2021 | 2016 | Change | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | % | Mid-Coast (A)% | Count | % | Mid-Coast (A)% | Count | pp | |
| 0-4 | 0 | 0.0% | 1.7% | 0 | 0.0% | 1.2% | 0 | 0.0pp |
| 5-14 | 9 | 5.1% | 5.0% | 6 | 3.1% | 4.5% | +3 | +2.0pp |
| 15-19 | 0 | 0.0% | 4.9% | 0 | 0.0% | 4.3% | 0 | 0.0pp |
| 20-24 | 0 | 0.0% | 5.4% | 0 | 0.0% | 5.2% | 0 | 0.0pp |
| 25-34 | 3 | 2.9% | 4.2% | 3 | 3.8% | 4.1% | 0 | -0.9pp |
| 35-44 | 4 | 2.8% | 4.2% | 3 | 1.9% | 4.9% | +1 | +0.9pp |
| 45-54 | 0 | 0.0% | 5.6% | 9 | 5.8% | 6.0% | -9 | -5.8pp |
| 55-64 | 13 | 5.6% | 7.3% | 14 | 7.2% | 7.5% | -1 | -1.6pp |
| 65-74 | 8 | 3.7% | 9.3% | 19 | 9.7% | 9.4% | -11 | -6.0pp |
| 75-84 | 10 | 9.6% | 18.1% | 13 | 18.8% | 15.6% | -3 | -9.2pp |
| 85+ | 4 | 30.8% | 45.4% | 9 | 47.4% | 39.1% | -5 | -16.6pp |
| Total | 52 | 3.9% | 9.0% | 70 | 5.7% | 8.2% | -18 | -1.8pp |