Population

Need for 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, 45-54 year olds was the most common age group among residents who needed assistance with core activities in Waitui, accounting for 17.6% (3 people). This share was higher than Mid-Coast (A) (5.6%). Since 2016, the biggest change was in 45-54 year olds, which its share rose by 4.6 percentage points.

Section overview

Need for assistance with core activities by age

Waitui - Persons (Usual residence)

This table summarises need for assistance for Waitui in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Mid-Coast (A) and change since 2016.

Need for assistance with core activities by age change

Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.

2016
2021

0-4

0

0.0pp

5-14

0

0.0pp

15-19

0

0.0pp

20-24

0

NaNpp

25-34

0

0.0pp

35-44

0

0.0pp

45-54

0

+4.6pp

55-64

0

0.0pp

65-74

0

0.0pp

75-84

0

NaNpp

85+

0

NaNpp

Data table

Need for assistance for Waitui. Need for assistance with core activities by age. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Mid-Coast (A).

Need for assistance for Waitui. Need for assistance with core activities by age. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Mid-Coast (A).
Need for assistance for Waitui. Need for assistance with core activities by age. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Mid-Coast (A).
Category20212016Change
Count%Mid-Coast (A)%Count%Mid-Coast (A)%Countpp
0-400.0%1.7%00.0%1.2%00.0pp
5-1400.0%5.0%00.0%4.5%00.0pp
15-1900.0%4.9%00.0%4.3%00.0pp
20-240NaN%5.4%0NaN%5.2%0NaNpp
25-3400.0%4.2%00.0%4.1%00.0pp
35-4400.0%4.2%00.0%4.9%00.0pp
45-54317.6%5.6%313.0%6.0%0+4.6pp
55-6400.0%7.3%00.0%7.5%00.0pp
65-7400.0%9.3%00.0%9.4%00.0pp
75-8400.0%18.1%0NaN%15.6%0NaNpp
85+0NaN%45.4%0NaN%39.1%0NaNpp
Total89.0%9.0%87.6%8.2%0+1.4pp