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 Onkaparinga (C), accounting for 81.6% (117,647 people). This share was lower than Greater Adelaide (82.4%). Since 2016, the biggest change was in not providing unpaid care, which increased by 8,379 people and 1 percentage point.

Section overview

Unpaid care

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

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

Unpaid care snapshot

2021 distribution by category for Onkaparinga (C), with comparison markers for Greater Adelaide.

Onkaparinga (C)
Greater Adelaide

Total Provided Unpaid Assistance

2021 count

19,786

% of total

13.7%

Change from 2016

+1.2pp

Total No Unpaid Assistance Provided

2021 count

117,647

% of total

81.6%

Change from 2016

+1.0pp

Total Unpaid Assistance Not Stated

2021 count

6,721

% of total

4.7%

Change from 2016

-2.2pp

Data table

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

Unpaid care for Onkaparinga (C). Unpaid care. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Greater Adelaide.
Unpaid care for Onkaparinga (C). Unpaid care. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Greater Adelaide.
Category20212016Change
Count%Greater Adelaide%Count%Greater Adelaide%Countpp
Total Provided Unpaid Assistance19,78613.7%13.1%16,96312.5%12.2%+2,823+1.2pp
Total No Unpaid Assistance Provided117,64781.6%82.4%109,26880.6%80.9%+8,379+1.0pp
Total Unpaid Assistance Not Stated6,7214.7%4.5%9,3466.9%6.9%-2,625-2.2pp
Total144,158100.0%100.0%135,573100.0%100.0%+8,5850.0pp