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 Palgrave, accounting for 76% (19 people). This share was lower than Southern Downs (R) (77.6%). Since 2016, the biggest change was in not providing unpaid care, which decreased by 1,949 people and 8.8 percentage points.

Section overview

Unpaid care

Palgrave - Persons aged 15+ (Usual residence)

This table summarises unpaid care for Palgrave in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Southern Downs (R) and change since 2016.

Unpaid care change

Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.

2016
2021

Total Provided Unpaid Assistance

-185

+3.9pp

Total No Unpaid Assistance Provided

-1,949

-8.8pp

Total Unpaid Assistance Not Stated

-155

+13.1pp

Data table

Unpaid care for Palgrave. Unpaid care. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Southern Downs (R).

Unpaid care for Palgrave. Unpaid care. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Southern Downs (R).
Unpaid care for Palgrave. Unpaid care. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Southern Downs (R).
Category20212016Change
Count%Southern Downs (R)%Count%Southern Downs (R)%Countpp
Total Provided Unpaid Assistance312.0%13.7%1888.1%13.1%-185+3.9pp
Total No Unpaid Assistance Provided1976.0%77.6%1,96884.8%77.4%-1,949-8.8pp
Total Unpaid Assistance Not Stated520.0%8.7%1606.9%9.6%-155+13.1pp
Total25100.0%100.0%2,320100.0%100.0%-2,2950.0pp