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 Pratten, accounting for 73.4% (146 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 1,787 people and 0.7 percentage points.

Section overview

Unpaid care

Pratten - Persons aged 15+ (Usual residence)

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

Unpaid care snapshot

2021 distribution by category for Pratten, with comparison markers for Southern Downs (R).

Pratten
Southern Downs (R)

Total Provided Unpaid Assistance

2021 count

36

% of total

18.1%

Change from 2016

+7.9pp

Total No Unpaid Assistance Provided

2021 count

146

% of total

73.4%

Change from 2016

-0.7pp

Total Unpaid Assistance Not Stated

2021 count

19

% of total

9.5%

Change from 2016

-6.1pp

Data table

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

Unpaid care for Pratten. Unpaid care. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Southern Downs (R).
Unpaid care for Pratten. 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 Assistance3618.1%13.7%26510.2%13.1%-229+7.9pp
Total No Unpaid Assistance Provided14673.4%77.6%1,93374.1%77.4%-1,787-0.7pp
Total Unpaid Assistance Not Stated199.5%8.7%40715.6%9.6%-388-6.1pp
Total199100.0%100.0%2,607100.0%100.0%-2,4080.0pp