Employment

Unpaid childcare

About this topic

Unpaid childcare records whether people aged 15 years and over spent time looking after a child without pay, including their own children and other people's children. It reflects the role of parents, grandparents, extended family, and community networks in caring for children.

This topic helps show how childcare is supported outside the paid care sector and can highlight the role of family-based care. It is best interpreted with household type, employment, and income, because unpaid childcare patterns are shaped by family structure, work arrangements, and access to formal childcare.

Interpretation notes

  • This records unpaid childcare in the previous two weeks for people aged 15 years and over, including care for a person's own children and other children.
  • It identifies whether childcare was provided, not the number of hours or whether care was regular, occasional, or shared with formal services.

Key insight

In 2021, not providing unpaid child care was the most common response among residents aged 15 and over in Wondecla, accounting for 69.3% (381 people). This share was higher than Tablelands (R) (67.4%). Since 2016, the biggest change was in cared For Own Child Ren And Other Child Ren, which increased by 10 people and 1.8 percentage points.

Section overview

Unpaid childcare

Wondecla - Persons aged 15+ (Usual residence)

This table summarises unpaid childcare for Wondecla in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Tablelands (R) and change since 2016.

Unpaid childcare snapshot

2021 distribution by category for Wondecla, with comparison markers for Tablelands (R).

Wondecla
Tablelands (R)

Provided Unpaid Child Care (All)

2021 count

106

% of total

19.3%

Change from 2016

-0.8pp

Cared For Own Child Ren

2021 count

67

% of total

12.2%

Change from 2016

-1.4pp

Cared For Other Child Ren

2021 count

29

% of total

5.3%

Change from 2016

-1.0pp

Cared For Own Child Ren And Other Child Ren

2021 count

13

% of total

2.4%

Change from 2016

+1.8pp

No Unpaid Child Care Provided

2021 count

381

% of total

69.3%

Change from 2016

-1.2pp

Not Stated

2021 count

65

% of total

11.8%

Change from 2016

+1.5pp

Data table

Unpaid childcare for Wondecla. Unpaid childcare. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Tablelands (R).

Unpaid childcare for Wondecla. Unpaid childcare. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Tablelands (R).
Unpaid childcare for Wondecla. Unpaid childcare. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Tablelands (R).
Category20212016Change
Count%Tablelands (R)%Count%Tablelands (R)%Countpp
Provided Unpaid Child Care (All)10619.3%21.6%10820.1%23.9%-2-0.8pp
Cared For Own Child Ren6712.2%14.7%7313.6%16.3%-6-1.4pp
Cared For Other Child Ren295.3%6.1%346.3%6.8%-5-1.0pp
Cared For Own Child Ren And Other Child Ren132.4%0.7%30.6%0.9%+10+1.8pp
No Unpaid Child Care Provided38169.3%67.4%37870.5%64.7%+3-1.2pp
Not Stated6511.8%11.0%5510.3%11.3%+10+1.5pp
Total550100.0%100.0%536100.0%100.0%+140.0pp