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 Unincorporated SA, accounting for 73.2% (1,888 people). This share was lower than Regional SA (78.8%). Since 2016, the biggest change was in not providing unpaid care, which decreased by 278 people, while its share rose by 1.8 percentage points.

Section overview

Unpaid care

Unincorporated SA - Persons aged 15+ (Usual residence)

This table summarises unpaid care for Unincorporated SA in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Regional SA and change since 2016.

Unpaid care snapshot

2021 distribution by category for Unincorporated SA, with comparison markers for Regional SA.

Unincorporated SA
Regional SA

Total Provided Unpaid Assistance

2021 count

224

% of total

8.7%

Change from 2016

+0.5pp

Total No Unpaid Assistance Provided

2021 count

1,888

% of total

73.2%

Change from 2016

+1.8pp

Total Unpaid Assistance Not Stated

2021 count

467

% of total

18.1%

Change from 2016

-2.2pp

Data table

Unpaid care for Unincorporated SA. Unpaid care. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Regional SA.

Unpaid care for Unincorporated SA. Unpaid care. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Regional SA.
Unpaid care for Unincorporated SA. Unpaid care. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Regional SA.
Category20212016Change
Count%Regional SA%Count%Regional SA%Countpp
Total Provided Unpaid Assistance2248.7%13.2%2508.2%12.2%-26+0.5pp
Total No Unpaid Assistance Provided1,88873.2%78.8%2,16671.4%77.6%-278+1.8pp
Total Unpaid Assistance Not Stated46718.1%8.1%61520.3%10.3%-148-2.2pp
Total2,580100.0%100.0%3,032100.0%100.0%-4520.0pp