Population

Need for assistance

About this topic

Need for assistance measures people who report needing help with self-care, body movement, or communication because of a disability, a long-term health condition, or older age. It is a high-needs indicator rather than a general measure of disability.

This topic is useful for planning accessible facilities, care services, respite, and support for carers. The measure is based on self-report in the Census, so it should be interpreted with care and read alongside unpaid care and other disability-related indicators.

Interpretation notes

  • The measure is self-reported and records need for help with core activities, so it is not a complete measure of disability prevalence.
  • It applies to all persons and is strongest as an indicator of higher support need when read with unpaid care and ageing data.

Key insight

In 2021, 85+ year olds was the most common age group among residents who needed assistance with core activities in West Torrens (C), accounting for 56.4% (1,307 people). This share was higher than Greater Adelaide (52.1%). Since 2016, the biggest change was in 85+ year olds, which increased by 346 people and 11.7 percentage points.

Section overview

Need for assistance with core activities by age

West Torrens (C) - Persons (Usual residence)

This table summarises need for assistance for West Torrens (C) in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Greater Adelaide and change since 2016.

Need for assistance with core activities by age change

Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.

2016
2021

0-4

+11

+0.4pp

5-14

+92

+1.2pp

15-19

+15

+0.7pp

20-24

+10

+0.2pp

25-34

+64

+0.5pp

35-44

-2

-0.3pp

45-54

+1

0.0pp

55-64

+35

-0.1pp

65-74

+124

+1.6pp

75-84

+44

+1.2pp

85+

+346

+11.7pp

Data table

Need for assistance for West Torrens (C). Need for assistance with core activities by age. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Greater Adelaide.

Need for assistance for West Torrens (C). Need for assistance with core activities by age. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Greater Adelaide.
Need for assistance for West Torrens (C). Need for assistance with core activities by age. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Greater Adelaide.
Category20212016Change
Count%Greater Adelaide%Count%Greater Adelaide%Countpp
0-4461.5%1.9%351.1%1.5%+11+0.4pp
5-142394.0%5.7%1472.8%4.3%+92+1.2pp
15-19812.8%4.1%662.1%2.9%+15+0.7pp
20-24751.6%2.6%651.4%1.9%+10+0.2pp
25-341801.6%2.1%1161.1%1.9%+64+0.5pp
35-441591.8%2.5%1612.1%2.5%-2-0.3pp
45-542683.7%3.9%2673.7%4.0%+10.0pp
55-643745.5%5.9%3395.6%6.0%+35-0.1pp
65-744889.5%9.4%3647.9%8.7%+124+1.6pp
75-8486623.9%20.9%82222.7%20.7%+44+1.2pp
85+1,30756.4%52.1%96144.7%48.1%+346+11.7pp
Total4,0846.6%6.6%3,3315.8%5.9%+753+0.8pp