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AustraliaCommunity profile

Greater Sydney

Need for assistance

In 2021, 147,416 females (or 5.6% of the female population) in Greater Sydney reported needing help in their day-to-day lives due to disability. This was a similar percentage to 2016.

Greater Sydney's disability statistics relate directly to need for assistance due to a severe or profound disability. The information may be used in the planning of local facilities, services such as day-care and occasional care and in the provision of information and support to carers. Greater Sydney's disability statistics help in understanding the prevalence of people who need support in the community, and along with information on Unpaid Care to a person with a disability, how that support is provided.

Please note: A person's reported need for assistance is based on a subjective assessment and should therefore be treated with caution. See the specific data notes for further detail.

Q:

Derived from the Census questions:

'Does the person ever need someone to help with, or be with them for, self care activities?', 'Does the person ever need someone to help with, or be with them for, body movement activities?', 'Does the person ever need someone to help with, or be with them for, communication activities?', and 'What are the reasons for the need for assistance or supervision shown in questions 20, 21 and 22?' (as per above).

Need for assistance with core activities by age
Greater Sydney - Females (Usual residence)20212016Change
Assistance needed by age group (years)Number% of total age groupVictoria %Number% of total age groupVictoria %2016 to 2021
0 to 41,3470.91.01,1900.80.8+157
5 to 93,4732.22.82,6141.72.0+859
10 to 196,4722.22.94,7401.72.0+1,732
20 to 5932,2892.22.731,5032.32.5+786
60 to 649,9177.06.98,8637.16.6+1,054
65 to 6911,6409.48.79,4218.57.7+2,219
70 to 7413,94913.012.410,10012.210.8+3,849
75 to 7915,67020.119.313,06820.618.4+2,602
80 to 8418,84233.533.416,00633.130.6+2,836
85 and over33,20551.955.833,20654.651.2-1
Total persons needing assistance147,4165.66.3130,7145.35.5+16,702
Please refer to specific data notes for more information
Need for assistance with core activities summary
Greater Sydney - Total females (Usual residence)20212016Change
Assistance needed by age group (years)Number%Victoria %Number%Victoria %2016 to 2021
Total persons needing assistance147,4165.66.3130,7145.35.5+16,702
Total persons not needing assistance2,359,93489.288.52,164,27288.487.9+195,662
Not stated138,5655.25.1152,2356.26.6-13,670
Total Population2,645,915100.0100.02,447,221100.0100.0+198,694
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing 2016 and 2021. Compiled and presented by .id (informed decisions).
Please refer to specific data notes for more information

Dominant groups

Analysis of the need for assistance of females in Australia compared to Victoria shows that there was a lower proportion of females who reported needing assistance with core activities.

Overall, 5.6% of the female population reported needing assistance with core activities, compared with 6.3% for Victoria.

The major difference in the female age groups reporting a need for assistance in Greater Sydney and Victoria is:

  • A smaller percentage of females aged 85 and over (51.9% compared to 55.8%)

Emerging groups

The major differences in the female age groups reporting a need for assistance between 2016 and 2021 in Greater Sydney were in the age groups:

  • 70 to 74 (+3,849 females)
  • 80 to 84 (+2,836 females)
  • 75 to 79 (+2,602 females)
  • 65 to 69 (+2,219 females)

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