Powered by .id (informed decisions) for Cairns Regional Council
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LEARN MORE ABOUT .idIn 2021, 8,963 people (or 5.4% of the population) in Cairns reported needing help in their day-to-day lives due to disability. This was a percentage increase from 2006.
Cairns'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. Cairns'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 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cairns - Persons (Usual residence) | 2021 | 2006 | Change | ||||
| Assistance needed by age group (years) | Number | % of total age group | Regional QLD % | Number | % of total age group | Regional QLD % | 2006 to 2021 |
| 0 to 4 | 125 | 1.4 | 1.5 | 64 | 0.7 | 0.8 | +61 |
| 5 to 9 | 415 | 3.8 | 4.9 | 156 | 1.7 | 2.0 | +259 |
| 10 to 19 | 848 | 3.8 | 4.6 | 282 | 1.6 | 1.8 | +566 |
| 20 to 59 | 2,473 | 2.8 | 3.1 | 1,318 | 1.8 | 2.4 | +1,155 |
| 60 to 64 | 624 | 6.2 | 6.7 | 284 | 5.3 | 6.2 | +340 |
| 65 to 69 | 708 | 8.2 | 8.3 | 219 | 6.0 | 6.2 | +489 |
| 70 to 74 | 884 | 12.1 | 11.2 | 266 | 10.0 | 8.5 | +618 |
| 75 to 79 | 843 | 17.7 | 16.5 | 331 | 15.5 | 14.4 | +512 |
| 80 to 84 | 816 | 30.0 | 26.5 | 450 | 28.0 | 25.9 | +366 |
| 85 and over | 1,205 | 49.5 | 47.5 | 612 | 48.8 | 46.7 | +593 |
| Total persons needing assistance | 8,963 | 5.4 | 6.3 | 3,982 | 3.1 | 4.1 | +4,981 |
Dominant groups
Analysis of the need for assistance of people in Cairns Regional Council compared to Regional QLD shows that there was a lower proportion of people who reported needing assistance with core activities.
Overall, 5.4% of the population reported needing assistance with core activities, compared with 6.3% for Regional QLD.
The major differences in the age groups reporting a need for assistance in Cairns and Regional QLD were:
- A larger percentage of persons aged 80 to 84 (30.0% compared to 26.5%)
- A larger percentage of persons aged 85 and over (49.5% compared to 47.5%)
- A larger percentage of persons aged 75 to 79 (17.7% compared to 16.5%)
- A smaller percentage of persons aged 5 to 9 (3.8% compared to 4.9%)
Emerging groups
The major differences in the age groups reporting a need for assistance between 2006 and 2021 in Cairns were in the age groups:
- 20 to 59 (+1,155 persons)
- 70 to 74 (+618 persons)
- 85 and over (+593 persons)
- 10 to 19 (+566 persons)
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