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Northern Beaches Council area

Unpaid childcare

In the Northern Beaches Council area 64,413 people (31.7% of people aged 15+) provided unpaid care to children in 2016. Of these, 16,829 people were caring for children other than their own.

The role of unpaid childcare in the Northern Beaches Council area is determined by many different factors. For example areas with high levels of unpaid child care may have a dominance of single income families with one significant earner, or there could be a lack of provision of paid child care in the area. The level to which people care for others children can also indicate the role of extended family (eg. grandparents caring for grandchildren, family day care).

The role of unpaid child care is a complex one so this topic should be viewed in conjunction with several others, including Household Type, Employment, Household Income and Educational Attendance.

Derived from the Census question:

'In the last two weeks did the person spend time looking after a child, without pay?', which specifically asks respondents to differentiate between caring for their own children and caring for others children.

Persons aged 15 years and over.

Unpaid childcare
Northern Beaches Council area - Persons aged 15+ (Usual residence)20162011Change
Unpaid child careNumber%Mona Vale %Number%Mona Vale %2011 to 2016
map this data in atlas.idProvided unpaid child care (all)64,41331.729.660,31531.729.5+4,098
Cared for own child/ren
47,58423.420.243,41922.819.9+4,164
Cared for other child/ren
15,2187.58.614,8487.88.7+370
Cared for own child/ren and other child/ren
1,6110.80.92,0471.10.9-436
No unpaid child care provided
125,10861.663.0118,07662.064.2+7,031
Not stated
13,5036.77.412,0396.36.4+1,464

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing 2011 and 2016. Compiled and presented by .id (informed decisions).

Unpaid childcare, 2016
Unpaid childcare, 2016 Not stated, Mona Vale: 7.4% No unpaid child care provided, Mona Vale: 63.0% Cared for own child/ren and other child/ren, Mona Vale: 0.9% Cared for other child/ren, Mona Vale: 8.6% Cared for own child/ren, Mona Vale: 20.2% Provided unpaid child care (all), Mona Vale: 29.6% Not stated, Northern Beaches Council area: 6.7% No unpaid child care provided, Northern Beaches Council area: 61.6% Cared for own child/ren and other child/ren, Northern Beaches Council area: 0.8% Cared for other child/ren, Northern Beaches Council area: 7.5% Cared for own child/ren, Northern Beaches Council area: 23.4% Provided unpaid child care (all), Northern Beaches Council area: 31.7%
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing, 2016 (Usual residence data)
Compiled and presented in profile.id by .id (informed decisions).
Change in unpaid childcare, 2011 to 2016
Change in unpaid childcare, 2011 to 2016 Not stated, Northern Beaches Council area: +1,464 No unpaid child care provided, Northern Beaches Council area: +7,031 Cared for own child/ren and other child/ren, Northern Beaches Council area: -436 Cared for other child/ren, Northern Beaches Council area: +370 Cared for own child/ren, Northern Beaches Council area: +4,164 Provided unpaid child care (all), Northern Beaches Council area: +4,098
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing, 2011 and 2016 (Usual residence data)
Compiled and presented in profile.id by .id (informed decisions).

Dominant groups

Analysis of the unpaid child care provided by the population in the Northern Beaches Council area in 2016 compared to Mona Vale shows that there was a higher proportion of people who provided unpaid child care either to their own or to other children. Overall, 31.7% of the population provided unpaid child care, compared with 29.6% for Mona Vale.

The major differences between the share of the population providing unpaid child care in the Northern Beaches Council area and Mona Vale were:

  • A larger percentage who provided unpaid childcare for own child/ren (23.4% compared to 20.2%)
  • A smaller percentage who did not provide care for children (61.6% compared to 63.0%)
  • A smaller percentage who provided unpaid childcare for other child/ren (7.5% compared to 8.6%)

Emerging groups

The number of people who provided unpaid child care for their own and/or other people's children in Northern Beaches Council area increased by 4,098 between 2011 and 2016.

The largest changes in the number of people performing unpaid child care in the Northern Beaches Council area, between 2011 and 2016 were those who:

  • Provided no unpaid child care (+7,031 persons)
  • Cared for their own child/ren (+4,164 persons)
  • Cared for their own child/ren and other child/ren (-436 persons)
  • Cared for other child/ren (+370 persons)

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