Informal carer—relationship to care recipient, interpersonal code N[N]

Identifying and definitional attributes

Metadata item type:Help on this termData Element
Short name:Help on this termInterpersonal relationship of carer to care recipient
Synonymous names:Help on this termCarer relationship to care recipient
METEOR identifier:Help on this term510168
Registration status:Help on this term
  • Community Services (retired), Standard 10/04/2013 [Non DictionaryHelp on this term]
  • Disability, Superseded 15/12/2017
Definition:Help on this termThe relationship of the informal carer to the person for whom they care, as represented by a code.
Context:Help on this term

Ageing, carers and disability.

Data Element Concept:Informal carer—relationship to care recipient

Value domain attributes

Representational attributes

Representation class:Help on this termCode
Data type:Help on this termNumber
Format:Help on this termN[N]
Maximum character length:Help on this term2
Permissible values:Help on this term
ValueMeaning
Spouse/partner
1Wife/female partner
2Husband/male partner
Parent
3Mother
4Father
Child
5Daughter
6Son
Child-in-law
7Daughter-in-law
8Son-in-law
Other relative
9Other female relative
10Other male relative
Friend/neighbour
11Female friend/neighbour
12Male friend/neighbour
Other relationship
88Other relationship
Supplementary values:Help on this term
ValueMeaning
99Not stated/inadequately described

Collection and usage attributes

Guide for use:Help on this term

This code set should always be used to record the relationship of the carer to the person for whom they care.

When answering this question the person is asked to complete the sentence, 'The carer is the person's ...'

CODES 1 and 2 Male/Female partner

Include defacto and same sex partnerships.

CODES 3 and 4 Mother/Father

Includes foster parents.

CODE 88  Other relationship

Includes other non-relative relationship, such as pastor or teacher.

CODE 99 Not stated/inadequately described

This code should only be recorded where the carer has not been identified. This code is not for use in primary data collections.

Data element attributes

Collection and usage attributes

Comments:Help on this termInformation about this relationship assists in the establishment of a profile of informal caring relationships and the assistance provided to maintain and support those relationships. As such, it increases knowledge about the dynamics of caring and provides an insight into the gender and inter-generational patterns of informal care giving in the community.

Source and reference attributes

Submitting organisation:Help on this termAustralian Institute of Health and Welfare.
Origin:Help on this termCommonwealth State/Territory Disability Agreement National Minimum Data Set (CSTDA NMDS) collection. Data Guide: data items and definitions 2006-07.

Relational attributes

Related metadata references:Help on this term
Supersedes Informal carer—relationship to care recipient, code N[N]
  • Community Services (retired), Superseded 10/04/2013
Has been superseded by Informal carer—relationship to care recipient, interpersonal code N[N]
  • Disability, Standard 15/12/2017
Implementation in Data Set Specifications:Help on this term

Disability services carer details clusterCommunity Services (retired), Standard 10/04/2013
Disability, Standard 13/08/2015

Disability Services NMDS 2014-15Community Services (retired), Incomplete 23/04/2014
Disability, Superseded 29/02/2016

Implementation start date: 01/07/2014

Implementation end date: 30/06/2015

Conditional obligation:

This data element should only be reported in relation to service users who have an informal carer.

DSS specific information:

In the Disability Services Minimum Data Set (DS NMDS), this refers to the person’s main informal carer—the person who provides the most significant care and assistance related to the service user’s capacity to remain living in their current environment. It is recognised that two or more people may equally share the caring role (e.g. mother and father) however, for the purposes of this collection, characteristics are only requested for one of these carers.

If a person has more than one carer (e.g. a spouse and a son), the coding response to carer relationship should relate to the carer who provides the most significant care and assistance related to the person’s capacity to remain living in their current environment (i.e. the main carer). The expressed views of the service user and/or their carer or significant other should be considered to be the primary or principal carer in this regard.

Code 9 (other female relative), allows for the wide range of family members who may be involved in a caring role with the service user. This code therefore includes the female family members not listed in the codes elsewhere (e.g. aunts, nieces, female cousins, grandmothers, step mother, step daughters and so on).

Similarly, code 10 (other male relative) covers the range of male family members who may act as carers. This code includes the male family members not listed in the codes elsewhere (e.g. uncles, nephews, male cousins, grandfathers, male grandchildren, step father, step sons and so on).

Code 88 Other relationship is not used in the DS NMDS.


Disability Services NMDS 2015–16Disability, Superseded 28/09/2016

Implementation start date: 01/07/2015

Implementation end date: 30/06/2016

Conditional obligation:

In the Disability Services Minimum Data Set (DS NMDS), this data element should only be reported in relation to service users that have an informal carer ('Person—Informal carer existence indicator', code N = 1).

DSS specific information:

In the Disability Services Minimum Data Set (DS NMDS), this data element refers to the service user’s main informal carer—the person who provides the most significant care and assistance related to the service user’s capacity to remain living in their current environment. It is recognised that two or more people may equally share the caring role (e.g. mother and father) however, for the purposes of this collection, characteristics are only requested for one of these carers.

If a person has more than one carer (e.g. a spouse and a son), the coding response to carer relationship should relate to the carer who provides the most significant care and assistance related to the person’s capacity to remain living in their current environment (i.e. the main carer). The expressed views of the service user and/or their carer or significant other should be considered to be the primary or principal carer in this regard.

Code 9 (other female relative), allows for the wide range of family members who may be involved in a caring role with the service user. This code therefore includes the female family members not listed in the codes elsewhere (e.g. aunts, nieces, female cousins, grandmothers, step mother, step daughters and so on).

Similarly, code 10 (other male relative) covers the range of male family members who may act as carers. This code includes the male family members not listed in the codes elsewhere (e.g. uncles, nephews, male cousins, grandfathers, male grandchildren, step father, step sons and so on).

Code 88 Other relationship is not used in the DS NMDS.


Disability Services NMDS 2016–17Disability, Superseded 15/12/2017

Implementation start date: 01/07/2016

Implementation end date: 30/06/2017

Conditional obligation:

In the Disability Services National Minimum Data Set (DS NMDS), this data element should only be reported in relation to service users that have an informal carer ('Person—informal carer existence indicator, code N', with a value of 1).

DSS specific information:

In the Disability Services National Minimum Data Set (DS NMDS), this data element refers to the service user’s main informal carer—the person who provides the most significant care and assistance related to the service user’s capacity to remain living in their current environment. It is recognised that two or more people may equally share the caring role (e.g. mother and father) however, for the purposes of this collection, characteristics are only requested for one of these carers.

If a person has more than one carer (e.g. a spouse and a son), the coding response to carer relationship should relate to the carer who provides the most significant care and assistance related to the person’s capacity to remain living in their current environment (i.e. the main carer). The expressed views of the service user and/or their carer or significant other should be considered to be the primary or principal carer in this regard.

Code 9 (other female relative), allows for the wide range of family members who may be involved in a caring role with the service user. This code therefore includes the female family members not listed in the codes elsewhere (e.g. aunts, nieces, female cousins, grandmothers, step mother, step daughters and so on).

Similarly, code 10 (other male relative) covers the range of male family members who may act as carers. This code includes the male family members not listed in the codes elsewhere (e.g. uncles, nephews, male cousins, grandfathers, male grandchildren, step father, step sons and so on).

Code 88 Other relationship is not used in the DS NMDS.