SEIFA puts all 9 SNHN LGAs in the most-advantaged national decile. Yet the catchment carries 87,490 income-support recipients (97.8 per 1,000 residents) and NDIS participation has grown +41.7% in the four years to 2025-12. Inside decile 10, IRSD raw scores still span 55 points — there are real differences.
SA2-level composite need score across the three hub LGAs (Hornsby, Ryde, Northern Beaches). 30% 65+ share + 25% LBOTE + 25% unemployment + 20% inverse household income, z-scored across the full 69-SA2 catchment so scores are comparable between LGAs.
| SA2 | Population | 65+ % | LBOTE % | Unemp % | HH income / wk | Composite |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Castle Hill - East · Hornsby | 5,670 | 36.1% | 41.9% | 4.1% | $2,014 | +1.69 |
| Eastwood · Ryde | 18,974 | 17.4% | 68.8% | 5.7% | $1,953 | +1.43 |
| Macquarie Park - Marsfield · Ryde | 23,818 | 14.1% | 59.7% | 6.6% | $1,924 | +1.37 |
| Wahroonga (West) - Waitara · Hornsby | 11,877 | 17.7% | 57.7% | 5.0% | $2,155 | +0.98 |
| Hornsby - East · Hornsby | 11,943 | 12.6% | 62.4% | 5.2% | $1,817 | +0.94 |
| Ryde - North · Ryde | 20,291 | 16.1% | 48.3% | 5.1% | $1,889 | +0.88 |
| West Ryde - Meadowbank · Ryde | 20,102 | 13.2% | 55.9% | 5.3% | $2,019 | +0.82 |
| Epping (East) - North Epping · Hornsby | 14,404 | 14.0% | 57.5% | 4.9% | $2,385 | +0.60 |
| Ryde - South · Ryde | 11,972 | 10.7% | 58.2% | 4.8% | $2,158 | +0.48 |
| Cherrybrook · Hornsby | 19,082 | 18.8% | 50.0% | 4.6% | $2,924 | +0.45 |
This is the kind of evidence the Northern Sydney Wellbeing Collaborative can put in a board paper for the July 2026 hub launch. Trade off the components, change the weights, drop the threshold — every SA2 keeps a defensible audit trail back to ABS Census 2021.
SEIFA 2021 produces four indexes per LGA. IRSD (Disadvantage), IRSAD (Advantage & Disadvantage), IER (Economic Resources), IEO (Education & Occupation). All 9 SNHN LGAs sit at decile 10 across every index — the variance is in the raw scores.
DSS payments per LGA, latest quarter. Five core income-support streams (age pension, DSP, carer payment, jobseeker, parenting) stacked. Family Tax Benefit and rent assistance excluded — those overlap with working incomes.
One line per LGA, bold for the whole catchment. SNHN's NDIS roll has grown +41.7% in the 4 years to 2025-12 — a structural shift in disability service load.
Absolute counts favour the biggest LGAs. The per-1,000 rate normalises against population — surfaces which LGAs carry the highest relative load. Catchment rate: 97.8 per 1,000.
For each LGA, the composition of its income-support cohort — age pension dominates everywhere, but the DSP + carer + jobseeker tail varies. This is the picture commissioning briefs need when prioritising programs.
4-year growth in NDIS participants per LGA (Dec 2021 → Dec 2025). Catchment averaged +41.7%, but the spread between fastest and slowest LGAs is wide.
Each card: IRSD score, income-support load, NDIS participants, and an NDIS sparkline since 2021.
Source data and processing:
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