Description
Estimated proportion of First Nations Australians who were counted as homeless on Census night (meeting criteria of one or more of the ABS’ Homeless Operational Groups).
Data period
Census night (10 August) 2021
Data source
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Census of Population and Housing 2021 (ABS 2022)
Region types reported:
- Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) 2021 Main Structure regions: Statistical Area 3 (SA3), Statistical Area 4 (SA4), States and Territories, Australia.
- ASGS 2021 Indigenous structure regions: Indigenous Regions (IREG).
Suppression rules
Data have been suppressed if the denominator for the percentage was less than 100, due to concerns about the reliability of percentages based on small denominators.
Notes
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have been underenumerated in the Census and therefore, estimates of homelessness based on Census data will be an underestimation.
- The ABS’ definition of homelessness has been developed for application to the general population in Australia.
- People counted as homeless were assigned to one of 6 Homeless Operational Groups, following an ordered hierarchy:
- Persons living in improvised dwellings, tents or sleeping out
- Persons living in short term supported accommodation for the homeless
- Persons staying temporarily with other households
- Persons living in boarding houses
- Persons living temporarily in other lodgings
- Persons living in severely crowded dwellings
For example, people who usually lived in severely crowded households but were living in an improvised dwelling, tent or sleeping out on Census night would be counted within the 1st operational group and not the 6th.
- The Homeless Operational Group, “Persons living in 'severely' crowded dwellings”, refers to usual residents in dwellings needing 4 or more extra bedrooms under the Canadian National Occupancy Standard (CNOS).
- This group is included as homeless on the basis that individual residents are unlikely to have control of and access to space for social relations.
- Some people in this operational group may not consider themselves to be homeless.
- In some areas, like Very Remote parts of the Northern Territory, severe overcrowding is particularly common among First Nations households. In such areas, First Nations Australians enumerated in this operational group can make up over 90% of the First Nations population counted as homeless.
- Geographical breakdowns were based on Place of Enumeration. Some people may have been away from their usual residence (where applicable) on the night of the Census.
- Data have been randomly adjusted by the ABS to protect confidentiality. No reliance should be placed on small numbers.
Reference material
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) (2022) Census of Population and Housing [TableBuilder], ABS website, accessed 12 May 2023.
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) (2017) Canadian National Occupancy Standard [METeOR], AIHW website, accessed 1 December 2021.