2071.0 - Census of Population and Housing: Reflecting Australia - Stories from the Census, 2016  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 23/10/2017   
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GLOSSARY

For a comprehensive definition of terms, see the Census of Population and Housing: Census Dictionary, 2016 (cat. no. 2901.0).

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander household
An Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander household is any household where at least one usual resident was identified as being of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander origin.

Average number if hours worked
Average number of hours worked was calculated as the mean hours worked for employed persons, excluding those persons who did not state their hours of work.

Employed
For Census purposes, employed people are those aged 15 years and over who:

    • work for payment or profit, or as an unpaid helper in a family business, during the week prior to Census night
    • have a job from which they are on leave or otherwise temporarily absent or
    • are on strike or stood down temporarily.

Equivalised weekly household income
Equivalised weekly household income is household income adjusted on the basis of the household's size and composition, and this allows the relative standard of living of different households to be compared.

Flat or apartment
This category includes all dwellings in blocks of flats or apartments. These dwellings do not have their own private grounds and usually share a common entrance foyer or stairwell. This category also includes flats attached to houses such as granny flats, units, and houses converted into two or more flats.

Fully engaged
The fully engaged category includes persons who are engaged in either full-time work or study or who combine any hours of work with any hours of study.

Gender

Gender refers to the way in which a person identifies their masculine or feminine characteristics. A person's gender relates to their deeply held internal and individual sense of gender and is not always exclusively male or female. It may or may not correspond to their sex at birth. As gender is determined by the individual, it can therefore be fluid over time.

Incorporated enterprises
Incorporated enterprises are businesses that are registered as a separate legal entity to their members or owner/s. They are often termed limited liability companies. If the business incurs or defaults on debt, payment for that debt comes from the investment in the business, not the owner manager's personal property. Some common examples include banking services, supermarkets, telecommunications, air transport and legal services.

Median age
This is where half the population is older, while the other half is younger

Median Income
This is the level of income which divides the units in a group into two equal parts, one half having incomes above the median and the other half incomes below the median.

Non-private dwellings
Non-private dwellings provide a communal or transitory type of accommodation. Types of non-private dwellings include hotels, motels, guest houses, prisons, religious and charitable institutions, boarding schools, defence establishments, hospitals and other communal dwellings.

Non-school qualifications
Non-school qualifications describe the level of a person's highest completed qualification and includes people aged 15 years and over. The levels included in Non-school qualification: Level of education are:
  1. Postgraduate Degree Level (Postgraduate Degree Level, not further defined; Doctoral Degree Level; and Master Degree Level)
  2. Graduate Diploma and Graduate Certificate Level (Graduate Diploma and Graduate Certificate Level, not further defined; Graduate Diploma Level; and Graduate Certificate Level)
  3. Bachelor Degree Level
  4. Advanced Diploma and Diploma Level (Advanced Diploma and Diploma Level, not further defined; Advanced Diploma and Associate Degree Level; and Diploma Level)
  5. Certificate Level (Certificate Level, not further defined; Certificate III and IV Level; and Certificate I and II Level)

Occupied private dwelling
An occupied private dwelling is a private dwelling occupied by one or more people. A private dwelling is most often a house or flat. It can also be a caravan, houseboat, tent, or a house attached to an office, or rooms above a shop.

Older people
Older people are those who are aged 65 years or over and Australian usual residents.

Overcrowded household
An overcrowded household is where the dwelling requires one or more bedrooms to accommodate usual residents - based on the Canadian National Occupancy Standard.

Over-employment
Over-employment refers to a situation where employed people prefer to work fewer hours each week (taking into account how that would affect their income).

Quintile
Quintiles are based on all scores ordered from lowest to highest score. The lowest 20% of scores are given a quintile number of one, the next lowest 20% of scores are given a quintile number of two and so on, up to the highest 20% of scores which are given a quintile number of five.

Separate house
This is a house which is separated from other dwellings by a space of at least half a metre. A separate house may have a flat attached to it, such as a granny flat or converted garage. The number of storeys of separate houses is not recorded. Also included in this category are occupied accommodation units in manufactured home estates which are identified as separate houses.

Service industries
Industries providing services have been defined as the following industry groups:
  • Electricity, gas, water and waste services
  • Wholesale trade
  • Retail trade
  • Accommodation and food services
  • Transport, postal and warehousing
  • Information media and telecommunications
  • Financial and insurance services
  • Rental, hiring and real estate services
  • Professional, scientific and technical services
  • Administrative and support services
  • Public administration and safety
  • Education and training
  • Health care and social assistance
  • Arts and recreation services
  • Other services.
Sex
Sex refers to a person's biological characteristics. A person's sex is usually described as being male or female. Some people may have both male and female characteristics, or neither male nor female characteristics, or other sexual characteristics. Sex is assigned at birth and is relatively fixed. However, a person's sex may change during their lifetime as a result of procedures commonly referred to as sex change, gender reassignment, gender affirmation, transsexual surgery, transgender reassignment or sexual reassignment.

Sex and/or gender diverse people
Sex and/or gender diverse people are people who gave a 'valid and intentional response of sex or gender other than male or female' to the 2016 Census question on sex. This group includes those who gave a response such as intersex, trans, non-binary, another gender-related response (e.g. gender fluid) and those who indicated they did not identify as male or female without any further qualifying information.

Sex Ratio
The number of males per hundred females.

Unemployed
For Census purposes, unemployed people are those aged 15 years and over who:
    • do not have a job but are actively looking for work and available to start work.

Unincorporated enterprises
Unincorporated enterprises are business entities for which the owner manager and the business are legally inseparable, making the owner liable for any business debts incurred. These enterprises cover a variety of activities, professions and trades, ranging from construction to hairdressing and garden maintenance services. Unincorporated businesses are usually run by sole proprietors or partnerships.

Working age
These are the people of traditional working age, usually aged 15-64 years old.