4725.0 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Wellbeing: A focus on children and youth, Apr 2011  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 23/05/2012  Reissue
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Contents >> Income and Economic Resources >> Characteristics of personal income earners


INCOME AND ECONOMIC RESOURCES: CHARACTERISTICS OF PERSONAL INCOME EARNERS

This article is part of a comprehensive series released as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Wellbeing: A focus on children and youth.

Note: In this section, the terms 'youth' and 'young people' refer to people aged 15–24 years. Data presented are from the ABS National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey, 2008 (cat. no. 4714.0).

KEY MESSAGES

Of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 15–19 years in 2008:
  • 32% received government pensions, allowances or benefits as their main source of gross weekly personal income
  • 32% received wages or salaries as their main source of gross weekly personal income.
Of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 20–24 years in 2008:
  • 42% received government pensions, allowances or benefits as their main source of gross weekly personal income
  • 40% received wages or salaries as their main source of gross weekly personal income.

CHARACTERISTICS OF PERSONAL INCOME EARNERS

The 2008 NATSISS gathered information on the main source of gross weekly personal income which is determined by the highest weekly amount received from a particular income source. The level of personal income received by young people is not necessarily an indicator of their living standards, as they may still be living with their parents or receiving other parental support. In 2008, over half (55%) of young people were living with a parent or guardian. (For more information, see Family structure topic.)

At the time of the 2008 NATSISS, government pensions, allowances or benefits (36%) and wages or salaries (35%) were the main sources of gross weekly personal income most commonly received by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth. A small proportion (5%) of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth reported the Community Development Employment Projects program (CDEP) as their main source of personal income.

Young people aged 20–24 years were more likely than those aged 15–19 years to be receiving government pensions, allowances or benefits (42% compared with 32%), or wages or salaries (40% compared with 32%) as their main source of personal income.

2.1 SELECTED MAIN SOURCES OF GROSS WEEKLY PERSONAL INCOME BY AGE GROUPS, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth aged 15–24 years—2008
Graph:Selected Main Sources of Gross Weekly Personal Income by Age Groups, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth aged 15-24 years—2008
(a) Difference between 15–19 and 20–24 year age groups is statistically significant.
Source: 2008 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey

A small proportion of young people aged 20–24 years received no personal income (7%), while over one-quarter of those aged 15–19 years had no personal income (28%).

Of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth aged 15–19 years who had no personal income:
  • most (80%) were currently studying
  • most (83%) were living with their parents.
In 2008, of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth, nearly four in ten (39%) in non-remote areas received a wage or salary as their main source of personal income, which was nearly double the rate of those in remote areas (21%). The same proportion of youth in non-remote and remote areas received government pensions, allowances or benefits as their main source of personal income (36%).

Similar proportions of young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander males and females aged 15–19 years were receiving wages or salaries as their main source of personal income (33% and 30% respectively). In contrast, a higher proportion of young males aged 20–24 years had wages or salaries as their main source of personal income (49%), compared with females in this age group (31%).

Young females were more likely than young males to be receiving government pensions, allowances or benefits as their main source of personal income (44% compared with 28%). This was the case among those aged 15–19 years and those aged 20–24 years. Young females were much more likely than young males to have caring responsibilities for children (32% compared with 9%). (For more information, see Young parents topic.)

2.2 SELECTED MAIN SOURCES OF GROSS WEEKLY PERSONAL INCOME BY SEX, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth aged 15–24 years—2008
Graph: Selected Main Sources of Gross Weekly Personal Income by Sex, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth aged 15-24 years—2008
(a) Difference between males and females is statistically significant.
(b) Difference between males and females is not statistically significant.
Source: 2008 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey


Overall, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth who were parents were less likely to be receiving wages or salaries as their main source of personal income than those who did not have children (23% compared with 38%). In contrast, young parents were twice as likely as those who were not young parents to be receiving government pensions, allowances or benefits as their main source of personal income (61% compared with 30%).

ACCESSING MONEY

The 2008 NATSISS asked youth about economic resources and methods of accessing money. The majority (87%) of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth had a bank or credit union account. A higher proportion of youth aged 20-24 years in non-remote areas had a bank or credit union account (99%), compared with those living in remote areas (93%). Nearly all (98%) young people earning a wage or salary as their main source of gross weekly personal income had a bank or credit union account, compared with 92% of those receiving government pensions, allowances or benefits as their main source of personal income, and 53% of those with no sources of personal income.

Among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth who had a bank or credit union account, the most common method used to access money was EFTPOS or ATM (95%). This method was more common among those receiving a wage or salary as their main source of gross weekly personal income, compared with those receiving government pensions, allowances or benefits as their main source of gross weekly personal income (98% compared with 93%). Other methods youth used to access their money were over the counter at a bank or credit union (13%), internet banking (11%) and phone banking (6%).

2.3 HAS A BANK ACCOUNT BY REMOTENESS, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth aged 15–24 years—2008

Graph: Whether has a Bank Account by Remoteness, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 15-24 years—2008
(a) Difference between non-remote and remote areas is not statistically significant.
(b) Difference between non-remote and remote areas is statistically significant.
Source: 2008 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey



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