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HOUSEHOLD AND FAMILY

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NUMBER OF DEPENDANTS AGED 0 TO 24 YEARS

This data item is only attached to parents/guardians in a family and indicates how many dependants aged 0 to 24 years old they have. It only applies to dependants who usually live in the same dwelling.

Dependants include both children under 15 years (see Number of children aged 0 to 14 years [FAMNKIDC]) and dependent students aged 15 to 24 years (see Number of dependent students aged 15 to 24 years [FAMNDPSC]). Unlike children under 15 years, dependent students are part of the labour force survey and have their own records in the CURF.

In a lone parent family, the number of dependants are assigned to the lone parent or guardian record.

In a couple family, both parents/guardians have the number of dependants assigned to their records. For example, if both parents records indicate 1 dependant, they have 1 dependant together, not 1 for each parent (i.e. not 2 dependants in the family).

Other members in the family, including the dependent students aged 15 to 24 years, will be recorded as 'Not a parent / Not applicable.' Unrelated members in the household will also be recorded as 'Not a parent / Not applicable'

The data item is limited to '2 or more children aged 0 - 14' (see Number of children aged between 0 and 14 years).

For this data item, the number of dependants relates to the smallest possible number, and can be thought of as "at least this many dependants".

Examples:

• a family with 3 dependent students aged over 15 is a family with exactly 3 dependants (no children under 15).
• a family with 1 child under 15 and 2 dependent students is also a family with exactly 3 dependants (as the exact number of children is known).

However;

• a family with '2 or more children' under 15 and 1 dependent student has 3 or more dependants (the exact number of children is not known).

All of these families are reported as having '3 or more dependants'

For more information on families and how ABS defines household and family characteristics, refer to the publication Family, Household and Income Unit Variables, 2005 (cat. no. 1286.0).

Family characteristics are not collected in special dwellings (see Residence Status [URSTATC]).

Identifier:		FAMNDEPC
Level:		Person
Source:		LFS
Frequency:		Monthly
Population:		All
Categories:
0		No dependants aged 0 - 24
1		1 dependant
2		2 or more dependants
3		3 or more dependants
4		4 or more dependants
5		5 or more dependants
6		6 or more dependants
7		7 or more dependants
98		Special dwelling
99		Not a parent / Not applicable

Related Information

Labour Force Survey Standard Products and Data Item Guide: Dependants (cat. no. 6103.0)
Labour Force Survey Standard Products and Data Item Guide: Number of dependants 0-24 years attending full time education (cat. no. 6103.0)
Labour Force Survey Standard Products and Data Item Guide: Family (cat. no. 6103.0)
Labour Statistics: Concepts, Sources and Methods: 16.14 Families and Households (cat. no. 6102.0.55.001)
Family, Household and Income Unit Variables, 2005: The concept of the family (cat. no. 1286.0)
Family, Household and Income Unit Variables, 2005: Core variables describing family structure (cat. no. 1286.0)
Family, Household and Income Unit Variables, 2005: Definitions of common concepts - Dependent child (cat. no. 1286.0)
Family, Household and Income Unit Variables, 2005: Relationship in household - Classification and coding (cat. no. 1286.0)
Census Dictionary, 2011: Child (cat. no. 2901.0)

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