Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA) is a product developed especially for those interested in the assessment of the welfare of Australian communities. The ABS has developed four indexes to allow ranking of regions/areas, providing a method of determining the level of social and economic well-being in each region.
Each of the four indexes summarises different aspects of the socio-economic conditions of people living in an area; each is based upon a different set of social and economic information from the 2006 Census. The indexes provide more general measures of socio-economic status than is given by measuring, for example, income or unemployment alone.
SEIFA has a number of applications, including research into the relationship between socio-economic status and various health and educational outcomes, determining areas that require funding and services, and identifying new business opportunities.
More information on SEIFA can be found by browsing the links below, calling 1300 135 070 or emailing client.services@abs.gov.au.
| SEIFA
Historical SEIFA
2011 release schedule |
