NON-PRIVATE DWELLING
JUSTIFICATION
Census data about people residing in non-private dwellings are important for planning and delivery of services. Over 600,000 people were enumerated in non-private dwellings in the 2006 Census.
The classification of non-private dwellings (hotels, motels, hospitals, boarding houses, etc.) depends partly on the perceptions of the person in charge of the Census for the particular dwelling and the arrangements made for collecting data. As a result, information about non-private dwellings and the people in them tends to be less accurate than for private dwellings.
HISTORICAL INFORMATION
Non-private dwellings have been enumerated and classified in all Australian Censuses. Caravan parks were treated as non-private dwellings up until the 1981 Census. Since the 1986 Census, caravans in caravan parks have been enumerated as private dwellings using household forms.
From the 1996 Census onwards, self-contained dwellings in retirement villages and dwellings in manufactured home estates have been treated as private dwellings.
USER REQUIREMENTS
Information on persons in non-private dwellings is required for:
- analysis of programs for the aged and disabled and other special population groups
- policy analysis and policy formulation in the development and financing of projects in the areas of health, the aged, children and rehabilitation.
AVAILABILITY OF NON-CENSUS DATA
Government departments have information on government-funded institutions. However, generally only limited details are available on the characteristics of residents.
2006 CENSUS QUESTION
(Answered by Census Collector)
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