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THE AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL REGION


GEOGRAPHICAL AREA

The Australian Capital Region (ACR) comprises the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), the South Eastern Statistical Division (SD) and Tumut Shire (A) Statistical Local Area (SLA) of New South Wales (NSW).

SLAs are based on the boundaries of incorporated bodies of local government where these exist. These bodies are the Local Government Councils and the geographical areas which they administer are known as Local Government Areas (LGAs).

According to the 2005 edition of the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) (cat. no. 1216.0), the South Eastern SD includes the following LGAs - LGA names followed by (C) refer to Cities, while those followed by (A) refer to other Areas: Bega Valley (A), Bombala (A), Boorowa (A), Cooma-Monaro (A), Eurobodalla (A), Goulburn Mulwaree (A), Harden (A), Palerang (A), Queanbeyan (C), Snowy River (A), Upper Lachlan (A), Yass Valley (A) and Young (A).

The Canberra-Queanbeyan SD is an important urban planning area of the ACR. In the 2005 ASGC, this SD includes the ACT and NSW SLAs of Cooma-Monaro (A) - Pt A, Palerang (A) - Pt A, Queanbeyan (C) and Yass Valley (A) - Pt A.

LGA changes from 2004 ASGC

The 2005 edition of the ASGC detailed one change to the geographical boundaries of LGAs within the ACR. In this change, parts of Tumut Shire (A) and Upper Lachlan (A) were added to Yass Valley (A).

Between the 2004 and 2005 editions of the ASGC, several LGAs were also renamed:

• Goulburn Mulwaree (A) was renamed from Greater Argyle (A);
• Palerang (A) was renamed from Eastern Capital City Regional (A);
• Queanbeyan (C) was renamed from Greater Queanbeyan (C); and
• Tumut Shire (A) was renamed from Tumut (A).

The total area for the Canberra-Queanbeyan SD was 4332.3 km2, with a population density of 85.8 persons per km2. The Canberra-Queanbeyan SD comprised 7% of the total area of the ACR.

Of all SLAs within the ACR, Upper Lachlan (A) covered the largest area at 7,101.9 km2 (12% of the total ACR). This was followed by Bega Valley (A) (6,279.6 km2, or 11% of the ACR) and Snowy River (A) (6,029.7 km2, or 10% of the ACR). Goulburn Mulwaree (A) - Goulburn had the smallest area with 55.4 km2.

Goulburn Mulwaree (A) - Goulburn was the most densely populated SLA within the ACR, with 383.7 people per km2. Queanbeyan (C) followed with 215.6 people per km2. Bombala (A) and Palerang (A) - Pt B were the least densely populated SLAs within the ACR, with 0.6 and 0.9 people per km2, respectively.

15.1 AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL REGION, Area and population density - 30 June 2005
		Estimated resident population(a)	Area	Population density
Statistical Local Area		no.	km2	persons per km2
Canberra-Queanbeyan Statistical District
	Australian Capital Territory	325 161	2 349	138.4
	Cooma-Monaro (A) - Pt A	318	303	1.1
	Palerang (A) - Pt A	8 255	1 362	6.1
	Queanbeyan (C)	37 169	172	215.6
	Yass Valley (A) - Pt A	913	146	6.3
	Total	371 816	4 332	85.8
Bega Valley (A)		32 431	6 280	5.2
Bombala (A)		2 534	3 944	0.6
Boorowa (A)		2 495	2 579	1.0
Cooma-Monaro (A) - Pt B		9 474	4 926	1.9
Eurobodalla (A)		36 389	3 422	10.6
Goulburn Mulwaree (A) - Goulburn		21 274	55	383.7
Goulburn Mulwaree (A) Bal		5 838	3 165	1.8
Harden (A)		3 773	1 869	2.0
Palerang (A) - Pt B		3 215	3 772	0.9
Snowy River (A)		7 293	6 030	1.2
Tumut Shire (A)		11 347	4 566	2.5
Upper Lachlan (A)		7 328	7 102	1.0
Yass Valley (A) - Pt B		12 023	3 853	3.1
Young (A)		12 035	2 694	4.5
Total Australian Capital Region		539 265	58 588	9.2
(a) Preliminary figures.
Source: Regional Population Growth, Australia, Electronic Delivery, June 2005 (cat. no. 3218.0.55.001).

ESTIMATED RESIDENT POPULATION

As at 30 June 2005, the estimated resident population of the ACR was 539,300 people. This represented an increase of 0.7% (3,600 people) over the 2004 population (535,700 people), and a 4.6% increase from the 2000 population (515,500 people).

Within the ACR, 69% of the population (371,800 people) lived within the Canberra-Queanbeyan SD.

Between 2000 and 2005, the average annual growth rate for the total ACR population was 0.9%. The Canberra-Queanbeyan SD population also experienced an annual average growth rate of 0.9%. Between 2004 and 2005 the ACR population increased by 0.7% while the population of the Canberra-Queanbeyan SD increased by 0.6%.

Between 2000 and 2005, the populations of Bombala (A) and Harden (A) both declined, dropping by an annual average of 1.3% and 0.5%, respectively.

15.2 ESTIMATED RESIDENT POPULATION, Australian Capital Region
		ERP at 30 June			Change
		2000	2004	2005(a)	2000 to 2005(a)(b)	2004 to 2005(a)
Statistical Local Area		no.	no.	no.	%	no.	%
Canberra-Queanbeyan Statistical District
	Australian Capital Territory	315 215	324 119	325 161	0.6	1 042	0.3
	Cooma-Monaro (A) - Pt A	272	314	318	3.2	4	1.3
	Palerang (A) - Pt A	7 507	8 138	8 255	1.9	117	1.4
	Queanbeyan (C)	32 244	36 274	37 169	2.9	895	2.5
	Yass Valley (A) - Pt A	891	923	913	0.5	-10	-1.1
	Total	356 129	369 768	371 816	0.9	2 048	0.6
Bega Valley (A)		30 131	31 905	32 431	1.5	526	1.6
Bombala (A)		2 702	2 541	2 534	-1.3	-7	-0.3
Boorowa (A)		2 450	2 472	2 495	0.4	23	0.9
Cooma-Monaro (A) - Pt B		9 413	9 444	9 474	0.1	30	0.3
Eurobodalla (A)		33 191	35 846	36 389	1.9	543	1.5
Goulburn Mulwaree (A) - Goulburn		21 269	21 258	21 274	-	16	0.1
Goulburn Mulwaree (A) Bal		5 192	5 716	5 838	2.4	122	2.1
Harden (A)		3 869	3 765	3 773	-0.5	8	0.2
Palerang (A) - Pt B		3 019	3 169	3 215	1.3	46	1.5
Snowy River (A)		6 955	7 311	7 293	1.0	-18	-0.2
Tumut Shire (A)		11 319	11 364	11 347	-	-17	-0.1
Upper Lachlan (A)		7 167	7 321	7 328	0.4	7	0.1
Yass Valley (A) - Pt B		10 876	11 895	12 023	2.0	128	1.1
Young (A)		11 842	11 938	12 035	0.3	97	0.8
Total Australian Capital Region		515 524	535 713	539 265	0.9	3 552	0.7
- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)
(a) Estimates for 30 June 2005 are preliminary.
(b) Average annual growth rate.
Source: Regional Population Growth, Australia, Electronic Delivery, June 2005 (cat. no. 3218.0.55.001).

DEMOGRAPHICS

Age structure

There are a number of differences between the age distribution of the ACT and that of the rest of the ACR. The ACT has proportionately fewer people aged less than 15 years or over 55 years, but proportionately more people aged between 16 and 37 years when compared with the rest of the ACR. The largest differences between the ACT population and the rest of the ACR exist for young adults aged 19-30 years. This is associated with tertiary students studying within the ACT, as well as other young adults coming to the ACT to take up employment opportunities.

15.3 AGE DISTRIBUTION, Australian Capital Region - 30 June 2005

15.4 AGE STRUCTURE AND MEDIAN AGE, Australian Capital Region(a) - 30 June
	Proportion of population in age group
	0-14 years	15-64 years	65 years and over	Median age
	%	%	%	years
ACT
2000	20.8	70.9	8.3	33.1
2001	20.5	71.0	8.6	33.3
2002	20.2	71.0	8.8	33.6
2003	19.8	71.1	9.0	33.9
2004	19.5	71.2	9.3	34.2
2005	19.2	71.2	9.6	34.5
Rest of ACR
2000	21.6	63.9	14.5	38.5
2001	21.3	63.9	14.7	38.9
2002	21.0	64.0	15.0	39.4
2003	20.6	64.2	15.2	39.8
2004	20.3	64.2	15.5	40.4
2005	19.9	64.3	15.8	40.8
Total
2000	21.1	68.2	10.7	35.1
2001	20.8	68.2	11.0	35.4
2002	20.5	68.3	11.2	35.8
2003	20.1	68.4	11.5	36.1
2004	19.8	68.4	11.8	36.5
2005	19.5	68.4	12.1	36.8
(a) Based on the 2005 edition of the Australian Standard Geographic Classification (ASGC) (cat. no. 1216.0).
Source: ABS data available on request, Regional Population Unit.

Births

In 2004, there were 6,600 births registered to people living in the ACR, which was 10% less than the number of births registered in 1994 (7,300 births).

Of the 6,600 births, 64% (4,200 births) were to mothers usually resident in the ACT. The second highest proportion was 9% (586 births) to mothers usually resident in Greater Queanbeyan (C). The Canberra-Queanbeyan sub-region accounted for 74% (4,900) of all births registered to ACR residents in 2004.

Of the babies born in the ACR, 52% (3,400) were boys and 48% (3,200) were girls.

Mothers aged 30-34 years registered the highest proportion of births in 2004, accounting for 35% of all births to people living in the ACR. Mothers aged 25-29 years registered the next highest proportion, accounting for 26% of births, followed by mothers aged 35-39 years at 19%.

Deaths

There were 3,100 deaths of residents of the ACR registered in 2004. Of these, 1,400 deaths (46%) were of people usually resident in the ACT. Eurobodalla (A) had the second highest number of deaths (370 deaths, or 12%), followed by Bega Valley (A) (250 deaths, or 8%).

The number of male deaths in the ACR was 1,700 (53% of total deaths) for 2004, compared with 1,500 female deaths (47%).

Natural increase

Natural increase (the excess of births over deaths) in 2004 for the ACR was 3,400 people.

Within the region, the ACT recorded population growth of 2,800 people due to natural increase, while Greater Queanbeyan (C) recorded a natural increase of 390 people. In Eurobodalla (A), there were more deaths registered than births, resulting in a loss of 60 people due to natural decrease in population.

Total fertility rate

The total fertility rate (TFR) represents the number of children a female would bear during her lifetime if she experienced current age-specific fertility rates at each age of her reproductive life.

The TFR for the ACR in 2004 was 1.70 babies per woman, below the national level of 1.77 babies per woman for the same period, and marginally higher than the ACR rate recorded in 2003 (1.69).

The highest TFR within the ACR was in Young (A) at 2.41 babies per woman. This was followed by Tumut (A) (2.22) and Eurobodalla (A) (2.05).

15.5 DEMOGRAPHIC SUMMARY, Australian Capital Region(a) - 2004
		Births	Deaths	Natural increase	Total fertility rate(b)
Statistical Local Area		no.	no.	no.	%
Canberra-Queanbeyan Sub-Region
	Australian Capital Territory	4 174	1 423	2 751	2
	Cooma-Monaro (A) - Pt A	np	np	np	np
	Eastern Capital Reg (A) - Pt A	89	16	73	2
	Greater Queanbeyan (C)	586	199	387	2
	Yass Valley (A) - Pt A	np	np	np	np
	Total sub-region	4 863	1 640	3 223	2
Bega Valley (A)		258	246	12	2
Bombala (A)		31	31	-	2
Boorowa (A)		22	23	-1	2
Cooma-Monaro (A) - Pt B		106	64	42	2
Eastern Capital Reg (A) - Pt B		33	29	4	2
Eurobodalla (A)		309	368	-59	2
Greater Argyle (A) - Goulburn		222	219	3	2
Greater Argyle (A) Bal		57	35	22	2
Harden (A)		41	39	2	2
Snowy River (A)		72	29	43	1
Tumut (A)		152	108	44	2
Upper Lachlan (A)		71	65	6	2
Yass Valley (A) - Pt B		157	77	80	2
Young (A)		161	136	25	2
Total Australian Capital Region		6 555	3 109	3 446	2
- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)
np not available for publication but included in totals where applicable, unless otherwise indicated
(a) The statistical area boundaries used in the compilation of these statistics are those in existence at 1 July 2004.
(b) The average total fertility rate over the three years 2002 to 2004.
Source: Demography, New South Wales, 2004 (cat. no. 3311.1.55.001); Demography, Australian Capital Territory, 2004 (cat. no. 3311.8.55.001).

LABOUR FORCE

For the purposes of labour force statistics, the Australian Capital Region (ACR) refers to the Australian Capital Territory and the South Eastern Statistical Region of New South Wales.

On an original basis, the unemployment rate for the ACR has declined since the mid-1990s. From 6.8% in 1995, the annual average unemployment rate rose to 7.7% in 1996 and 1997, before falling to 3.6% in 2005. In comparison, the annual average unemployment rate at the national level rose from 8.2% in 1995 to 8.3% in 1997, then fell to 5.1% in 2005.

15.6 UNEMPLOYMENT RATE(a), Australian Capital Region(b) and Australia

In 2005, the annual average labour force participation rate for the ACR was 67.2%. This represented a decrease of 1.3 percentage points from 2000 (68.5%).

15.7 LABOUR FORCE STATUS(a), Australian Capital Region(b) - Annual averages
	Employed full-time	Employed Total	Unemployed Total	Labour force	Unemployment rate	Participation rate
	'000	'000	'000	'000	%	%
2000	186.8	254.8	14.5	269.3	5.4	68.5
2001	182.7	252.7	14.7	267.4	5.5	66.7
2002	190.4	262.4	14.0	276.3	5.1	68.0
2003	195.9	271.4	13.1	284.6	4.6	69.2
2004	194.1	268.6	11.2	279.7	4.0	67.4
2005	194.9	270.5	10.2	280.7	3.6	67.2
(a) Original series.
(b) For the purposes of these data, refers to the Australian Capital Territory and South Eastern Statistical Region of New South Wales.
Source: Labour Force, Australia, Detailed - Electronic Delivery, Apr 2006 (cat. no. 6291.0.55.001).

Occupation

In February 2006, just over a quarter (25%) of all employed persons in the ACR were employed as Professionals. In comparison, 19% of all employed persons in Australia were in professional occupations. The ACR also had slightly higher proportions of persons employed as Managers and administrators (10%, compared with 9% nationally), and Associate professionals (14%, compared with 12% nationally).

The ACR had proportionately fewer persons employed as Tradespersons and related workers (11%, compared with 13% nationally), or as Labourers and related workers (5%, compared with 9% nationally).

15.8 EMPLOYED PERSONS BY OCCUPATION(a) - February 2001 and February 2006
	Australian Capital Region(b)		Australia
	Feb Qtr 2001	Feb Qtr 2006	Feb Qtr 2001	Feb Qtr 2006
Occupation	%	%	%	%
Managers and administrators	8.5	10.5	7.3	8.8
Professionals	25.9	25.3	18.3	19.6
Associate professionals	12.6	13.8	11.5	12.2
Tradespersons and related workers	9.3	10.7	12.7	12.6
Advanced clerical and service workers	3.6	4.3	4.5	4.1
Intermediate clerical, sales and service workers	19.7	16.2	17.6	16.3
Intermediate production and transport workers	5.7	5.3	8.4	8.1
Elementary clerical, sales and service workers	8.4	9.0	10.1	9.6
Labourers and related workers	6.2	4.9	9.7	8.6
Total	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
(a) Original series.
(b) For the purposes of these data, refers to the Australian Capital Territory and South Eastern Statistical Region of New South Wales.
Source: Labour Force, Australia, Detailed, Quarterly, Feb 2006 (cat. no. 6291.0.55.003).

Industry

The ACR has the highest proportion of people employed in Government administration and defence. In February 2006, 19% of employed persons in the ACR were in this industry, compared with 4% of employed persons nationally.

15.9 EMPLOYED PERSONS(a), By industry - February 2001 and February 2006
	Australian Capital Region(b)		Australia
	Feb Qtr 2001	Feb Qtr 2006	Feb Qtr 2001	Feb Qtr 2006
Industry	%	%	%	%
Agriculture, forestry and fishing	5.2	2.9	4.7	3.7
Mining	*0.3	*0.1	0.8	1.3
Manufacturing	5.1	3.8	12.4	10.6
Electricity, gas and water supply	*0.8	*1.0	0.7	0.9
Construction	5.7	8.7	7.2	8.9
Wholesale trade	2.8	3.5	4.7	4.2
Retail trade	11.6	11.7	14.6	14.8
Accommodation, cafes and restaurants	4.6	4.9	5.2	4.7
Transport and storage	3.6	2.5	4.7	4.6
Communication services	*1.6	*1.4	2.0	1.8
Finance and insurance	2.1	*1.7	3.7	3.7
Property and business services	14.1	13.8	12.2	12.1
Government administration and defence	18.1	19.2	4.2	4.5
Education	8.8	8.1	6.6	7.1
Health and community services	8.3	9.0	9.8	10.5
Cultural and recreational services	3.2	3.4	2.5	2.6
Personal and other services	4.1	4.3	3.8	4.0
Total	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
* estimate has a relative standard error of 25% to 50% and should be used with caution
(a) Original series.
(b) For the purposes of these data, refers to the Australian Capital Territory and South Eastern Statistical Region of New South Wales.
Source: Labour Force, Australia, Detailed, Quarterly, Feb 2006 (cat. no. 6291.0.55.003).

WAGE AND SALARY EARNERS

Wage and salary earners are defined as people aged 15 years and over who have submitted an individual income tax return and for whom wage and salary income was the principal (or main) source of income for the financial year.

For the period 2002-03, there were 222,489 wage and salary earners in the ACR. Of these, 67.7% (150,574) were from the ACT.

Of the total wage and salary earners in 2002-03, 19.6% (43,540 people) were in the total income bracket of $52,000 to less than $78,000. Besides wages and salaries, total income also includes any other income the wage and salary earners received over the financial year from other sources, for example, shares, investments, or government cash benefits.

For the ACR minus the ACT, the highest proportion of people were in the total income bracket of $20,800 to less than $31,200 with 20.7% or 14,899 people falling into this bracket.

TOURISM

The ACR comprises four tourism regions that when combined, closely align with ACR boundaries. These tourism regions are: Snowy Mountains (Bombala, Cooma-Monaro Part B, Snowy River, Tumbarumba and Tumut SLAs); South Coast (Bega Valley, Eurobodalla and Shoalhaven Part A and B SLAs); Capital Country (Boorowa, Cooma-Monaro Part A, Eastern Capital City Regional Part A and B, Greater Argyle - Goulburn and Bal, Greater Queanbeyan, Harden, Upper Lachlan, Wingecarribee, Yass Valley Part A and B, and Young SLAs); and Canberra. These combined regions include the non-ACR SLAs of Shoalhaven Part A and B and Wingecarribee.

In 2005, the ACR had 281 tourist accommodation establishments, consisting of hotels, motels and serviced apartments, up 12 establishments from 2004 (269). In 2005, the South Coast had the highest number of establishments with 91, and Canberra had the lowest with 58.

Within the 281 establishments in the ACR, there were 11,916 guest rooms with a total of 36,432 bed spaces available in the year ended 2005. Despite having the lowest number of establishments, Canberra had both the highest number of guest rooms (4,910) and bed spaces (13,583) of all tourism regions in the ACR.

The room occupancy rate for the ACR in 2005 was 56%. Canberra had the highest room occupancy rate of all tourism regions in the ACR at 69%. The Snowy Mountains had the lowest rate at 41%.

The ACR had total accommodation takings of $277.8m during 2005. Canberra had the highest proportion of these takings at 55% ($152.3m), followed by the Snowy Mountains (18% or $49.4m).

15.10 TOURIST ACCOMMODATION, Australian Capital Region(a) - 2005
	Establishments	Guest Rooms	Bed spaces	Persons employed	Guest arrival	Room occupancy rate	Takings from accommodation
Tourism Region (TR)	no.	no.	no.	no.	'000	%	$m
South Coast (TR)	91	2 287	7 299	779	396	45.3	36.1
Snowy Mountains (TR)	67	2 586	9 506	490	278	40.6	49.4
Capital Country (TR)	65	2 133	6 044	847	418	48.7	39.9
Canberra (TR)	58	4 910	13 583	2 379	859	69.4	152.3
Total ACR	281	11 916	36 432	4 495	1 951	55.7	277.8
(a) For the purposes of these data, refers to the Australian Capital Territory and South Eastern Statistical Region of New South Wales.
Source: ABS data available on request, Transport and Tourism Data Management.

BIBLIOGRAPHY


ABS

Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC), 2004 and 2005, cat. no. 1216.0.

Demography, Data available on request

Demography, New South Wales, 2004, cat. no. 3311.1.55.001.

Demography, Australian Capital Territory, 2004, cat. no. 3311.8.55.001.

Labour Force, Australia, Detailed - Electronic Delivery, Apr 2006, cat. no. 6291.0.55.001.

Labour Force, Australia, Detailed, Quarterly, Feb 2006, cat. no. 6291.0.55.003.

Regional Population Growth, Australia, Electronic Delivery, June 2005, cat. no 3218.0.55.001.

Regional Wage and Salary Earners Statistics, Australia - Data Cubes, 2002-03, cat. no. 5673.0.55.003.

Transport and Tourism Data Management, Data available on request.