This document was added or updated on 30/10/2012.

The Census of Population and Housing aims to count people no matter where they are on Census Night - whether at home, away for work, on holiday, in hospital or anywhere else in Australia. It is also important to know where people live and so people are asked for their usual address, defined as the place they have lived, or expect to live, for six months or more of the calendar year. Two main types of population count can therefore be produced from the Census - according to where people were on Census Night (Place of Enumeration) and according to where they usually lived (Place of Usual Residence). The two counts are rarely identical for any particular area - because every area is likely to have some residents away on Census Night while at the same time have visitors from other areas. The Australian total is the same, if overseas visitors are removed from the Place of Enumeration count.

The Census usual resident counts are a key input to the official estimated resident population (see Australian Demographic Statistics, Dec 2011 (cat. no. 3101.0)) for preliminary estimated resident populations based on the 2011 Census). The resident population of an area is considered the best population to use for many purposes including electoral distribution and determining financial grants to local government (see Information Paper: Population Concepts, 2008 (cat. no. 3107.0.55.006)). By assigning people to the population counts of the areas where they usually live, the effects of people's travel and temporary living arrangements are removed.

In contrast, the Census 'place of enumeration' counts reflect not only the great majority of people who are at home on Census Night but also the activities of holiday makers, temporary workers, people with no usual address, cyclical workers (people who regularly move in and out of an area for work), and people away from home for other reasons. Place of enumeration counts also include overseas visitors (although they have been removed from the counts discussed in this article). As such, place of enumeration counts can to an extent inform about the non-resident population in an area, but are restricted by the fact that they relate to one point in time, every five years, and are based on people's own responses to a questionnaire covering many topics in brief.

For some areas, the net effect of some residents being away while other people have travelled to the area will be that there are more people counted in the area on Census Night than are usually resident there. Others will typically have fewer people present on Census Night than are usual residents. In recent censuses, some typical patterns of difference between usual resident and enumerated populations have been seen. For example, the inner parts of capital cities, particularly of the most populous States, often have higher enumerated than resident populations. People throughout a State, and from interstate, may have reason to visit a capital city, while a country area without tourist or commercial attractions or seasonal employment may not attract as many people as it loses, at any one time.

Recent Censuses have been held in winter, and outside the various state and territory school holidays, in order to minimise the number of people away from home on Census Night. While 95% of the population were at home on Census Night in 2011, not everyone's holidays are constrained by school terms and there appears to be a seasonal effect in Census data, with the cooler, southern areas of Australia in general having lower enumerated than resident population counts and the warmer, northern areas having higher enumerated than resident population counts. The exceptions are southern ski-field areas, which do attract tourists in winter. If the Census was held in summer, a wide range of south eastern holiday areas, both coastal and inland, would be affected by holiday makers, and would likely have higher enumerated than usual resident populations.

Areas with many workers on temporary contracts or on arrangements such as Fly in Fly out rosters have also had higher enumerated than usual resident population counts in recent Censuses. Depending on how they interpret the idea of 'usual residence', and factors such as the duration and roster arrangements of their job, some people will nominate the area they work in as their usual residence and others another area, for example, an area where their family is based. Areas with large numbers of people working under these arrangements are also mostly located in the north of Australia, accentuating the geographic pattern.


2011 PATTERN ACROSS AUSTRALIA

Most areas show a relatively small difference between the two types of count. In 2011, there were 87 Statistical Areas Level 4 (SA4s), excluding Migratory, Off-shore and Shipping SA4s, and of these 70 had a place of enumeration count between 2.5% higher and 2.5% lower than the place of usual residence count. The majority of SA4s had fewer people in the area on Census Night than usually lived there (62 out of 87 SA4s), most often by a relatively small margin. A smaller number of areas had more people present on Census Night than usually lived there (25 SA4s), including some areas where the difference was quite substantial.

Statistical Areas Level 4 (SA4s) are the largest regions below the State and Territory level in the Main Structure of the Australian Statistical Geography Standard. They are aggregations of whole Statistical Areas Level 3 and fit whole within State and Territory Boundaries. They are designed to reflect one or more whole labour markets and to have a population of 100,000 or more. In rural areas, SA4s generally represent aggregations of multiple small labour markets with socioeconomic connections or similar industry characteristics. Large regional city labour markets are generally defined by a single SA4. Within major metropolitan labour markets, SA4s represent sub-labour markets.

STATISTICAL AREAS LEVEL 4 BY PERCENTAGE DIFFERENCE(a) BETWEEN THE USUAL RESIDENT AND ENUMERATED POPULATION COUNTS(b)(c)



(a) Usual resident population is the denominator.
(b) Excludes Migratory, Offshore and Shipping SA4s and No Usual Address SA4s and overseas visitors.
(c) One contributor to the difference between the enumerated and usual resident population of the areas shown in the graph is people with no usual address. They are included in the count of the SA4 where they are enumerated, but on a usual residence basis they are assigned to a special category in each State, rather than one of the SA4s graphed above.


The geographic pattern of these differences can be seen on the map, Percentage difference between usual resident and enumerated population, Census 2011, Statistical Area Level 4 (SA4) on the Downloads tab.

Taking the southernmost states of Tasmania, Victoria and South Australia together, the only SA4s with higher enumerated than usual resident populations were inner areas of Melbourne and Adelaide (Melbourne - Inner by 3.0% and Adelaide - Central and Hills by 0.4%); Hume in Victoria, which contains alpine ski fields (3.2%); and South Australia - Outback (5.3%) which attracts tourists in winter and also includes mining areas. The Australian Capital Territory had an enumerated population almost identical to the usual resident population (just 0.1% higher).

In New South Wales, most areas had lower enumerated than usual resident populations. The SA4s with higher enumerated than usual resident populations were: Sydney - City and South (4.5%) which contains many visitors in hotels; Capital Region (4.9%), which includes the Snowy Mountains ski fields; the geographically large outback Far West and Orana area (1.8%) where the leading industries are agriculture, mining, and tourism based on wineries and the outback landscape; two areas in the north of the State that attract holiday makers - Coffs Harbour - Grafton (1.1%) and Richmond - Tweed (1.0%); and Sydney - Parramatta, just barely positive (0.1%).

Queensland differed from the southern states. It had ten SA4s with higher enumerated than usual resident populations and nine with lower. The difference between the usual resident population and the enumerated population ranged from -1.5% for Moreton Bay - South to 15.7% for Queensland - Outback. Queensland - Outback is a large diverse area which includes mining areas, especially around Mt Isa. After Queensland - Outback the two areas with the greatest difference between the usual resident and enumerated population counts were Mackay (8.4%), which includes the Bowen Basin coal mining area and tourist areas, and Cairns (6.8%), a tourist area.

In Western Australia the majority of areas had a lower enumerated than usual resident population, with the difference ranging from -1.4% for Perth - South East to -4.4% for Mandurah. The two exceptions were Perth - Inner (3.1% higher), and the striking instance of Western Australia - Outback, which had 22% more people counted there than claimed it as a usual residence. Mining activity and associated construction projects attract workers to outback areas of Western Australia, many of whom are temporary or Fly in Fly out workers. Depending on how people interpret the question about usual residence, the balance of their rostered time on and off work, and how long their work project has lasted, such workers may or may not nominate the area they work in as their usual residence. In some areas, people who were Fly in Fly out workers were publically encouraged to nominate their work area as their usual residence, and this may also have influenced their responses. Tourists and travellers including 'grey nomads' are also attracted to the northern part of Western Australia - Outback in winter, both because of more pleasant temperature and humidity levels and because this is the dry season when there will be fewer road closures.

The Northern Territory has two SA4s and both had higher enumerated than usual resident populations. As with the north of Western Australia, winter is the peak season for Northern Territory tourism. The public sector accounts for most employment in the Northern Territory and it has a higher level of population turnover than the other states, attracting people from other states who take up short-term postings.


LEADING FIVE AREAS WITH HIGHER ENUMERATED THAN USUAL RESIDENT POPULATIONS

The five SA4s with the greatest proportional difference between the usual resident and enumerated population were all in the north of Australia: Western Australia - Outback (22.3%), Queensland - Outback (15.7%), Northern Territory - Outback (12.3%), Mackay (8.4%) and Cairns (6.8%). As mentioned above, three of these are areas affected by the mining industry, while Cairns is a tourist area and Northern Territory - Outback an area with high population turnover as well as a tourist industry that peaks in winter.


USUAL RESIDENT AND ENUMERATED POPULATIONS(a), SELECTED STATISTICAL AREAS LEVEL 4 - 2011

	Usual Resident Population(b)	Enumerated population(c)	Percentage difference
Western Australia - Outback	215 050	263 105	22.3
Queensland - Outback	82 926	95 956	15.7
Northern Territory - Outback	89 374	100 331	12.3
Mackay	166 813	180 790	8.4
Cairns	224 438	239 760	6.8

(a) Excludes overseas visitors.
(b) People who were usual residents of the area, irrespective of where they were located in Australia on Census Night.
(c) People counted in the area on Census Night, irrespective of where their usual residence was (excluding overseas visitors).


Examining some key characteristics of the population of these five areas can indicate some of the reasons for the differences between the place of usual residence and place of enumeration counts. The following case studies look at characteristics of the populations in these five areas; how many people reported the area as their place of work; and the characteristics of people in the area who were not usual residents. Finally, the five areas with fewer people counted on Census Night than were usually resident there, by the greatest margin, are briefly discussed.


WESTERN AUSTRALIA - OUTBACK: CASE STUDY 1

The SA4 of Western Australia - Outback covers almost 2.3 million square kilometres. It comprises 91% of the area of the state and on Census Night, 12% of the state's population was counted there. It comprises five Statistical Areas Level 3 (SA3s): Esperance, Gascoyne, Goldfields, Kimberley, Mid West and Pilbara. (See maps on the Downloads tab of

1270.0.55.001 - Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS): Volume 1 - Main Structure and Greater Capital City Statistical Areas, July 2011 for more information.)

The Western Australian mining industry is known for its use of Fly in Fly out work arrangements - where workers are flown in to work for a set period such as ten days or three weeks and fly home for their rostered time off. These arrangements bring people to Western Australia - Outback from other parts of Western Australia and from interstate for work and also make it possible for people to live and work in different parts of this very large geographic area. (Further information will be available in the article Western Australia - Outback: A Population Overview to be published later in 2012.)

There were 22% more people (48,055) enumerated in Western Australia - Outback than were usually resident there. This was the net effect of there being 55,967 people counted there on Census Night who were not usual residents, while 7,912 people who were in another area on Census Night reported Western Australia - Outback as their usual residence.

Enumerated in the area and a usual resident	207 138
Enumerated in the area but not a usual resident	55 967
Usual resident, enumerated out of the area	7 912
Net difference between total usual resident and total enumerated population	48 055

(a) Excludes overseas visitors.


A large proportion of the 55,967 people who were not usual residents were from elsewhere in Western Australia (59%) while 5% had no usual address and 36% were from interstate.

Those usual residents of Western Australia - Outback who were elsewhere on Census Night were mostly in Western Australia (69%) including 55% in Perth.


GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE POPULATION OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA - OUTBACK

Population count increase

The enumerated population of Western Australia - Outback increased by 4% between 2001 and 2006 and then by 23% between 2006 and 2011, reaching 263,105. The increase from 2001 to 2006 was slower than for many SA4s in the state while the increase from 2006 to 2011 was faster than for all other SA4s in the state. The increase between 2001 and 2011 was 15%, higher than for all other SA4s except Mandurah (24%). (Mandurah is a coastal area which residential development has changed from a fishing village and day-trip destination to a permanent home for 'sea-changers' including some people who work in Western Australia - Outback.)

The usual resident population of Western Australia - Outback also increased over this period but more slowly than the enumerated population, so that the difference between the two was higher in 2011 than in 2001 (22% compared with 17%).


POPULATION COUNTS, WESTERN AUSTRALIA - OUTBACK



(a) People who were usual residents of the area, counted anywhere in Australia on Census Night.
(b) People counted in the area on Census Night, irrespective of where their usual residence was (excluding overseas visitors).


New residents

In 2011, 32% of usual residents of Western Australia - Outback had lived somewhere outside the area five years previously. This proportion was higher than for most other SA4s in Western Australia, second only to Perth - Inner (36%).

Industries of employment

In 2011, Mining was the leading industry of employment reported by people who were counted in the area on Census Night. Just over one in five employed people in the area on Census Night worked in the Mining industry (21%), whereas Mining accounted for only 1.8% of all employees nationally. Mining industry workers in Western Australia - Outback on Census Night accounted for 15% of all Mining industry workers in Australia and for 30% of all Metal ore mining workers in Australia. Most mining workers in Western Australia - Outback were working in Metal Ore mining - chiefly Iron Ore mining. Exploration and Other Mining Support services accounted for almost one in five mining industry workers in the area. Construction (13%) was the most common industry of employment after mining.

Sex ratio

In Western Australia - Outback on Census Night the sex ratio was 136, that is, there were 136 males for every 100 females. This was higher than the sex ratio for Australia as a whole (98) or for Western Australia (102). The sex ratio of the usual resident population of Western Australia - Outback was also high, 122 males for every 100 females, although lower than for the enumerated population. These male to female ratios were also higher than for any other SA4, except for some special categories: Offshore Migratory and Shipping SA4s which are used to code people in transit, on ships and on offshore rigs; and the Other Territories SA4 which comprises Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Jervis Bay.

High sex ratios are consistent with the area attracting men moving or commuting for work. (Men accounted for 83% of people working in Mining and 87% of people working in Construction in Australia in 2011).

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people accounted for a relatively high proportion of people counted in Western Australia - Outback on Census Night (14.6%). This was higher than for Australia as a whole (2.7%) or for people counted in Western Australia as a whole (3.3%). In other SA4s in Western Australia, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people ranged from 0.7% of the enumerated population (Perth - Inner) to 4.5% (Western Australia - Wheatbelt).

Dwellings

On Census Night, 96% of people in Australia were in a private house, townhouse, unit or similar structure (see Notes and Definitions). In contrast, in Western Australia - Outback, 69% of people were in this situation on Census Night.

Staff quarters housed an unusually high proportion of people counted in this area: 15% or 40,240 people, whereas only 0.4% of all people in Australia were counted in staff quarters. These people accounted for 43% of all people in staff quarters in Australia. There were also an unusually large proportion of people housed in caravans, cabins, houseboats, improvised dwellings, tents or sleeping out (9% or 23,817), and in hotels, motels, bed and breakfasts, boarding houses or private hotels (4% or 10,323), compared with the rates for Australia as a whole. As well as tourists, mining and construction workers are known to use these latter two types of accommodation in outback mining areas.


PROPORTION OF THE ENUMERATED POPULATION IN SELECTED TYPES OF DWELLING, WESTERN AUSTRALIA - OUTBACK - 2011



(a) Excludes nursing quarters, which are in Other non-private dwelling.
(b) Hotel, motel, bed & breakfast, boarding house or private hotel.
(c) Caravan, cabin, houseboat, improvised dwelling, tent, sleepers out.Half of the roughly 40,000 people in staff quarters in Western Australia - Outback on Census Night reported as usual residents of the area. Nine in every ten of these usual residents of the area in staff quarters, gave the staff quarters itself as their usual address. Usual residents of the area accounted for 96% of the 180,231 people in private houses, townhouses or units; 27% of the 23,817 people in caravans, cabins, etc; and 26% of the 10,323 people in hotels, motels, etc.

Western Australia - Outback as a Place of Work

In 2011, 117,473 people in Australia reported that Western Australia - Outback was their place of work. As many workers are known to be on Fly in Fly out arrangements such as three weeks on and one week off, the total number of people reporting Western Australia - Outback as their place of work would never all be present in the area at the same time. On Census Night, 99,485 of those with this place of work were present in the area, and 17,988 were away from the area.

Place of Work is the place a person worked in their main job in the week prior to Census. It is collected through a workplace address question on Census forms (for example on the Census Household form). Acceptable responses include 'no fixed workplace address'. People who report to a depot for work are asked to supply the depot address. If Place of Work is not supplied, then this data item is set to 'not stated'. Sometimes Place of Work is not supplied in sufficient detail to code to a precise geographic area. For more information see Census Dictionary, 2011 (cat. no. 2901.0).

Of those with Western Australia - Outback as a place of work, 88,257 or 75% also reported themselves to be usual residents. Almost all of these were also in the area on Census Night. Most of the 29,216 who weren't usual residents had usual residences elsewhere in Western Australia (80%). Of those who weren't usual residents, about half were in the area on Census Night. These people were most likely to be in staff quarters (69%) followed by in a private house, townhouse or unit (14%), and hotel, motel, etc, (9%).

Of the total 117,473 people whose place of work was Western Australia - Outback, 27% were employed in Mining and 12% in Construction. Of the group with Western Australia - Outback as a place of work but whose usual residence was elsewhere (29,216 people), 49% were employed in mining and 19% in construction.

	Enumerated in Western Australia - Outback	Enumerated elsewhere	Total
Usual resident of Western Australia - Outback	85 158	3 099	88 257
Not a usual resident of Western Australia - Outback	14 329	14 887	29 216
Total(a)	99 487	17 986	117 473

(a) It should be noted that in addition to the 117,473 people who reported Western Australia - Outback as a Place of Work, an additional 11,842 people were counted in staff quarters in the area on Census Night, for whom Labour Force Status and/or Place of Work was not supplied. Most of these people may be assumed to have worked in Western Australia - Outback, although they were not classified to any Place of Work.


PEOPLE IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA - OUTBACK ON CENSUS NIGHT WHO WERE NOT USUAL RESIDENTS

From examining place of work, it can be seen that of the 55,967 people present in Western Australia - Outback on Census Night who weren't usual residents, some would have been there because it was their place of work. Combining place of work and other data can shed some light on these and other people who were in Western Australia - Outback on Census Night.

Aged 15 years and over			54 166
	Employed		27 959
		Western Australia - Outback was their place of work	14 330
		No Usual Place of Work	1 753
		Place of Work was not supplied or not able to be classified to an SA4	2 423
		Place of Work was another SA4 in Australia	9 453
	Unemployed		625
	Not in the labour force		15 685
	Labour force status not stated		9 897
		In staff quarters on Census Night	5 906
		Not in staff quarters on Census Night	3 991
Aged under 15 years			1 808
Total(b)			55 974

(a) Excluding overseas visitors.
(b) Due to perturbation of data to ensure confidentiality, components may not add to total.


Most of the non usual residents in Western Australia - Outback on Census Night were aged 15 years and over (54,166) and of these the largest group were employed (27,959), meaning they had a job in the week prior to Census Night, whether or not they were at work or on leave. A substantial number were not in the labour force (15,685) while for 9,897 labour force status was not supplied.

The 27,959 employed people included 14,330 for whom Western Australia - Outback was their place of work. However, some of the remaining non usual residents may also have been working in the area. There were 1,753 employed people who had no usual place of work - and therefore may or may not have been working in the area. Likewise, 2,423 of the employed people either did not report their place of work or did not give sufficient detail, and so may or may not have been working in the area. More importantly, among the 9,897 people whose labour force status was not stated, were 5,906 who were in staff quarters on Census Night, making it very likely they were working in this SA4.

This left 9,453 employed people who reported a specific place of work other than Western Australia - Outback. However, one in five of the 9,453 were in staff quarters on Census Night, making it less likely they were in the area for holidays or personal reasons. It is possible that some people whose main place of work was outside the area travelled there for work reasons, such as making deliveries, but listed their workplace address as outside the area. Or, some people might list the main office of the company employing them. Most of the remaining four-fifths of the 9,453 in this group, who were not in staff quarters, were in caravans, cabins, etc, (33%), hotels, motels, etc (28%) and houses, townhouses or units (13%). Of the 9,453, 13% worked in Construction, 10% in Professional, Scientific and Technical Services and 10% in Mining with the remainder spread across a range of industries.

As mentioned, there were also 15,685 non-usual residents in the area on Census Night who were aged 15 years or over, but who were not in the labour force. (That is, they did not have a job and were not looking for a job). They were about equally divided between people with a place of usual residence in Western Australia (52%) and those who lived in another state or territory. These people were mostly in the retirement or early retirement age range: 53% were aged 65 years and over and a further 33% were aged 55-64 years. In contrast to the population of Western Australia - Outback, and consistent with their labour force status there were slightly more females than males in this group (a male to female ratio of 93). Also in contrast to Western Australia - Outback's total population, only 1.7% of this group were Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people. Most of this group were in caravans, cabins, etc (67%) and a further 9% were in hotels, motels, etc, while 15% were in houses, townhouses or units and 2% in staff quarters. It thus appears that the majority of these people were likely to be on holiday or visiting the area for personal reasons although there will be other people in the mix.


QUEENSLAND - OUTBACK: CASE STUDY 2

Queensland - Outback is an area of roughly 1.2 million square kilometres, accounting for 68% of the area of the state and 2% of the state's population count.

Queensland - Outback extends from the far north of Queensland to the western part of the southern border. It comprises three geographically large Statistical Areas Level 3 (SA3s): Far North; Outback - North; and Outback - South. Far North includes places such as Aurukun, Cape York, Weipa and Torres Strait Islands. Outback - North includes the Mt Isa region and Carpentaria. Outback - South includes places such as Charleville, Barcaldine and Blackall.


Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people accounted for 28% of people counted in Queensland - Outback, compared to 3.7% of people counted in Queensland and 2.7% of the Australian population. They accounted for 48% of all people counted in the SA3 of Far North, 21% of people counted in Outback - North and 10% of people in Outback - South.

The median age of the enumerated population of Queensland - Outback is lower than that for Queensland and Australia (36 years compared with 37 years). This reflects the lower median age of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the area - 23 years - which contrasts with a median age of 41 years for non-Indigenous people in the area. Also reflecting this influence, the median age of usual residents of Queensland - Outback is 32 years, considerably lower than that of the enumerated population.

Likewise, the sex ratio (the number of males for every 100 females) of usual residents of the area was 112, lower than the sex ratio of 120 for the enumerated population of the area, but both the ratios are considerably higher than the ratios for Queensland and Australia (both 98). The sex ratio of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the area on Census Night was 100 (i.e. equal numbers of males and females) compared with 124 for the non-Indigenous population.

Mining (14%), Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing (13%) and Public Administration and Safety (11%) were the leading industries of employment for people counted in Queensland - Outback on Census Night. Most mining employment was in Copper Ore Mining (38%), Silver-lead-zinc Ore Mining (22%) and Bauxite Mining (11%). Beef Farming employed the most workers in Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing (61%). Between 2006 and 2011, Mining overtook both Public Administration and Safety and Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing as the leading industry of employment in this area. Most of the mining employment is in the SA3 of Outback - North, which includes the Mt Isa region.

There were 95,956 people counted in Queensland - Outback on Census Night, 16% higher than the usual resident count. This was the net result of 17,158 people who were not usual residents being in the area on Census Night while 4,128 usual residents were away from the area.

Both enumerated in the area and a usual resident	78 798
Enumerated in the area but not a usual resident	17 158
Usual resident, enumerated out of the area	4 128
Net difference between total usual resident and total enumerated population	13 030

(a) Excludes overseas visitors.


The population counts for Queensland - Outback decreased between 2001 and 2006, by 0.3% for the usual resident population and 1.5% for the enumerated population. Population counts then increased between 2006 and 2011, by 5.6% for the usual resident population and 9.2% for the enumerated population. Over the ten years 2001 to 2011 the usual resident population of Queensland - Outback increased by 5.4% and the enumerated population by 7.6%. Consequently, the difference between the usual resident and enumerated population increased from 13.3% to 15.7% over the period. In 2011, 24.8% of usual residents had lived elsewhere five years previously.

In Queensland - Outback, the proportion in a house, townhouse or unit on Census Night was lower than for Australia although higher than for Western Australia - Outback (78% compared with 96% and 69% respectively). Compared with Western Australia - Outback a similar proportion of those in Queensland - Outback, were in caravans, cabins, etc, (10%) and in hotels, motels, etc, (3%) but a lower proportion were in staff quarters (5% compared with 15%).


PROPORTION OF THE ENUMERATED POPULATION IN SELECTED TYPES OF DWELLING, QUEENSLAND - OUTBACK, 2011


(a) Excludes nursing quarters, which are in Other non-private dwelling.
(b) Hotel, motel, bed & breakfast, boarding house or private hotel.
(c) Caravan, cabin, houseboat, improvised dwelling, tent, sleepers out.


Queensland - Outback as a place of work

In 2011, Queensland - Outback was a place of work for 37,036 people. Of these, 6,107 (16%) had a usual residence out of the area. Compared with those who lived in the area, people who lived elsewhere were more likely to work in Mining and Construction, and less likely to work in Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing and Public Administration and Safety.


QUEENSLAND - OUTBACK, LEADING INDUSTRIES OF EMPLOYMENT(a) - 2011


(a) Among people reporting the area as a Place of Work.
(b) People whose usual residence is elsewhere in Australia.
PEOPLE IN QUEENSLAND - OUTBACK ON CENSUS NIGHT WHO WERE NOT USUAL RESIDENTS

Just over half of the 17,158 people who were not usual residents came from elsewhere in Queensland while 43% were from interstate and 6% had no usual address. New South Wales (18%) and Victoria (13%) contributed the most visitors from interstate.

Of the people enumerated in but not usual residents of Queensland - Outback, 7,512 were employed. They included 2,762 people for whom Queensland - Outback was a place of work, contributing 7% to the total of 37,036 people who worked there. However, it was more common for employed non-residents to have a place of work that was elsewhere in Queensland or interstate (3,435 people). There were also 438 employed non-residents with no fixed place of work.

There were 6,560 non-residents who were not in the labour force. Consistent with their labour force status, they were mostly in the older age range, either 55-64 years (34%) or 65 years and over (52%). Most were in caravans (65%) followed by people in a house, townhouse or unit (16%) or a hotel, motel, etc (8%).

There were 2,207 people for whom labour force status was not stated, and of these 742 were in staff quarters, suggesting they were working in the area.

Aged 15 years and over			16 508
	Employed		7 512
		Queensland - Outback was their Place of Work	2 762
		No Fixed Place of Work	435
		Place of Work was not supplied or not able to be classified to an SA4	862
		Place of Work was elsewhere in Australia	3 452
	Unemployed		231
	Not in the labour force		6 560
	Labour force status not stated		2207
		In staff quarters on Census Night	742
		Not in staff quarters on Census Night	1 465
Aged under 15 years			651
Total(b)			17 159

(a) Excluding overseas visitors.
(b) Due to perturbation of data to ensure confidentiality, components may not add to total.


NORTHERN TERRITORY - OUTBACK: CASE STUDY 3

Northern Territory - Outback SA4 covers 1.3 million square kilometres. It is one of two SA4s for the Northern Territory, the other being Darwin, and comprises 99.8% of the Territory. In 2011, 44% of people counted in the Northern Territory were in Northern Territory - Outback. It comprises five SA3s. These are Daly - Tiwi - West Arnhem in the north west and centre, East Arnhem in the north east, Katherine; Barkly; and Alice Springs, which is geographically the largest.




In 2011, Northern Territory - Outback had an enumerated population of 100,331, 12% higher than the usual resident population. The difference of 10,957 between the people counted there on Census Night and those who were usual residents, was the net result of there being 14,031 people who were not usual residents in the area on Census Night and 3,074 usual residents who were elsewhere in Australia on Census Night.

Both enumerated in the area and a usual resident	86 300
Enumerated in the area but not a usual resident	14 031
Usual resident, enumerated out of the area	3 074
Net difference between total usual resident and total enumerated population	10 957

(a) Excludes overseas visitors.


The 100,331 people in Northern Territory - Outback on Census Night was 6.6% higher than in 2001, a slower increase than for the Northern Territory as a whole (12.6%). There was only a small increase between 2001 and 2006 (1.0%) followed by an increase of 5.5% between 2006 and 2011. Between 2001 and 2011, the usual resident population increased by 6.6% from 83,791 to 89,374 (i.e. the same percentage increase as shown in the enumerated population).

Of usual residents of Northern Territory - Outback who were aged five years and over, 78% had also lived in this SA4 five years previously while 22% were living somewhere else five years previously. They comprised 19% who were either interstate or overseas five years previously and 3% who were in Darwin. Given that the population increase over the period was 6.6%, the high proportion of new residents reflects a relatively high level of population turnover.

The leading industries of employment in Northern Territory - Outback were Public Administration and Safety (19%), Health Care and Social Assistance (12%), Education and Training (11%), Construction (7%), and Retail (7%). The public sector accounted for 30% of employed people in Northern Territory - Outback, the same as for Darwin, and lower only than the Australian Capital Territory (43%) and Other Territories (41%) and the special SA4 categories of Offshore, Migratory and Shipping.

Almost half of the enumerated population of Northern Territory - Outback were Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people (48%), higher than for any other SA4 in Australia.

The male to female ratio of the enumerated population was 107 (that is, 107 males for every 100 females), higher than for Australia (98) and the same as for the Northern Territory as a whole. Among the other selected SA4s discussed here, the sex ratio of people counted in the Northern Territory - Outback was higher than for Cairns but lower than for the other areas.

Northern Territory - Outback had a relatively youthful enumerated population, a reflection of the high proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The median age of people counted in Northern Territory - Outback was 31, compared with 33 for the Northern Territory as a whole and 37 for Australia.

While 77% of people enumerated in Northern Territory - Outback were in houses, townhouses and units, 9% were in caravans, cabins, etc, 6% were in hotels, motels, etc, 4% were in staff quarters and 3% other non-private dwellings. As discussed above, this contrasts with Australia as a whole, where 96% of people were in a house, townhouse, unit or similar structure on Census Night.

Northern Territory - Outback as a Place of Work

In 2011, 34,165 people reported Northern Territory - Outback as a place of work, and of these 30,333 were usual residents while 3,832 (11%) reported a usual residence elsewhere in Australia. Most people who reported it as a place of work were also present there on Census Night (31,716) while 2,449 (7%) were elsewhere in Australia.


PEOPLE WHO WERE IN NORTHERN TERRITORY - OUTBACK ON CENSUS NIGHT WHO WERE NOT USUAL RESIDENTS

Most of the 14,031 people enumerated in Northern Territory - Outback who were not usual residents were from interstate (80%). People from all the states and the Australian Capital Territory were represented - with usual residents of Victoria the leading group (20%), followed by New South Wales (19%) and Queensland (18%). They tended to be drawn from a wide range of SA4s in these states. The remainder of people who were enumerated but not usual residents were from Darwin (13%) or had no usual address (7%).

A relatively small proportion of people enumerated but not resident in Northern Territory - Outback were Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people (5.4%), compared with 54% of usual residents. People from interstate were the least likely to be Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people (3.8%) compared with usual residents of Darwin who were in Northern Territory - Outback on Census Night (14.6%) or people with no usual address in the area on Census Night (8.3%).

The sex ratio for people enumerated but not resident in the Northern Territory - Outback was 127, higher than for both the enumerated population (107) and the usual resident population (104). It was particularly high for the smaller number of people in the area whose usual residence was Darwin (189), less so for people from interstate (120).

Of people in the area who were not usual residents, just 16% were in privately occupied houses, townhouses or units. People in caravans, cabins, etc, made up the largest group (41%), followed by people in hotels, motels, etc, (22%) and in staff quarters (15%).

Of people in the area on Census Night who were not usual residents, 55% were in the labour force (either working or looking for work). People whose usual residence was Darwin and who were in Northern Territory - Outback on Census Night were very likely to be in the labour force (91%).

Of the employed people who were not usual residents, 36% (2,230 people) worked in Northern Territory - Outback and 5% had no fixed place of work. Some 7% had Darwin as a place of work and 44% had an interstate place of work, with the remainder not supplying place of work in sufficient detail.

People not in the labour force who were not usual residents (4,906 people) were mostly aged either 65 and over (47%) or 55-64 years (35%). Most were usual residents of other states or the Australian Capital Territory (89%).


MACKAY: CASE STUDY 4

The SA4 of Mackay covers 90,125 square kilometres, 5% of the area of Queensland. On Census Night it contained 3.9% of people counted in the State. It comprises three SA3s. Bowen Basin - North covers the largest area and comprises the SA2s of Collinsville, Clermont, Moranbah, and Broadsound - Nebo, all of which are coal mining areas. The SA3 of Mackay has a larger population than Bowen Basin - North and Whitsunday and comprises 17 SA2s encompassing an area around the city of Mackay extending east to the SA2s of Eungella Hinterland and Pioneer Valley and south to the SA2 of Sarina. Whitsunday includes the SA2s of Airlie - Whitsundays, Cape Conway and Proserpine.



In 2011, Mackay's enumerated population was 8.4% higher than its usual resident population. This was the net result of there being 19,677 people from other areas or with no usual address in Mackay on Census Night, while 5,696 usual residents were elsewhere on Census Night.

Both enumerated in the area and a usual resident	161 113
Enumerated in the area but not a usual resident	19 677
Usual resident, enumerated out of the area	5 696
Net difference between total usual resident and total enumerated population	13 977

Mackay's enumerated population increased by 15% between 2001 and 2006 and by 13% between 2006 and 2011. The increase from 2001 to 2011 was 29%. The usual resident count also increased at a similar rate, so the difference between usual resident and enumerated populations remained about the same. A relatively high proportion of usual residents of Mackay in 2011 had lived elsewhere five years earlier (24%).

The median age of people in Mackay on Census Night was 36 years - younger than for Australia and for Queensland (37 years in each case).

The sex ratio of people in Mackay on Census Night was 117 (117 males for every 100 females). This was the third highest sex ratio for an SA4, after Western Australia - Outback and Queensland - Outback and mainly reflected the very high sex ratio for the SA3 of Bowen Basin - North (169). The sex ratio for people enumerated in the SA3s of Mackay and Whitsunday were both much lower, 103.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people accounted for 4.3% of the enumerated population of Mackay compared to 3.7% of people counted in Queensland and 2.7% of the Australian population.

The leading industries of employment of people counted in Mackay on Census Night were Mining (15%), Construction (11%), Retail (9%) and Manufacturing (8%). Coal Mining was the predominant mining industry, accounting for 78% of Mining industry employees who reported a specific industry, with Exploration and Other Mining Support Services accounting for most of the rest.


PROPORTION OF THE ENUMERATED POPULATION IN SELECTED TYPES OF DWELLING, MACKAY - 2011


(a) Excludes nursing quarters, which are in Other non-private dwelling.
(b) Hotel, motel, bed & breakfast, boarding house or private hotel.
(c) Caravan, cabin, houseboat, improvised dwelling, tent, sleepers out.


Most people enumerated in Mackay were in a private house, townhouse or unit (84%), while 7% were in staff quarters, 4% in caravans, cabins, etc, and 4% in hotels, motels, etc. While the proportion in staff quarters was half that of people in Western Australia - Outback, it was in contrast to the proportion for Australia as a whole (0.4%). Of those people in staff quarters in Mackay for whom industry of employment was supplied, the leading industries were Mining (44%), Construction (20%) and Accommodation and Food Services (14%) with the remainder spread across a number of industries. The great majority of people enumerated in staff quarters were in the SA3 of Bowen Basin - North (91%).

Mackay as a Place of work

Mackay was reported as a place of work by 78,558 people, including 7,719 (10%) who reported a usual residence elsewhere in Australia. Most people who reported working in Mackay were there on Census Night (72,747) while 5,811 (7%) were elsewhere.


PEOPLE IN MACKAY ON CENSUS NIGHT WHO WERE NOT USUAL RESIDENTS

Of the 19,677 people enumerated but not resident in Mackay, 58% came from elsewhere in Queensland, 37% from interstate and 5.4% had no usual address. New South Wales and Victoria were the most common states of usual residence other than Queensland (16% and 13% respectively).

Place of work was Mackay

There were 3,616 employed non-residents who reported Mackay as their place of work. In addition, there were 3,135 non-residents in staff quarters on Census Night for whom place of work was not supplied and who can be reasonably assumed to work in the area. Together, these 6,751 people accounted for 34% of all non-residents in Mackay on Census Night. Of this 6,751, 78% were in staff quarters. Of those whose work details were supplied, 36% were employed in Mining, 24% in Construction and 10% in Accommodation and Food Services.

A further 753 employed non-residents who were in Mackay on Census Night reported no fixed place of work, and 971 workers did not supply their place of work or did not give it in sufficient detail.

Worked elsewhere

There were 3,777 people who had a place of work elsewhere in Australia. They were spread across a greater range of industries than non-residents with Mackay as a place of work. Health Care and Social Assistance and Construction and were the most common industries of employment (12% in each case) followed by Professional, Scientific and Technical services (9%), with all other broad industry groups represented.

Not in the labour force

There were 4,725 people aged 15 years and over and not in the labour force and of these, 62% were from interstate. Those not in the labour force had an older age profile with 53% aged 65 years and over and 29% aged 55-64 years. The most common form of accommodation among this group was caravan, cabins, etc, (52%), followed by houses, townhouses or units (30%) and hotels, motels, etc (15%). As might be expected, people in caravans, cabins, etc were almost all members of visitor-only households (98%); that is, none of the people in the caravan, cabin, etc, were usual residents of the dwelling. However, the majority of people in houses, townhouses and units were visitors in a household which also contained usual residents of the dwelling (78%). Most often they were visitors in a family household but some were visiting a person who lived alone, or a group household.

Aged 15 years and over			18 891
	Employed		9 119
		Mackay was their Place of Work	3 616
		No Fixed Place of Work	753
		Place of Work was not supplied or not able to be classified to an SA4	971
		Place of Work was elsewhere in Australia	3 777
	Unemployed		284
	Not in the labour force		4 725
	Labour force status not stated		4 760
		In staff quarters on Census Night	3 135
		Not in staff quarters on Census Night	1 625
Aged under 15 years			787
Total			19 678

(a) Excluding overseas visitors.
(b) Due to perturbation of data to ensure confidentiality, components may not add to total.


CAIRNS: CASE STUDY 5

Cairns SA4 covers 21,345 square kilometres in far north Queensland. It is bordered to the south by Townsville SA4 and to the north and west by Queensland - Outback SA4. It comprises five Statistical Areas Level 3 - Port Douglas - Daintree, Cairns - North, Cairns - South, Innisfail - Cassowary Coast and Tablelands (East) - Kuranda. It includes areas servicing the tourist attractions of the Great Barrier Reef and the Daintree Rainforest.


There were 239,760 people in Cairns on Census Night, 6.8% or 15,322 higher than the number of people usually resident. This was the net effect of there being 23,523 non-residents in the area on Census Night, while 7,929 residents were elsewhere in Australia.

Both enumerated in the area and a usual resident	216 508
Enumerated in the area but not a usual resident	23 523
Usual resident, enumerated out of the area	7 929
Net difference between total usual resident and total enumerated population	15 322

(a) Excludes overseas visitors.


The leading industries of employment in Cairns in 2011 were Health Care and Social Assistance (12%), Retail (12%), Accommodation and Food Services (9%), Construction (9%) and Education and Training (8%). Tourism is the greatest contributor to GDP in northern Queensland and while many tourism-related employees would be classified to the Accommodation and Food Services and Retail Industries, others may be spread across other industries. (Endnote 1)

The enumerated population increase between 2001 and 2011 for Cairns (20%) was comparable to that in the State as a whole (22%). The difference between the usual resident and enumerated populations was slightly lower in 2011 than it had been in 2001 (6.8% compared with 7.7%). One in five usual residents of Cairns had lived elsewhere in Australia, or lived overseas, five years ago.

In contrast to Western Australia - Outback, Queensland - Outback and Mackay, the sex ratio of the enumerated population of Cairns was 97 (i.e. there were 97 males for every 100 females), close to that of Australia (98). The median age in whole years was 39, higher than for Western Australia - Outback, Queensland - Outback and Mackay and higher than the median age of 37 years for Australia as a whole. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people accounted for 11% of the enumerated population of Cairns, lower than for Queensland - Outback but higher than for Mackay.

On Census Night 90% of the Cairns population was in a private house, townhouse or unit, lower than for Australia as a whole (96%) but higher than for the other four case study SA4s. The main difference between the dwellings of the Cairns and the Australian population was in the proportions in hotels, motels, etc, (5% for Cairns, 1.1% for Australia) or caravans, cabins, etc (3.3% for Cairns and 0.8% for Australia). Just 0.1% of people in Cairns were in staff quarters, lower than for Australia (0.4%) and these were mostly defence workers (HMAS Cairns, a navy establishment, and the army's 51st Battalion - Far North Queensland Regiment, are based in Cairns). The proportion in other non-private dwellings (hospitals, nursing homes, boarding schools, halls of residence, prisons and so on) was also lower than for Australia.


PROPORTION OF THE POPULATION IN SELECTED TYPES OF DWELLING, CAIRNS - 2011


(a) Excludes nursing quarters, which are in Other non-private dwelling.
(b) Hotel, motel, bed & breakfast, boarding house or private hotel.
(c) Caravan, cabin, houseboat, improvised dwelling, tent, sleepers out.


PEOPLE IN CAIRNS ON CENSUS NIGHT WHO WERE NOT USUAL RESIDENTS

In contrast to the SA4s of Queensland - Outback and Mackay, people from interstate accounted for the majority of the 23,254 people who were not usual residents (68%), while 27% were from elsewhere in Queensland and 5% were people with no usual address. Hotels, motels, etc, were the most common form of accommodation for people who were not usual residents (45%) followed by private houses, townhouses or units (29%) and caravans, cabins, etc, (23%). This contrasted with usual residents, 97% of whom were in a private house, townhouse or unit.

Of the 21,485 people who were not usual residents and who were aged 15 years and over, people not in the labour force accounted for the largest proportion (9,547), followed by people who were employed (7,940) and people looking for work (430). Labour force status was not stated for the remainder. Those not in the labour force mostly lived interstate (70%) while 24% were from elsewhere in Queensland and 6% had no usual address.

Of the 7,940 who were employed in the week prior to Census week, the most common situation was that they both lived and worked interstate (59%) followed by people who both lived and worked elsewhere in Queensland (22%). A further 9% (about 750 people) gave Cairns as their place of work - these people were drawn from interstate, elsewhere in Queensland and included some with no usual address. Around 6% reported they had no fixed place of work.


LEADING FIVE AREAS WITH LOWER ENUMERATED THAN RESIDENT POPULATIONS

The five SA4s with the lower enumerated than resident populations, by the greatest margin, were LaTrobe - Gippsland and Mornington Peninsula in Victoria (-2.0% and -2.2% respectively); West and North-West (-2.2%) and South East (-3.0%) in Tasmania; and Mandurah, in Western Australia (-4.4%). (For the location of these SA4s see maps on the Downloads tab of

1270.0.55.001 - Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS): Volume 1 - Main Structure and Greater Capital City Statistical Areas, July 2011.)

	Usual Resident Population(b)	Enumerated population(c)	Percentage difference
Latrobe - Gippsland	255 858	250 596	-2.0
Mornington Peninsula	271 066	265 232	-2.2
West and North West (Tas.)	109 153	106 777	-2.2
South East (Tas.)	35 797	34 706	-3.0
Mandurah	83 295	79 650	-4.4

(a) Excludes overseas visitors.
(b) People who were usual residents of the area, counted anywhere in Australia on Census Night.
(c) People counted in the area on Census Night, irrespective of where their usual residence was.


The size of the usual resident populations of these areas varied from 35,797 for South East (Tasmania) to 271,066 for Mornington Peninsula. There were some non-residents in each of the areas on Census Night, but they were outnumbered by usual residents away from the area.

	Usual resident, enumerated in area	Usual resident, enumerated elsewhere in Australia	Not a usual resident, enumerated in area	Difference between Usual Resident and Enumerated Population Counts
LaTrobe - Gippsland	244 191	11 667	6 408	-5 262
Mornington Peninsula	260 611	10 454	4 622	-5 834
West and North West (Tas.)	104 622	4 529	2 154	-2 376
South East (Tas.)	33 601	2 195	1 106	-1 091
Mandurah	77 808	5 488	1 846	-3 645

(a) Excludes overseas visitors.

Mandurah differed from the other selected areas in some respects. For the selected areas that were in Tasmania or Victoria, over half of usual residents not in the area on Census Night were interstate. However, in the case of Mandurah, 52% of usual residents away from the area were in Western Australia - Outback, more than were interstate (19%) or in Perth (18%). For each SA4, people who were interstate were more likely to be in Queensland than any other State or Territory. From 7% of all usual residents away from Mandurah to 30% of all usual residents away from West and North West Tasmania were in Queensland.

	State of usual residence
	Capital city	Elsewhere(a)	Total		Interstate	Total
	%	%	%		%	No.
LaTrobe - Gippsland	26.7	13.7	40.4		59.6	11 667
Mornington Peninsula	27.0	14.4	41.4		58.6	10 454
West and North West (Tas.)	9.8	14.5	24.3		75.7	4 529
South East (Tas.)	34.3	11.2	45.5		54.5	2 195
Mandurah	17.7	62.9	80.6		19.4	5 488

(a) Includes Migratory, Offshore, Shipping.

The proportion of usual residents out of the area on Census Night who were in the capital city of their state of usual residence ranged from 10% for West and North West Tasmania to 34% for South East Tasmania. Usual residents who were in the capital city of their state were most likely to be in a private house, townhouse or unit, while those interstate included a greater proportion in hotels, motels, etc or in caravans, etc. For example, 67% of usual residents of LaTrobe - Gippsland who were in Melbourne and 29% of usual residents who were interstate, were in a private house, townhouse or unit.

	Private house, townhouse or unit	Caravan, cabin, etc	Hotel, motel, etc	Staff quarters	Other non private dwelling	Total(a)
	%	%	%	%	%	No.
LaTrobe - Gippsland	41.1	24.3	22.0	2.5	5.7	11 667
Mornington Peninsula	44.5	18.4	27.4	1.8	6.4	10 454
West and North West (Tas.)	37.7	17.1	29.5	3.1	7.9	4 529
South East (Tas.)	58.5	13.8	16.8	1.3	8.1	2 195
Mandurah	32.7	25.5	12.1	22.2	4.0	5 488

(a)Total also includes Private dwellings - structure not stated and Non private dwellings - type unknown.

Compared with Australia as a whole, the usual resident population of these areas was on average older. With the exception of South East in Tasmania, the usual resident populations also included more females, consistent with an older population. Those usual residents who were elsewhere in Australia on Census Night had a still older median age, but in contrast to usual residents who were in the area on Census Night, included more males than females. Mandurah shows the greatest difference in sex ratio between those in the area and those elsewhere: the number of males for every 100 females was 96 for those in the area and 158 for those away from the area.

The labour force participation rate for the usual residents of these areas was somewhat lower than the rate of 65% for Australia as a whole, ranging from 56% for South East (Tasmania) to 63% for Mornington Peninsula. Within Mornington Peninsula SA4, the labour force participation rate was higher for Frankston SA3, than for Mornington Peninsula SA3 (67% compared with 60%).

	All usual residents			Usual residents enumerated elsewhere
	Median age	Sex ratio		Median age	Sex ratio
LaTrobe - Gippsland	42	97		57	118
Mornington Peninsula	40	95		58	110
West and North West (Tas.)	41	96		56	117
South East (Tas.)	44	105		54	110
Mandurah	42	96		54	158

POPULATIONS OUTSIDE CENSUS NIGHT The Census counts people at one point in time, in winter, so for some areas the population pattern may be quite different at other times of the year (for example, in summer) on other nights of the week or at times when there are special events held. Looking at information on areas with a large proportion of unoccupied private dwellings sheds some light on possible occupation at times other than Census Night. Data on occupancy of hotels, motels and serviced apartments can give an indication of seasonal variation in these types of non-private dwellings (see Notes below). UNOCCUPIED PRIVATE DWELLINGS The Statistical Areas Level 4 (SA4s) with the largest proportion of unoccupied dwellings were all in the southern part of Australia. Consistent with this, the leading six SA4s all had less people enumerated on Census Night than were usually resident. South East (in Tasmania) had the highest proportion of unoccupied dwellings in Australia (35%), followed by Western Australia - Wheatbelt (24%). STATISTICAL AREAS LEVEL 4 WITH THE LARGEST PROPORTION OF UNOCCUPIED DWELLINGS ON CENSUS NIGHT - 2011 Statistical Area Level 4 Proportion of private dwellings recorded as unoccupied on Census Night % South East (Tas.) 35.3 Western Australia - Wheatbelt 23.8 Southern Highlands and Shoalhaven (NSW) 23.1 LaTrobe - Gippsland 22.7 Mornington Peninsula 22.6 South Australia - South East 22.6 Looking at the pattern of unoccupied private dwellings at a lower geographic level - Statistical Areas Level 2 (SA2s) with over 100 dwellings - shows that in some areas over half the private dwellings were unoccupied on Census Night. This suggests that at other times of the year, the 'enumerated' population count would most probably be quite different than it was on Census Night. Four of the leading five SA2s for unoccupied dwellings were in Victoria: Lorne - Anglesea (68%) Point Nepean (65%), Phillip Island (62%) and Otway (61%). The other was in Tasmania: Central Highlands (64%). To what extent is the proportion of unoccupied dwellings associated with usual residents of these areas, who were not at home on Census Night? The Census counts usual residents who were elsewhere in Australia on Census Night but not those who were overseas. Lorne - Anglesea, with the highest proportion of unoccupied dwellings (68%), had only 13% of it's usual resident population away from home and somewhere else in Australia, on Census Night. The proportions were similar in the other leading areas for unoccupied dwellings, with the proportion of usual residents away from home ranging from 8% to 14%. Whilst it's likely that there would be some residents overseas on Census Night, it is clear that the number of absent residents cannot explain the high level of unoccupied dwellings in these areas. Unoccupied dwellings which have not been reported as anyone's usual residence can result from new housing developments which are yet to be occupied; homes which have been vacated and new occupants have not yet moved in; or second residences or holiday accommodation. In the case of second residences or holiday accommodation, the occupancy patterns in these areas at some other times of the year or other nights of the week, will not be reflected in either the Census Night 'enumerated' counts or in the 'usual residence' counts. However, these are a population for whom services are required at some time of the year. STATISTICAL AREAS LEVEL 2 WITH THE LARGEST PROPORTION OF UNOCCUPIED DWELLINGS - 2011 Proportion of private dwellings unoccupied on Census Night Proportion of usual residents(a) not at home on Census Night Difference between usual resident(a) and enumerated population % % % Lorne - Anglesea 68.4 13.5 0.1 Point Nepean (Vic.) 64.6 10.3 - 5.8 Central Highlands (Tas.) 64.2 7.5 - 2.0 Phillip Island (Vic.) 61.8 9.9 -2.2 Otway (Vic.) 60.5 13.7 - 3.1 (a) Usual residents who were in Australia on Census Night NOTES How Census collectors record private dwellings as occupied or unoccupied Census collectors record whether private dwellings are occupied or unoccupied on Census Night. They sometimes find this difficult to determine and are not always able to make the distinction. Where contact is not made with a dwelling, provision is made for the householder to notify the ABS if their dwelling was in fact unoccupied on Census Night. Where the Collector is not able to determine occupancy and there is no other information received, and the collector has no credible basis for determining occupancy, then the dwelling is be treated as occupied. Occupancy of hotels, motels and serviced apartments Tourist Accommodation, Australia, June 2012 (cat. no. 8635.0) has monthly data on occupancy rates of hotels, motels and serviced apartments. From January 2012, data is available on ASGS geographic boundaries, as well as on the ASGC, prior to this data is available only for ASGC boundaries.

NOTES AND DEFINITIONS For further information or for any definitions not covered here see Census Dictionary, 2011 (cat. no. 2901.0). Place of Enumeration is the place where a person spent Census Night, which may or may not be where he or she usually lives. This information is recorded on question 1 of the Census Household Form ('What is the address of this dwelling?') and in similar questions on other forms or methods of collection. Population counts based on where people were on Census Night are referred to as Enumerated Populations. Unless otherwise specified, enumerated populations in this article exclude overseas visitors (people who indicate they will be in Australia for less than a year and are usually resident in another country). Place of Usual Residence is the place where a person usually lives, defined as the place where, on Census Night, a person had lived or expected to live for six months or more of the calendar year. Usual residence data is collected from question 8 on the Census Household Form ('Where does this person usually live') which is answered for every person in the dwelling, and from equivalent questions when other forms or methods of collection were used. If a person has no usual address they may write in 'None' and these people are coded to 'no usual address'. An off-shore place such as an oil rig is a valid usual address as is a ship or boat. Population counts based on place of usual residence are referred to as Usual Resident Populations. Place of usual residence is one of the few data items which is imputed when a response is missing or uninformative. If a person gives only a state as an address, they are imputed to a Statistical Area Level 1 (SA1) in that state. If they only give a capital city, they are imputed to an SA1 in that city. For most people place of usual residence is straightforward as they have one home in which they stay for most of the year. However, in some circumstances people may find the question more difficult. For example, retirees who spend some time in a holiday home and some in a city home; couples who have a family base but one partner works away for part of the week or month; and people living in staff or student accommodation which they may not regard as their usual residence. Overseas visitors are people who were in Australia on Census Night, were identified as residents of 'another country' in response to the Census question 'Where does this person usually live?' and who indicated they would be resident in Australia for less than a year. Overseas visitors are not included in the population counts presented in this article. However, information about the numbers present in the areas examined in this article may be of interest to some readers and are presented below. Only basic demographic data is retained for overseas visitors. The number of overseas visitors present in SA4s on Census Night was highest for Sydney - City and Inner South (16,000), Melbourne - Inner (15,000), Gold Coast (13,000), Cairns (12,000) and Brisbane - Inner City (8,000). OVERSEAS VISITORS IN SELECTED SA4S - 2011 Statistical Area Level 4 Number Percent(a) Western Australia - Outback 3 816 1.4 Queensland - Outback 1 166 1.2 Northern Territory - Outback 3 548 3.4 Mackay 2 521 1.4 Cairns 12 226 4.9 (a) Of people enumerated in the area on Census Night including overseas visitors. Place of Work is the place a person worked in their main job in the week prior to Census. It is collected through a workplace address question on Census forms. Acceptable responses include 'no fixed workplace address'. People who report to a depot for work are asked to supply the depot address. Where records are wholly imputed, place of work is set to not stated. In 2011, there were people known to be in staff quarters, but who did not return a form, and for these people a record was created in which Place of Work was set to not stated. They included 11,129 people in Western Australia - Outback and 6,204 people in Mackay. Statistical Areas Level 2 (SA2) are areas defined in the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS), and consist of one or more whole Statistical Areas Level 1 (SA1s). Wherever possible SA2s are based on officially gazetted State suburbs and localities. In urban areas SA2s largely conform to whole suburbs and combinations of whole suburbs, while in rural areas they define functional zones of social and economic links. Geography is also taken into account in SA2 design. SA2s cover, in aggregate, the whole of Australia without gaps or overlaps. Statistical Areas Level 3 (SA3s) are built from aggregations of whole Statistical Area Level 2 (SA2) boundaries to represent regions of between approximately 30,000 people and 130,000 people to cover the whole of Australia. These boundaries reflect a combination of widely recognised informal regions as well as existing administrative regions such as State Government Regions in rural areas and local Government Areas in urban areas. SA3 boundaries fit within whole Statistical Area Level 4 (SA4) boundaries. Statistical Areas Level 4 (SA4s) are the largest regions below the State and Territory level in the Main Structure of the Australian Statistical Geography Standard. They are aggregations of whole Statistical Areas Level 3 and fit whole within State and Territory Boundaries. They are designed to reflect one or more whole labour markets and to have a population of 100,000 or more. In rural areas, SA4s generally represent aggregations of multiple small labour markets with socioeconomic connections or similar industry characteristics. Large regional city labour markets are generally defined by a single SA4. Within major metropolitan labour markets, SA4s represent sub-labour markets. Median age is the age which divides a population in half i.e. half are older than this age and half younger. From Census data, median age is calculated from ages in whole years. Dwellings - This article employs a cross-classification of the data items Dwelling Type, Type of Non-Private Dwelling and Dwelling Structure which are defined in the Census Dictionary, 2011 (cat. no. 2901.0). The groups created are: Private house, townhouse or unit groups together: Occupied Private Dwellings with Dwelling Structure of: private house; semi-detached, row or terrace house or townhouse, etc; Flat, unit or apartment, etc; and Other Dwelling - house or flat attached to a shop, office, etc. Caravan, cabin, houseboat, improvised dwelling, tent and sleepers out groups two categories of Occupied Private Dwelling. Private dwelling, structure not stated Hotels, motels, bed and breakfasts, boarding house or private hotel groups two categories of Non-Private Dwelling Staff quarters is a category of Non-Private Dwelling. It does not include nurses quarters, which is also a separate category of Non-Private dwelling, grouped in this article with Other and not classifiable non-private dwelling. Other and not classifiable non private dwellings groups together 18 other categories of non private dwellings including nurses quarters. Not stated means that no response was received for this data item. As well as Census forms returned with some questions unanswered, imputation of whole persons can contribute to the number of 'not stateds' for a data item. Where imputed individuals are added to the Census count, only a few core data items are imputed, all other data items are set to not stated. Imputation - see Derivations and Imputations in the Census Dictionary, 2011 (cat. no. 2901.0).

ENDNOTES

Endnote 1. Appendix 1 Tourist Industry Correspondence in Tourism Satellite Accounts, Australian National Accounts, 2010-11 (cat. no. 5249.0).