2081.0 - Australians' journeys through life: Stories from the Australian Census Longitudinal Dataset, ACLD Quality Declaration 
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 05/12/2018   
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CHANGING IDENTIFICATION BY AGE

Overall, the age distribution of consistently identified people was similar to those who were newly identified in 2011 and those who were newly identified in 2016. Previously identified people however had a different age distribution, with relatively less children and teenagers, and more 25-34 year olds, than consistently and newly identified people.

4.1 Consistency of identification as an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander person by age group, 2006-2016(a)

Graph shows the distribution of people who were consistently identified, newly identified in 2011, newly identified in 2016 and previously identified by age group.
(a) Based on a person’s age in 2016.

For further detail, see Table 5 in the data cube titled ‘ACLD 2006-2011-2016 Identification as an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander person in the Census over time’.
Note: Cells in this graph have been randomly adjusted to avoid the release of confidential data. Discrepancies may occur between sums of the component items and totals.
Source: ABS 2019, Microdata: Australian Census Longitudinal Dataset, ACLD, cat no. 2080.0, ABS Canberra.


A person’s identification as an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander person can change at various points throughout their life (also referred to as life course identification14 ). These changes can be in response to shifting social or personal circumstances15,16 or as people make decisions about their lives and how they choose to identify in various contexts as they transition through childhood, adolescence and adulthood17. There is some evidence in the three wave ACLD of changes in identification as people age. These findings are consistent with similar research conducted using the 2006-2011 and 2011-2016 ACLD15,18,19.

Children and teenagers most likely of all age groups to be consistently identified

    • Children and teenagers aged 10-19 years in 2016 made up 29% of people who were consistently identified, newly identified in 2016 and people who were newly identified in 2011.
    • This age group made up only 19% of previously identified people.

20-34 year olds over-represented amongst previously identified people
    • The proportion of people who were newly identified in 2016 aged 20-24 years was only 9%, whereas this age group accounted for 12% of consistently identified people, and were slightly over-represented in previously identified people (13%).
    • People aged 25-34 years in 2016 were also over-represented amongst previously identified people (24%).
    • Tasmania had the highest proportion of previously identified people aged 20-34 years (42%) closely followed by Western Australia (41%), Queensland (39%), Victoria (36%) and New South Wales (34%).
    • Almost half (47%) of all previously identified 20-34 year olds identified as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander in 2006 and as non-Indigenous in 2011 and 2016. The share of previously identified people with this pattern of identification was higher for 25-29 year olds (56%) and 30-34 year olds (58%) than 20-24 year olds (29%). 20-24 year olds were more likely to have identified as non-Indigenous in 2016 only (34%), than in both 2011 and 2016 (29%).

Minimal differences in identification change for people aged 35-54 years
    • The proportion of newly identified people aged 35-44 years and 45-54 years was similar to those who were consistently identified, previously identified and those who were newly identified in 2011.

Lower proportion of consistently identified people aged 55 years and over
    • There was a lower proportion of consistently identified people aged 55 years and over (14%) compared with those who were previously identified (18%), newly identified in 2016 (17%) and those who were newly identified in 2011 (16%).
    • The observations from the three wave ACLD for this age group are consistent with previous analysis of this age group in the 2006-2011 ACLD10.


INDIGENOUS STATUS OF PARENTS AND GUARDIANS

The three wave ACLD suggests that changes in the Indigenous status of children and teenagers may be linked to changes in the Indigenous status of their parent or guardian. When interpreting data on the Indigenous status of a child’s parent or guardian, it is important to consider that a child may not have the same parent or guardian in each Census, but this aspect cannot be differentiated in the data. Additionally, the Census and the ACLD cannot be used to explain why the changes outlined above are occurring as neither data set collects information on people’s reasons for how they responded to the Standard Indigenous Question (SIQ).

For children aged 10-14 years in 2016 who have ever identified as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander:
    • Nearly half (47%) had at least one consistently identified parent or guardian.
    • A quarter (25%) had a parent or guardian who identified as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander in 2016 but had not identified in 2006 and/or 2011.

Change over time in the Indigenous status of these children appears to correspond to changes in the Indigenous status of their parent or guardian (including couple and lone parents):
    • Nearly two-thirds (64%) of consistently identified children had at least one consistently identified parent or guardian.
    • Of children who were newly identified in 2016, 65% had a parent or guardian who identified as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander in 2016 and were not consistently identified (for example, a child with a non-Indigenous female parent/guardian and a newly identified male parent/guardian). A small proportion of children who were newly identified in 2016 (9%) had parents or guardians who were also all newly identified in 2016.
    • Two-thirds (66%) of previously identified children had at least one previously identified parent or guardian. A further 27% did not have a parent or guardian who identified as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander.
    • Just under half (47%) of children who were newly identified in 2011 had a parent or guardian who identified as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander in 2016 and had changed their Indigenous status in 2011 and/or 2006. A further 11% had parents or guardians who were also all newly identified in 2011.



INDIGENOUS STATUS OF SPOUSES AND PARTNERS

Just over two-thirds (67%) of people aged 25 years and over who have ever identified as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander had a non-Indigenous spouse or partner in 2016. This was substantially higher in Non-remote areas (81%) than Remote areas (21%) and for people whose Indigenous status changed between 2006 and 2016 (86%), compared to people who were consistently identified 57%).

The data also suggests that a person’s Indigenous status may change depending on the Indigenous status of their current spouse or partner:

    • 68% of people who were newly identified in 2016 with an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander spouse/partner in 2016 had a non-Indigenous spouse/partner in 2006.
    • One in five (20%) previously identified people with a non-Indigenous spouse/partner in 2016 had an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander spouse/partner in 2006.

When interpreting data on the Indigenous status of spouses and partners, it is important to consider that the changes observed could be a result of one or both partners changing how they identify in the Census, a change in spouse or partner between Censuses, or other reasons not captured in the Census. The Census and the ACLD cannot be used to determine why the observed changes are occurring as it is not possible to determine if a person has the same spouse or partner in each Census. There is also limited research on the relationship between whether a person identifies as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander and the Indigenous status of their spouse or partner20.


REFERENCES

14 ABS 2018, Census of Population and Housing: Understanding the Increase in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Counts, 2016, cat. no. 2077.0, ABS, Canberra
15 Grumond E, Robitaille N & Senecal S 2015, Fuzzy Definitions and Demographic Explosion of Aboriginal Populations in Canada from 1986 to 2006 In: Simon P, Piché V, Gagnon A. (eds) Social Statistics and Ethnic Diversity. IMISCOE Research Series. Springer, Cham.
16 Biddle, N, Crawford, H 2015, The changing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population: Evidence from the 2006–11 Australian Census Longitudinal Dataset, Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research, Australian National University, Canberra.
17 Bennet, B 2019, Developing Aboriginal identity as a light-skinned person In: Bennet, B & Green, S (eds.) Our Voices. Aboriginal social work (second edition). Red Globe Press, London.
18 Biddle, N, & Markham, F 2018, Indigenous identification change between 2011 and 2016: evidence from the Australian Census Longitudinal Dataset, Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research, Australian National University, Canberra.
19 ABS 2018, Census of Population and Housing: Understanding the Increase in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Counts, 2016, cat. no. 2077.0, ABS, Canberra.
20 New South Wales Aboriginal Education Consultative Group (NSW AEGC) 2011, Aboriginality and Identity: Perspectives, Practices and Policy. Sydney: NSW AECG Inc.