Place of enumeration
The place of enumeration is the place at which the person is counted i.e. where he/she spent Census Night, which may not be where he/she usually lives.
The population count for place of enumeration is a count of every person, who spends Census Night in Australia, based on where he/she is counted. It includes people on board vessels in or between Australian ports, or on long-distance trains, buses or aircraft. This count is also known as a de facto population count.
People entering Australia from overseas before midnight on Census Night were counted where they stayed on Census Night. Visitors to Australia are counted regardless of how long they had been in the country or how long they planned to stay. Australian residents in Antarctica are also within the scope of the Census.
People leaving an Australian port for an overseas destination before midnight on Census Night are not counted in the Census. Australian residents out of the country on Census Night, and overseas diplomatic personnel and their families in Australia are out of the scope of the Census.
This type of count provides a snapshot in any given area. Although the Census is timed to attempt to capture the typical situation, holiday resort areas, such as the Gold Coast and snow fields, may show a large enumeration count compared with the usual residence count.
Census counts based on place of enumeration can be provided for individual Collection Districts (CDs), and any aggregations of CDs, such as postal areas or SLAs.
The variables Family Composition (FMCF) and Household Composition (HHCD) are coded on a usual residence rather than place of enumeration basis. All visitors to dwellings are excluded when coding these variables and usual residents who are reported as 'temporarily absent' are included in the coding of Family Composition (FMCF).
See also Australia, Census counts, Collection District (CD), Family, Household, Place of usual residence (PURP), Visitors to Australia.