Dwelling Type (DWTD)
This variable classifies all dwellings into the basic dwelling types. The categories are:
Occupied Private Dwelling: An occupied private dwelling is a private dwelling occupied by one or more people.
A private dwelling is normally a house, flat, or even a room. It can also be a caravan, houseboat, tent, or a house attached to an office, or rooms above a shop.
Occupied dwellings in caravan/residential parks are treated as occupied private dwellings. Dwellings in caravan parks in Censuses prior to 1986, were classified as non-private dwellings. This may affect time series comparisons with Censuses prior to 1986 for family and household data.
Dwellings located in caravan/residential parks can be identified by using the variable Dwelling Location (DLOD).
Occupied dwellings in manufactured home estates and units in retirement villages (self-contained) have been classified as occupied private dwellings since the 1996 Census. Previously, they were classified as non-private dwellings.
Unoccupied Private Dwellings: These are structures built specifically for living purposes which are habitable, but unoccupied on Census Night. Vacant houses, holiday homes, huts and cabins (other than seasonal workers' quarters) are counted as unoccupied dwellings. Also included are newly completed dwellings not yet occupied, dwellings which are vacant because they are due for demolition or repair, and dwellings to let.
Unoccupied private dwellings in caravan/residential parks, marinas and manufactured home estates are not counted in the Census. The exception to the above are residences of owners, managers or caretakers of the establishment and for this Census, unoccupied residences in retirement villages (self-contained).
Non-Private Dwellings (NPDs): NPDs are those dwellings, not included above, that provide a communal or transitory type of accommodation. They are classified according to their function for the variable Type of Non-Private Dwelling (NPDD). NPDs include hotels, motels, guest houses, prisons, religious and charitable institutions, boarding schools, defence establishments, hospitals and other communal dwellings.
People in NPDs are enumerated on personal forms and so information on their family structure is not available. In the case of accommodation for the retired or aged, where the one establishment contains both self-contained units and units that are not self-contained, then both household forms (self-contained) and personal forms (not self-contained) are used as appropriate.
Migratory: People enumerated on an overnight journey by plane, train or bus cannot be allocated a dwelling type. This category exists for processing purposes only.
Off-Shore: This includes dwellings such as off-shore oil rigs, drilling platforms and the like. Prior to the 2006 Census, it also included people enumerated aboard ships in Australian waters.
Shipping: This dwelling type is for people enumerated aboard ships in Australian waters. For the 2001 and earlier Censuses, they were included in the 'Offshore' category.
See also Collection District (CD), Dwelling Location (DLOD), Dwelling Structure (STRD), Type of Non-Private Dwelling (NPDD).
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