Palm Island

Demographics & education

People tables are based on a person's place of usual residence on Census night

In the 2016 Census, there were 2,455 people in Palm Island. Of these 49.6% were male and 50.4% were female. Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people made up 93.8% of the population.

The median age of people in Palm Island was 24 years. Children aged 0 - 14 years made up 32.0% of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 3.3% of the population.

Of people in Palm Island aged 15 years and over, 10.3% were married and 3.1% were either divorced or separated.

In Palm Island, of people aged 15 years and over, 8.0% of people were in a registered marriage and 28.0% were in a de facto marriage.

In Palm Island 25.8% of people were attending an educational institution. Of these, 54.9% were in primary school, 20.4% in secondary school and 4.0% in a tertiary or technical institution.

Of people aged 15 and over in Palm Island, 15.0% reported having completed Year 12 as their highest level of educational attainment, 10.4% had completed a Certificate III or IV and 2.6% had completed an Advanced Diploma or Diploma.

Cultural & language diversity

The most common ancestries in Palm Island were Australian Aboriginal 74.5%, Torres Strait Islander 12.7%, Australian 4.9%, English 2.2% and Scottish 0.8%.

Respondents had the option of reporting up to two ancestries on their Census form, and this is captured by the Ancestry Multi Response (ANCP) variable used in this table. Therefore, the total responses count will not equal the persons count for this area. Calculated percentages represent a proportion of all responses from people in Palm Island (including those who did not state an ancestry).

In Palm Island, 96.8% of people were born in Australia. The only other responses for country of birth were New Zealand 0.6%, Fiji 0.5%, England 0.4% and Papua New Guinea 0.1%.

In Palm Island, 94.3% of people had both parents born in Australia and 1.9% of people had both parents born overseas.

In Palm Island, the most common countries of birth for male parents were Australia 95.6%, England 0.5%, New Zealand 0.5%, Fiji 0.4% and Papua New Guinea 0.4%.

In Palm Island, the most common countries of birth for female parents were Australia 95.7%, New Zealand 0.7%, England 0.5%, Papua New Guinea 0.4% and Fiji 0.3%.

The most common responses for religion in Palm Island were Catholic 50.4%, Anglican 19.4%, Other Protestant 8.5%, No Religion, so described 8.1% and Baptist 5.0%. In Palm Island, Christianity was the largest religious group reported overall (91.2%) (this figure excludes not stated responses).

In Palm Island 92.2% of people only spoke English at home. The only other responses for language spoken at home were Yumplatok (Torres Strait Creole) 0.2%, Non-verbal, so described 0.1%, Fijian 0.1% and Motu (HiriMotu) 0.1%.

Employment

There were 702 people who reported being in the labour force in the week before Census night in Palm Island. Of these 38.6% were employed full time, 28.3% were employed part-time and 29.1% were unemployed.

The ABS Labour Force Survey provides the official estimates of Australia's unemployment rate. More information about Census and labour force status is provided in Understanding the Census and Census Data.

Of employed people in Palm Island, 19.6% worked 1 to 15 hours, 6.6% worked 16 to 24 hours and 38.7% worked 40 hours or more.

The most common occupations in Palm Island included Community and Personal Service Workers 30.7%, Professionals 17.1%, Labourers 14.9%, Clerical and Administrative Workers 11.0%, Technicians and Trades Workers 9.4%, Managers 7.0%, Machinery Operators and Drivers 4.4% and Sales Workers 3.2%.

Of the employed people in Palm Island, the most common responses for industry of employment included Local Government Administration 20.2%, Primary Education 15.8%, Hospitals (except Psychiatric Hospitals) 7.5%, Other Allied Health Services 5.8% and Police Services 3.5%.

The median weekly personal income for people aged 15 years and over in Palm Island was $306.

View the data quality statements for: Total personal income (INCP) Total family income (FINF) Total household income (HIND)

In Palm Island, on the day of the Census, the most common methods of travel to work for employed people included Walked only 42.9%, Car, as driver 29.0%, Car, as passenger 19.4%, Bus 3.3% and Other 0.6%. On the day, 3.2% of employed people used public transport (train, bus, ferry, tram/light rail) as at least one of their methods of travel to work and 48.7% used car (either as driver or as passenger).

In Palm Island, of people aged 15 years and over, 74.8% did unpaid domestic work in the week before the Census. During the two weeks before the Census, 40.4% provided care for children and 12.3% assisted family members or others due to a disability, long term illness or problems related to old age. In the year before the Census, 8.2% of people did voluntary work through an organisation or a group.

View the data quality statements for: Unpaid domestic work (DOMP) Unpaid child care (CHCAREP) Unpaid assistance (UNCAREP) Voluntary work (VOLWP)

Of people who did unpaid domestic work in the week before the Census in Palm Island, 14.7% worked 5 to 14 hours, 4.3% worked 15 to 29 hours and 4.6% worked 30 hours or more.

Family composition

Of the families in Palm Island, 41.2% were couple families with children, 13.4% were couple families without children and 40.0% were one parent families.

In Palm Island, 18.2% of single parents were male and 81.8% were female.

Employment status of couple families

In Palm Island, of couple families with children, 14.9% had both partners employed full-time, 8.2% had both employed part-time and 4.6% had one employed full-time and the other part-time.

The ABS Labour Force Survey provides the official estimates of Australia's unemployment rate. More information about Census and labour force status is provided in Understanding the Census and Census Data.

Dwelling structure

Dwelling tables exclude visitor only and other non-classifiable households

In Palm Island, 96.4% of private dwellings were occupied and 3.6% were unoccupied.

View the data quality statements for: Dwelling type (DWTD) Dwelling Structure (STRD)

Of occupied private dwellings in Palm Island, 83.2% were separate houses, 7.1% were semi-detached, row or terrace houses, townhouses etc, 5.7% were flats or apartments and 4.0% were other dwellings.

In Palm Island, of occupied private dwellings 5.8% had 1 bedroom, 27.5% had 2 bedrooms and 39.4% had 3 bedrooms. The average number of bedrooms per occupied private dwelling was 2.9. The average household size was 4.3 people.

View the data quality statements for: Number of bedrooms in a private dwelling (BEDD) Number of persons usually resident in dwelling (NPRD)

Of occupied private dwellings in Palm Island, 3.9% were owned outright, 0.0% were owned with a mortgage and 93.8% were rented.

Household composition

In Palm Island, of all households, 84.4% were family households, 14.2% were single person households and 1.5% were group households.

In Palm Island, 23.9% of households had a weekly household income of less than $650 and 5.8% of households had a weekly income of more than $3000.

Mortgage & rent

Proportions are calculated using all tenure types for occupied private dwellings. This excludes visitor only and other non-classifiable households.

The number of households where rent payments were 30% or more of an imputed income measure are expressed in this table as a proportion of the total number of households in an area (including those households which were not renting, and excluding the small proportion of visitor only and other non-classifiable households). The nature of the income imputation means that the reported proportion may significantly overstate the true proportion.

The number of households where mortgage repayments were 30% or more of an imputed income measure are expressed in this table as a proportion of the total number of households in an area (including those households which were renting, and excluding the small proportion of visitor only and other non-classifiable households). The nature of the income imputation means that the reported proportion may significantly overstate the true proportion.

Number of motor vehicles

In Palm Island, 31.4% of occupied private dwellings had one registered motor vehicle garaged or parked at their address, 10.5% had two registered motor vehicles and 2.5% had three or more registered motor vehicles.

Internet connection

In Palm Island, 57.5% of households had at least one person access the internet from the dwelling. This could have been through a desktop/laptop computer, mobile or smart phone, tablet, music or video player, gaming console, smart TV or any other device.

People characteristics

In Palm Island, 49.5% of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people were male and 50.5% were female. The median age was 23 years.

View the data quality statements for: Place of Usual Residence (PURP) Indigenous status (INGP)

Dwelling characteristics

Dwelling tables exclude visitor only and other non-classifiable households. These tables represent occupied private dwellings where at least one Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait islander person was present.

In Palm Island, for dwellings occupied by Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people, the average household size was 4.4 persons, with 1.5 persons per bedroom. The median household income was $1,069.

View the data quality statements for: Number of Bedrooms in Private Dwelling (BEDD) Household composition (HHCD) Indigenous household Indicator (INGDWTD)

In Palm Island, for dwellings occupied by Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people, the median weekly rent was $120 and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $0.

View the data quality statements for: Rent weekly payments (RNTD) Mortgage monthly repayments (MRED) Indigenous household Indicator (INGDWTD)