Western Australia

Latest release
2021 Census Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people QuickStats
Geography type State/Territory
Area code 5
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people 88,693
Male 50.4%
Female 49.6%
Median age 24
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander families 27,641
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander households 33,946
Average number of people per household 3.2
Median weekly household income $1,480
Median monthly mortgage repayments $1,733
Median weekly rent (a) $260

(a) For 2021, median weekly rent calculations exclude dwellings being occupied rent-free.

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All tables refer to Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander persons in Western Australia, unless otherwise stated.
Small random changes have been made to all cell values for privacy reasons. These changes may cause the sum of rows or columns to differ by small amounts from the table totals.

People and population

Indigenous status
All people 		Western Australia, 2021 % Western Australia, 2021 Western Australia, 2016 % Western Australia, 2016 Australia, 2021 % Australia, 2021
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander total 88,693 3.3 75,981 3.1 812,728 3.2
Aboriginal 85,004 3.2 72,922 2.9 742,882 2.9
Torres Strait Islander 1,625 0.1 1,436 0.1 33,765 0.1
Both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander 2,068 0.1 1,626 0.1 36,083 0.1
Non-Indigenous 2,431,204 91.4 2,237,543 90.4 23,375,949 91.9
Not stated 140,128 5.3 160,890 6.5 1,234,112 4.9

More information on Place of Usual Residence (PURP), Indigenous status (INGP)
Table based on place of usual residence

Age
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people 		Western Australia, 2021 % Western Australia, 2021 Western Australia, 2016 % Western Australia, 2016 Australia, 2021 % Australia, 2021
Median age 24 N/A 23 N/A 24 N/A
0-4 years 9,264 10.4 8,405 11.1 85,941 10.6
5-14 years 19,164 21.6 16,966 22.3 179,604 22.1
15-24 years 16,006 18.0 14,070 18.5 150,057 18.5
25-34 years 13,512 15.2 11,451 15.1 117,969 14.5
35-44 years 10,445 11.8 8,861 11.7 87,910 10.8
45-54 years 8,961 10.1 7,893 10.4 81,802 10.1
55-64 years 6,632 7.5 5,138 6.8 61,759 7.6
65 years and over 4,716 5.3 3,192 4.2 47,677 5.9

More information on Age (AGEP)
Table based on place of usual residence

Registered marital status
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people aged 15 years and over 		Western Australia, 2021 % Western Australia, 2021 Western Australia, 2016 % Western Australia, 2016 Australia, 2021 % Australia, 2021
Married 12,414 20.6 11,239 22.2 127,525 23.3
Separated 2,666 4.4 2,210 4.4 23,982 4.4
Divorced 3,260 5.4 2,587 5.1 37,473 6.8
Widowed 1,837 3.0 1,611 3.2 16,329 3.0
Never married 40,088 66.5 32,958 65.1 341,871 62.5

Note: In December 2017, amendments to the Marriage Act 1961 came into effect enabling marriage equality for all couples. For 2021, registered marriages include all couples.

More information on Registered marital status (MSTP)
Table based on place of usual residence

Social marital status
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people aged 15 years and over, usually resident and present in the household on Census night 		Western Australia, 2021 % Western Australia, 2021 Western Australia, 2016 % Western Australia, 2016 Australia, 2021 % Australia, 2021
Registered marriage (a) 9,839 19.6 7,949 19.2 112,643 23.0
De facto marriage (b) 9,703 19.3 8,310 20.1 81,295 16.6
Not married 30,724 61.1 25,161 60.7 296,032 60.4

(a) In December 2017, amendments to the Marriage Act 1961 came into effect enabling marriage equality for all couples. For 2021, registered marriages include all couples.
(b) De facto marriage is when two people live together as partners who are not in a registered marriage. It includes people who report de facto, partner, common law husband/wife/spouse, lover, girlfriend or boyfriend.

More information on Social marital status (MDCP)
Table based on place of usual residence

Education

Type of educational institution attending
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people attending an educational institution 		Western Australia, 2021 % Western Australia, 2021 Western Australia, 2016 % Western Australia, 2016 Australia, 2021 % Australia, 2021
Preschool 2,321 6.6 1,588 5.2 25,485 8.0
Primary 12,434 35.5 10,753 35.3 120,864 37.9
Secondary 8,838 25.3 7,316 24.0 83,631 26.2
Tertiary - Vocational education (including TAFE and private training providers) 1,694 4.8 1,153 3.8 21,273 6.7
Tertiary - University or higher education 1,710 4.9 1,242 4.1 21,149 6.6
Other 782 2.2 484 1.6 7,310 2.3
Not stated 7,209 20.6 7,885 25.9 38,814 12.2

More information Type of educational institution attending (TYPP)
Table based on place of usual residence

Level of highest educational attainment
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people aged 15 years and over 		Western Australia, 2021 % Western Australia, 2021 Western Australia, 2016 % Western Australia, 2016 Australia, 2021 % Australia, 2021
Bachelor Degree level and above 3,247 5.4 2,157 4.3 40,554 7.4
Advanced Diploma and Diploma level 2,678 4.4 1,886 3.7 34,681 6.3
Certificate level IV 2,311 3.8 1,436 2.8 23,374 4.3
Certificate level III 7,762 12.9 5,480 10.8 84,821 15.5
Year 12 9,364 15.5 6,951 13.7 82,998 15.2
Year 11 5,923 9.8 4,984 9.8 43,335 7.9
Year 10 14,035 23.3 10,475 20.7 102,707 18.8
Certificate level II 106 0.2 89 0.2 1,262 0.2
Certificate level I 22 0.0 13 0.0 241 0.0
Year 9 or below 7,020 11.6 6,342 12.5 75,326 13.8
Inadequately described 1,073 1.8 1,010 2.0 11,038 2.0
No educational attainment 854 1.4 707 1.4 5,242 1.0
Not stated 5,847 9.7 9,069 17.9 41,467 7.6

More information on Level of highest educational attainment (HEAP)
Table based on place of usual residence

Cultural diversity

Australian Indigenous language, top responses
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people 		Western Australia, 2021 % Western Australia, 2021 Western Australia, 2016 % Western Australia, 2016 Australia, 2021 % Australia, 2021
Kriol 2,027 2.3 2,363 3.1 7,403 0.9
Nyungar 1,324 1.5 388 0.5 1,441 0.2
Ngaanyatjarra 1,003 1.1 1,074 1.4 1,046 0.1
Martu Wangka 790 0.9 711 0.9 791 0.1
Australian Indigenous Languages, nfd 700 0.8 1,518 2.0 4,197 0.5
 null  null  null  null  null  null  null
Australian Indigenous languages used at home 11,213 12.6 10,101 13.3 76,978 9.5
English only used at home 68,481 77.2 59,626 78.5 683,122 84.1

More information on Language used at home (LANP), Whether reported using an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander language at home (LNGP)
Table based on place of usual residence

Ancestry, top responses
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people 		Western Australia, 2021 % Western Australia, 2021 Western Australia, 2016 % Western Australia, 2016 Australia, 2021 % Australia, 2021
Australian Aboriginal 76,590 86.4 20,367 26.8 695,359 85.6
Australian 25,219 28.4 45,793 60.3 277,467 34.1
English 11,662 13.1 14,561 19.2 131,618 16.2
Torres Strait Islander 2,830 3.2 478 0.6 57,353 7.1
Irish 2,385 2.7 3,494 4.6 31,853 3.9

Note 1: 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 sum of all ancestry responses for an area will not equal the total number of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people in the area.
Note 2: Calculated percentages represent a proportion of the number of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people in the area (including those who did not state an ancestry).

More information on Ancestry multi response (ANCP)
Table based on place of usual residence

Income and work

Participation in the labour force
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people aged 15 years and over 		Western Australia, 2021 % Western Australia, 2021 Western Australia, 2016 % Western Australia, 2016 Australia, 2021 % Australia, 2021
In the labour force 29,553 49.0 23,601 46.6 296,172 54.1
Not in the labour force 27,477 45.6 24,364 48.1 234,314 42.8
Not stated 3,234 5.4 2,638 5.2 16,695 3.1

Note 1: Calculated percentages represent a proportion of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people aged 15 and over in the area.
Note 2: The ABS Labour Force Survey provides the official estimates of Australia's labour force. More information is provided in Comparing 2021 Census and Labour Force Survey.
Note 3: For information on Community Development Program participation (CDPP), please refer to the Census Dictionary. CDPP data is available in TableBuilder.

More information on Labour force status (LFSP)
Table based on place of usual residence

Employment status
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people who reported being in the labour force, aged 15 years and over 		Western Australia, 2021 % Western Australia, 2021 Western Australia, 2016 % Western Australia, 2016 Australia, 2021 % Australia, 2021
Employed  null  null  null  null  null  null
Worked full-time 14,457 48.9 11,114 47.1 144,659 48.8
Worked part-time 7,744 26.2 5,386 22.8 87,019 29.4
Away from work (a) 2,661 9.0 1,867 7.9 28,075 9.5
Total employed 24,863 84.1 18,364 77.8 259,754 87.7
Unemployed 4,688 15.9 5,237 22.2 36,419 12.3

Note 1: Calculated percentages represent a proportion of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people aged 15 and over, who reported being in the labour force in the area.
Note 2: The ABS Labour Force Survey provides the official estimates of Australia's labour force. More information is provided in Comparing 2021 Census and Labour Force Survey.
Note 3: For information on Community Development Program participation (CDPP), please refer to the Census Dictionary. CDPP data is available in TableBuilder.

(a) Counts employed people who reported 0 hours of work the week before the Census or did not state their hours of work.

More information on Labour force status (LFSP)
Table based on place of usual residence

Occupation, top responses
Employed Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people aged 15 years and over 		Western Australia, 2021 % Western Australia, 2021 Western Australia, 2016 % Western Australia, 2016 Australia, 2021 % Australia, 2021
Community and Personal Service Workers 3,807 15.3 2,829 15.4 45,221 17.4
Technicians and Trades Workers 3,643 14.7 2,734 14.9 35,333 13.6
Professionals 3,455 13.9 2,481 13.5 36,013 13.9
Machinery Operators and Drivers 3,385 13.6 2,632 14.3 23,291 9.0
Labourers 3,326 13.4 2,440 13.3 37,003 14.2
Clerical and Administrative Workers 2,841 11.4 2,243 12.2 30,731 11.8
Managers 1,852 7.4 1,151 6.3 21,218 8.2
Sales Workers 1,606 6.5 1,139 6.2 22,365 8.6

More information on Occupation (OCCP)
Table based on place of usual residence

Industry of employment, top responses
Employed Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people aged 15 years and over 		Western Australia, 2021 % Western Australia, 2021 Western Australia, 2016 % Western Australia, 2016 Australia, 2021 % Australia, 2021
Iron Ore Mining 2,289 9.2 1,771 9.6 2,518 1.0
Other Social Assistance Services 822 3.3 389 2.1 10,154 3.9
Supermarket and Grocery Stores 695 2.8 459 2.5 8,816 3.4
Hospitals (except Psychiatric Hospitals) 685 2.8 387 2.1 9,313 3.6
Primary Education 684 2.8 580 3.2 6,313 2.4

More information on Industry of employment (INDP)
Table based on place of usual residence

Median weekly incomes (a)
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people aged 15 years and over 		Western Australia, 2021 % Western Australia, 2021 Western Australia, 2016 % Western Australia, 2016 Australia, 2021 % Australia, 2021
Personal (b) 481 N/A 398 N/A 540 N/A
Family (c) 1,469 N/A 1,167 N/A 1,527 N/A
Household (d) 1,480 N/A 1,210 N/A 1,507 N/A

(a) Incomes are collected in ranges. The medians are then calculated using information from the Survey of Income and Housing.
(b) Excludes people aged 15 years and over who did not state their income.
(c) Excludes families where at least one family member aged 15 years and over did not state their income.
(d) Excludes households where at least one household member aged 15 years and over did not state their income.

More information on Total personal income (weekly) (INCP), Total family income (weekly) (FINF), Total household income (weekly) (HIND), Indigenous household indicator (INGDWTD), Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander family indicator (INGF)
Personal income data is based on place of usual residence
Family and household income data is based on place of enumeration

Unpaid work and care

Unpaid work and care
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people aged 15 years and over 		Western Australia, 2021 % Western Australia, 2021 Western Australia, 2016 % Western Australia, 2016 Australia, 2021 % Australia, 2021
Did unpaid domestic work (week before Census Night) 33,333 55.3 28,309 55.9 328,022 59.9
Provided unpaid care for child/children (during two weeks before Census Night) 18,072 30.0 15,382 30.4 166,628 30.5
Provided unpaid assistance to a person with a disability, health condition or due to old age (during two weeks before Census Night) 7,340 12.2 6,218 12.3 76,568 14.0
Did voluntary work through an organisation or group (last 12 months) 6,004 10.0 6,250 12.4 58,029 10.6

More information on Unpaid domestic work: number of hours (DOMP), Unpaid child care (CHCAREP), Unpaid assistance to a person with a disability, health condition, or due to old age (UNCAREP), Voluntary work for an organisation or group (VOLWP)
Table based on place of usual residence

Health

Type of long-term health condition
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people 		Western Australia, 2021 % Western Australia, 2021 Western Australia, 2016 % Western Australia, 2016 Australia, 2021 % Australia, 2021
Arthritis 3,896 4.4 N/A N/A 50,807 6.3
Asthma 8,714 9.8 N/A N/A 107,162 13.2
Cancer (including remission) 1,122 1.3 N/A N/A 12,927 1.6
Dementia (including Alzheimer's) 403 0.5 N/A N/A 3,610 0.4
Diabetes (excluding gestational diabetes) 6,042 6.8 N/A N/A 47,688 5.9
Heart disease (including heart attack or angina) 3,064 3.5 N/A N/A 30,160 3.7
Kidney disease 1,139 1.3 N/A N/A 10,053 1.2
Lung condition (including COPD or emphysema) 1,277 1.4 N/A N/A 17,552 2.2
Mental health condition (including depression or anxiety) 8,192 9.2 N/A N/A 107,776 13.3
Stroke 683 0.8 N/A N/A 7,059 0.9
Any other long-term health condition(s) 6,084 6.9 N/A N/A 70,592 8.7
No long-term health condition(s) 52,662 59.4 N/A N/A 462,348 56.9
Not stated 10,368 11.7 N/A N/A 65,539 8.1

Note 1: Measures the number of people who reported that they have been told by a doctor or nurse that they have any of these long-term health conditions.
Note 2: Respondents had the option of reporting multiple long-term health conditions. Therefore, the sum of all long-term health condition responses for an area will not equal the total number of people in the area.
Note 3: Calculated percentages represent a proportion of the number of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people in the area (including those who did not answer the long-term health conditions question).
Note 4: 2016 comparison data is not available for this table. Long-term health conditions is a new question for the 2021 Census.

More information on Type of long-term health condition (LTHP)
Table based on place of usual residence

Count of selected long-term health conditions
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people 		Western Australia, 2021 % Western Australia, 2021 Western Australia, 2016 % Western Australia, 2016 Australia, 2021 % Australia, 2021
None of the selected conditions 55,618 62.7 N/A N/A 493,110 60.7
One condition 15,383 17.3 N/A N/A 167,204 20.6
Two conditions 4,607 5.2 N/A N/A 54,174 6.7
Three or more conditions 2,725 3.1 N/A N/A 32,701 4.0
Not stated 10,368 11.7 N/A N/A 65,539 8.1

Note 1: Selected long-term health conditions include arthritis, asthma, cancer (including remission), dementia (including Alzheimer's), diabetes (excluding gestational diabetes), heart disease (including heart attack or angina), kidney disease, lung condition (including COPD or emphysema), mental health condition (including depression or anxiety) and stroke. Other long-term health conditions are not included in this count.
Note 2: 2016 comparison data is not available for this table. Long-term health conditions is a new question for the 2021 Census.

More information on Count of selected long-term health conditions (CLTHP)
Table based on place of usual residence

Housing

Dwelling characteristics
Occupied private dwellings (excl. visitor only households and other non-classifiable households) where at least one person was Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander 		Western Australia, 2021 % Western Australia, 2021 Western Australia, 2016 % Western Australia, 2016 Australia, 2021 % Australia, 2021
Number of dwellings requiring one or more extra bedroom(s) (a) 3,233 9.5 3,011 11.3 31,268 8.9
Average number of people per household 3.2 N/A 3.3 N/A 3.1 N/A
Average number of persons per bedroom 1 N/A 1 N/A 1 N/A
Average number of registered motor vehicles per dwelling 1.8 N/A 1.7 N/A 1.9 N/A

(a) The Canadian National Occupancy Standard for Housing Appropriateness is used to determine whether there are enough bedrooms in the dwelling for the usual residents. See Housing suitability information below for more details.

More information on Number of bedrooms in private dwelling (BEDD), Household composition (HHCD), Indigenous household indicator (INGDWTD), Housing suitability (HOSD)
Table based on place of enumeration

Mortgage and Rent
Occupied private dwellings (excl. visitor only households and other non-classifiable households) where at least one person was Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander 		Western Australia, 2021 % Western Australia, 2021 Western Australia, 2016 % Western Australia, 2016 Australia, 2021 % Australia, 2021
Median weekly rent (a) $260 N/A $225 N/A $300 N/A
Median monthly mortgage repayments $1,733 N/A $1,830 N/A $1,721 N/A

(a) Median rent calculations exclude dwellings being occupied rent-free. The 2016 figure presented above is conceptually comparable with the 2021 data, however this is not comparable with historical QuickStats as dwellings being occupied rent-free were included in the rented categories.

More information on Rent (weekly) dollar values (RNTD), Mortgage repayments (monthly) dollar values (MRED), Indigenous household indicator (INGDWTD)
Table based on place of enumeration

Family household composition
Occupied private dwellings (excl. visitor only households and other non-classifiable households) where at least one person was Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander 		Western Australia, 2021 % Western Australia, 2021 Western Australia, 2016 % Western Australia, 2016 Australia, 2021 % Australia, 2021
One family household: Couple family with no children 5,511 16.2 4,009 15.1 62,751 17.8
One family household: Couple family with children 10,128 29.8 8,214 31.0 104,435 29.7
One family household: One parent family 8,458 24.9 6,968 26.3 86,135 24.5
One family household: Other family 847 2.5 740 2.8 7,040 2.0
Multiple family household: Couple family with no children 222 0.7 197 0.7 2,130 0.6
Multiple family household: Couple family with children 638 1.9 526 2.0 6,813 1.9
Multiple family household: One parent family 910 2.7 672 2.5 8,606 2.4
Multiple family household: Other family 69 0.2 74 0.3 412 0.1
Other household 7,167 21.1 5,128 19.3 73,717 20.9

Note: This table counts the types of families within family households at the dwelling level. In multiple family households, only the family composition of the primary family is recorded. Other household includes lone person households and group households.

More information on Family household composition (dwelling) (HCFMD)
Table based on place of enumeration

Dwelling structure
Occupied private dwellings where at least one person was Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander 		Western Australia, 2021 % Western Australia, 2021 Western Australia, 2016 % Western Australia, 2016 Australia, 2021 % Australia, 2021
Separate house 28,229 83.2 22,121 83.4 281,729 80.0
Semi-detached, row or terrace house, townhouse etc. 4,051 11.9 3,076 11.6 38,396 10.9
Flat or apartment 1,243 3.7 956 3.6 27,919 7.9
Other dwelling 261 0.8 239 0.9 2,861 0.8

More information on Dwelling structure (STRD)
Table based on place of enumeration

Tenure type
Occupied private dwellings (excl. visitor only households and other non-classifiable households) where at least one person was Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander 		Western Australia, 2021 % Western Australia, 2021 Western Australia, 2016 % Western Australia, 2016 Australia, 2021 % Australia, 2021
Owned outright 3,673 10.8 2,450 9.2 48,452 13.8
Owned with a mortgage (a) 9,444 27.8 6,727 25.4 96,647 27.5
Rented (b) 19,092 56.2 15,566 58.7 192,703 54.7
Other (c) 597 1.8 582 2.2 5,582 1.6
Not stated 1,140 3.4 1,210 4.6 8,652 2.5

(a) Includes dwellings purchased under a shared equity scheme.
(b) Excludes dwellings being occupied rent-free. The 2016 figure presented above is conceptually comparable with the 2021 data, however this is not comparable with historical QuickStats as dwellings being occupied rent-free were included in the rented categories.
(c) Comprises dwellings occupied rent-free, occupied under a life tenure scheme and other tenure type

More information on Tenure type (TEND)
Table based on place of enumeration

Please note that there are small random adjustments made to all cell values to protect the confidentiality of data. These adjustments may cause the sum of rows or columns to differ by small amounts from table totals.