Central Desert

Latest release
2021 Census Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people QuickStats
Geography type Local Government Areas
Area code LGA70620
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people 2,843
Male 48.9%
Female 51.1%
Median age 25
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander families 696
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander households 514
Average number of people per household 5
Median weekly household income $853
Median monthly mortgage repayments $628
Median weekly rent (a) $75

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

Search QuickStats for another area

Map is loading.
Other 2021 Census products available for this area:
To view more QuickStats or Community Profiles for a different area, see Search Census data.

All tables refer to Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander persons in Central Desert, 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 		Central Desert % Central Desert Northern Territory % Northern Territory Australia % Australia
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander total 2,843 79.2 61,115 26.3 812,728 3.2
Aboriginal 2,836 79.0 58,566 25.2 742,882 2.9
Torres Strait Islander 0 0.0 692 0.3 33,765 0.1
Both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander 4 0.1 1,852 0.8 36,083 0.1
Non-Indigenous 528 14.7 152,705 65.6 23,375,949 91.9
Not stated 218 6.1 18,775 8.1 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 		Central Desert % Central Desert Northern Territory % Northern Territory Australia % Australia
Median age 25 N/A 26 N/A 24 N/A
0-4 years 289 10.2 5,365 8.8 85,941 10.6
5-14 years 596 21.0 11,809 19.3 179,604 22.1
15-24 years 528 18.6 11,436 18.7 150,057 18.5
25-34 years 433 15.2 10,180 16.7 117,969 14.5
35-44 years 389 13.7 8,173 13.4 87,910 10.8
45-54 years 261 9.2 6,858 11.2 81,802 10.1
55-64 years 184 6.5 4,458 7.3 61,759 7.6
65 years and over 163 5.7 2,846 4.7 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 		Central Desert % Central Desert Northern Territory % Northern Territory Australia % Australia
Married 854 43.6 15,538 35.4 127,525 23.3
Separated 78 4.0 1,527 3.5 23,982 4.4
Divorced 46 2.3 1,451 3.3 37,473 6.8
Widowed 104 5.3 2,043 4.6 16,329 3.0
Never married 880 44.9 23,389 53.2 341,871 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 		Central Desert % Central Desert Northern Territory % Northern Territory Australia % Australia
Registered marriage (a) 693 37.4 11,406 30.0 112,643 23.0
De facto marriage (b) 190 10.3 4,659 12.2 81,295 16.6
Not married 969 52.3 22,023 57.8 296,032 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 		Central Desert % Central Desert Northern Territory % Northern Territory Australia % Australia
Preschool 65 8.0 1,325 6.5 25,485 8.0
Primary 423 52.2 7,964 38.8 120,864 37.9
Secondary 168 20.7 4,658 22.7 83,631 26.2
Tertiary - Vocational education (including TAFE and private training providers) 19 2.3 536 2.6 21,273 6.7
Tertiary - University or higher education 0 0.0 626 3.1 21,149 6.6
Other 13 1.6 350 1.7 7,310 2.3
Not stated 124 15.3 5,064 24.7 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 		Central Desert % Central Desert Northern Territory % Northern Territory Australia % Australia
Bachelor Degree level and above 32 1.6 1,305 3.0 40,554 7.4
Advanced Diploma and Diploma level 16 0.8 1,139 2.6 34,681 6.3
Certificate level IV 13 0.7 1,019 2.3 23,374 4.3
Certificate level III 96 4.9 3,334 7.6 84,821 15.5
Year 12 153 7.8 5,976 13.6 82,998 15.2
Year 11 184 9.4 5,100 11.6 43,335 7.9
Year 10 407 20.8 9,124 20.8 102,707 18.8
Certificate level II 7 0.4 130 0.3 1,262 0.2
Certificate level I 0 0.0 90 0.2 241 0.0
Year 9 or below 627 32.0 9,421 21.4 75,326 13.8
Inadequately described 42 2.1 733 1.7 11,038 2.0
No educational attainment 172 8.8 1,387 3.2 5,242 1.0
Not stated 205 10.5 5,179 11.8 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 		Central Desert % Central Desert Northern Territory % Northern Territory Australia % Australia
Warlpiri 1,621 57.0 2,455 4.0 2,592 0.3
Central Anmatyerr 478 16.8 487 0.8 487 0.1
Eastern Arrernte 154 5.4 453 0.7 477 0.1
Eastern Anmatyerr 97 3.4 137 0.2 137 0.0
Anmatyerr, nfd 76 2.7 204 0.3 230 0.0
 null  null  null  null  null  null  null
Australian Indigenous languages used at home 2,652 93.3 35,782 58.5 76,978 9.5
English only used at home 121 4.3 20,390 33.4 683,122 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 		Central Desert % Central Desert Northern Territory % Northern Territory Australia % Australia
Australian Aboriginal 2,805 98.7 56,364 92.2 695,359 85.6
Australian 26 0.9 6,423 10.5 277,467 34.1
English 16 0.6 2,685 4.4 131,618 16.2
Scottish 10 0.4 715 1.2 24,549 3.0
Torres Strait Islander 5 0.2 2,203 3.6 57,353 7.1

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). In 2016 QuickStats percentages were based on total number of responses and will not be comparable to this table.

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 		Central Desert % Central Desert Northern Territory % Northern Territory Australia % Australia
In the labour force 499 25.5 15,568 35.4 296,172 54.1
Not in the labour force 1,403 71.6 26,214 59.7 234,314 42.8
Not stated 54 2.8 2,164 4.9 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 		Central Desert % Central Desert Northern Territory % Northern Territory Australia % Australia
Employed  null  null  null  null  null  null
Worked full-time 122 24.4 7,324 47.0 144,659 48.8
Worked part-time 166 33.3 3,712 23.8 87,019 29.4
Away from work (a) 40 8.0 1,302 8.4 28,075 9.5
Total employed 334 66.9 12,329 79.2 259,754 87.7
Unemployed 167 33.5 3,239 20.8 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 		Central Desert % Central Desert Northern Territory % Northern Territory Australia % Australia
Community and Personal Service Workers 119 35.6 2,747 22.3 45,221 17.4
Professionals 68 20.4 2,289 18.6 36,013 13.9
Labourers 42 12.6 1,388 11.3 37,003 14.2
Clerical and Administrative Workers 28 8.4 1,765 14.3 30,731 11.8
Machinery Operators and Drivers 25 7.5 690 5.6 23,291 9.0
Managers 17 5.1 947 7.7 21,218 8.2
Sales Workers 17 5.1 638 5.2 22,365 8.6
Technicians and Trades Workers 13 3.9 1,300 10.5 35,333 13.6

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 		Central Desert % Central Desert Northern Territory % Northern Territory Australia % Australia
Local Government Administration 76 22.8 1,025 8.3 6,639 2.6
Combined Primary and Secondary Education 40 12.0 653 5.3 3,592 1.4
Other Social Assistance Services 28 8.4 456 3.7 10,154 3.9
Supermarket and Grocery Stores 15 4.5 434 3.5 8,816 3.4
Child Care Services 12 3.6 154 1.2 3,072 1.2

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 		Central Desert % Central Desert Northern Territory % Northern Territory Australia % Australia
Personal (b) 241 N/A 323 N/A 540 N/A
Family (c) 536 N/A 947 N/A 1,527 N/A
Household (d) 853 N/A 1,318 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 		Central Desert % Central Desert Northern Territory % Northern Territory Australia % Australia
Did unpaid domestic work (week before Census Night) 1,588 80.9 28,806 65.6 328,022 59.9
Provided unpaid care for child/children (during two weeks before Census Night) 1,131 57.7 19,556 44.5 166,628 30.5
Provided unpaid assistance to a person with a disability, health condition or due to old age (during two weeks before Census Night) 222 11.3 5,874 13.4 76,568 14.0
Did voluntary work through an organisation or group (last 12 months) 75 3.8 2,551 5.8 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 		Central Desert % Central Desert Northern Territory % Northern Territory Australia % Australia
Arthritis 41 1.4 1,151 1.9 50,807 6.3
Asthma 75 2.6 3,178 5.2 107,162 13.2
Cancer (including remission) 5 0.2 376 0.6 12,927 1.6
Dementia (including Alzheimer's) 11 0.4 306 0.5 3,610 0.4
Diabetes (excluding gestational diabetes) 339 11.9 4,258 7.0 47,688 5.9
Heart disease (including heart attack or angina) 135 4.7 3,161 5.2 30,160 3.7
Kidney disease 50 1.8 1,216 2.0 10,053 1.2
Lung condition (including COPD or emphysema) 25 0.9 673 1.1 17,552 2.2
Mental health condition (including depression or anxiety) 35 1.2 2,237 3.7 107,776 13.3
Stroke 14 0.5 322 0.5 7,059 0.9
Any other long-term health condition(s) 110 3.9 3,562 5.8 70,592 8.7
No long-term health condition(s) 2,057 72.4 41,155 67.3 462,348 56.9
Not stated 137 4.8 5,339 8.7 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).

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 		Central Desert % Central Desert Northern Territory % Northern Territory Australia % Australia
None of the selected conditions 2,135 75.1 43,456 71.1 493,110 60.7
One condition 449 15.8 9,255 15.1 167,204 20.6
Two conditions 101 3.6 2,063 3.4 54,174 6.7
Three or more conditions 21 0.7 1,000 1.6 32,701 4.0
Not stated 137 4.8 5,339 8.7 65,539 8.1

Note: 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.

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 		Central Desert % Central Desert Northern Territory % Northern Territory Australia % Australia
Number of dwellings requiring one or more extra bedroom(s) (a) 254 49.4 4,385 28.7 31,268 8.9
Average number of people per household 5 N/A 3.8 N/A 3.1 N/A
Average number of persons per bedroom 1.7 N/A 1.4 N/A 1 N/A
Average number of registered motor vehicles per dwelling 1 N/A 1.2 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 		Central Desert % Central Desert Northern Territory % Northern Territory Australia % Australia
Median weekly rent (a) $75 N/A $130 N/A $300 N/A
Median monthly mortgage repayments $628 N/A $2,000 N/A $1,721 N/A

(a) Median rent calculations exclude dwellings being occupied rent-free, this is not comparable to 2016 QuickStats data.

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 		Central Desert % Central Desert Northern Territory % Northern Territory Australia % Australia
One family household: Couple family with no children 57 11.1 2,082 13.6 62,751 17.8
One family household: Couple family with children 141 27.4 4,322 28.3 104,435 29.7
One family household: One parent family 61 11.9 3,021 19.8 86,135 24.5
One family household: Other family 26 5.1 471 3.1 7,040 2.0
Multiple family household: Couple family with no children 21 4.1 249 1.6 2,130 0.6
Multiple family household: Couple family with children 88 17.1 1,276 8.4 6,813 1.9
Multiple family household: One parent family 62 12.1 973 6.4 8,606 2.4
Multiple family household: Other family 9 1.8 100 0.7 412 0.1
Other household 40 7.8 2,768 18.1 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 		Central Desert % Central Desert Northern Territory % Northern Territory Australia % Australia
Separate house 496 96.5 11,789 77.3 281,729 80.0
Semi-detached, row or terrace house, townhouse etc. 3 0.6 1,916 12.6 38,396 10.9
Flat or apartment 3 0.6 1,286 8.4 27,919 7.9
Other dwelling 4 0.8 160 1.0 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 		Central Desert % Central Desert Northern Territory % Northern Territory Australia % Australia
Owned outright 7 1.4 960 6.3 48,452 13.8
Owned with a mortgage (a) 3 0.6 2,459 16.1 96,647 27.5
Rented (b) 448 87.2 10,583 69.4 192,703 54.7
Other (c) 40 7.8 774 5.1 5,582 1.6
Not stated 17 3.3 475 3.1 8,652 2.5

(a) Includes dwellings purchased under a shared equity scheme.
(b) Excludes dwellings being occupied rent-free, this is not comparable to 2016 QuickStats data.
(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.